Historian, author, librarian, and presidential speechwriter Edward L. (Ted) Widmer, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs in New York and a senior fellow and adjunct professor of history at Brown University, has been appointed director of the John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress, effective Oct. 3, 2016. "We know that Ted will be a great asset to the Kluge Center" said Carnegie Council President Joel Rosenthal. "He is an original thinker who brings a wide range of experience and interests to this new position, from academia to politics."
Previously, Widmer was the director of the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University. He was appointed Carnegie Council Senior Fellow in 2015, and has been focusing on climate change for the past year. In June 2016, he conducted a memorable Carnegie Council interview on climate change with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
From 2001 to 2006, he was the inaugural director of the C. V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience at Washington College. Between 1997 and 2001, he was a foreign policy speechwriter and senior adviser to President Bill Clinton. Prior to that, he taught at Harvard University, where he received his Ph.D., AM and AB degrees. He is the author or editor of many historical treatises, including a book published this month, The New York Times Disunion: A History of the Civil War. A forthcoming book, to be released in 2017, is Lincoln on the Verge: An Odyssey, By Rail. ABOUT THE KLUGE CENTER The Kluge Center invites distinguished scholars from around the world to conduct research at the Library of Congress, facilitates their access to the Library's remarkable collections, and engages them in conversation with members of the U.S. Congress and other public figures. Since the center opened in 2000, it has welcomed more than 1,000 senior and junior scholars and researchers; hosted hundreds of public lectures, symposia and conferences; and awarded the Kluge Prize for Achievement in the Study of Humanity to 10 world-renowned intellectuals. ABOUT CARNEGIE COUNCIL Founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1914, Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs is an educational, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that produces lectures, publications, and multimedia materials on the ethical challenges of living in a globalized world.
