University of South Carolina history professor Dr. Robert R. Weyeneth has been elected to lead the National Council on Public History, the nation’s leading professional organization for public historians.

Weyeneth will serve a two-year term as president-elect, followed by a two-year term as president. The NCPH, headquartered in Indianapolis, publishes the flagship journal, “The Public Historian.”

“It is an honor to be recognized by my peers and to have the opportunity to lead the National Council on Public History at a time when so many new public history programs are starting up in history departments in the U.S. and abroad,” Weyeneth said. “I hope to nurture that growth, to encourage a more racially and ethnically diverse group of students to study public history and to encourage local practitioners – the community activist working to save a landmark or the local museum curator who may not see themselves as public historians – to take advantage of the NCPH’s many resources.”...