UW History alumna Turkiya Lowe was recently named Chief Historian of the National Park Service. Lowe received her Ph.D. from the department in 2010, with particular focus on the fields of African American History, Twentieth-Century US History, and Women's History. Previously, she served in a variety of roles in the National Park Service, both during and after her graduate studies--most recently as Chief Historian of the service's Southeast Region, and before that in other positions in the Southeast Region, the Pacific West Region, and the Washington DC Support Office. She has also been a contributor to the award-winning UW-connected website on African American history, BlackPast.org.
In her new position, Lowe will be responsible for overall management of the Park Service's history programs, including the coordination of historical studies at the national level and management of the administrative history program. In addition, she will provide national leadership and oversight in setting and implementing standards and guidelines relating to the documentation of historically significant sites.
Her appointment also maintains a connection between the top history job at the National Park Service and Washington State. Lowe's predecessor in the position of NPS Chief Historian, Robert Sutton, received his Ph.D. in history from Washington State University.
More details on the appointment and Turkiya Lowe's career at the National Park Service can be found at the National Coalition for History.
Congratulations on this outstanding honor Dr. Lowe!