Last week we said good-bye to Patricia Smith-Mansfield. This week we said hello to Kenneth Williams, appointed by the Governor’s Office as the new director of the Utah Division of Archives and Records Service. So, I sat down with Ken to talk to him about his past and what he sees as the Archives’ future.
Ken has been working with the Archives for a long time. He celebrated his 25th anniversary in July and loves it here. His favorite thing about our archives is our great staff and the chance he has to get his “hands dirty” working with the records.
Ken earned his bachelors and masters degrees from Utah State University. During his graduate studies in history, Ken’s mentor Dr. Norm Jones helped Ken secure a fellowship in the University’s Special Collections. Ken’s work with the Special Collections, under the guidance of Brad Cole and the late A.J. Simmonds, cemented his love for the Archives. Eventually he enrolled at Florida State University to complete his post graduate course work.
Ken looks forward to his new position and the opportunities he has to build upon the solid archival foundation already in place here at the Archives. He hopes to continue to increase public access through Open Government initiatives and outreach opportunities with the goal of meeting the needs of all of our constituencies, both governmental and public. He is also going to work to have our archives certified as one of the few trusted digital repositories in the United States.
Thanks Ken for taking on the new responsibilities. Congratulations and good luck!