WASHINGTON, D.C. – Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) Chairman Aimee Jorjani today administered the oath of office to Luke A. Nichter, PhD, of Bowling Green, OH, swearing him in as an expert member to a term ending in June 2022. President Donald J. Trump appointed Nichter to the ACHP.

“The ACHP is honored President Trump appointed accomplished historian, author, and educator Luke Nichter to the ACHP,” Chairman Jorjani said. “Dr. Nichter has much to offer as an expert member. With his level of expertise in research and writing, we look forward to his perspective and counsel as we tackle historic preservation issues and tell the full stories that are vital to our country.”

Nichter is a Professor of History and Beck Family Senior Fellow at Texas A&M University-Central Texas, and a 2020-2021 National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow. His area of specialty is the Cold War, the modern presidency, and U.S. political and diplomatic history, with a focus on the “long 1960s” from John F. Kennedy through Watergate. Nichter is a noted expert on Richard Nixon’s 3,432 hours of secret White House tapes. He also has a website that offers free access to the publicly released tapes as a public service.  

“As someone who has spent so much time in the heart of LBJ country, what an honor it is to contribute to the work of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation–a key part of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society initiative,” Nichter said. “I hope to utilize my background in history, along with my passion for reaching a historically interested public using different mediums, to form new partnerships and spread the word about the work of the ACHP. We Americans love our history, our national parks, and our historic sites. Getting more people involved in the cultural estuary of our nation helps to make us a more engaged society.”

In addition, Dr. Nichter is a New York Times bestselling author or editor of seven books and a founding executive producer of C-SPAN’s American History TV. A feature of the channel is “American Artifacts,” a weekly program that Nichter conceptualized, which lets viewers experience a museum, an archive, or a historic site from behind the scenessomething different than what they would ordinarily see as a member of the visiting public.

Nichter fills a term that began in 2018 and replaces Robert Stanton, who has served as an expert member on the ACHP since 2014. Stanton was the first African American to serve as National Park Service Director and later served as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Interior.

“Bob Stanton’s presence on the ACHP touched so many, and he will be sorely missed; however, his years on the ACHP have made a lasting impact,” Chairman Jorjani said. “As chairman of the Communications, Education, and Outreach Committee, he helped develop our Preservation in Practice program that is helping to diversify the field of historic preservation. In addition, his insight from his long career at the highest levels of the National Park Service benefitted the ACHP. I am grateful for our time together. Bob has been a trusted advisor, and I know he will continue to be a resource we can count on.” 

The National Historic Preservation Act provides that appointed expert and general public members shall serve for a term of four years and under that law, may not serve more than two terms.  

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