The Vietnam Archive is pleased to announce that Amy Hooker, C.A. has joined the Vietnam Archive as the new Assistant Archivist for Reference. Ms. Hooker’s primary duties will involve responding to reference inquiries by email and telephone, as well as assisting patrons and researchers in our reading room. She will also contribute to the development of reference policies and public service projects to include online reference tools, outreach activities, and exhibits.

A native of Midland, Texas, Ms. Hooker earned a B.A. in Anthropology with a minor in History from Texas Tech University. She completed a master’s degree in Museum Science at TTU in 2000. As part of her degree program, Ms. Hooker completed an internship at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum in Juneau, Alaska. She returns to Tech after seven years at the Petroleum Museum in Midland, where she served as Director of Collections and Archives. She became a certified archivist in 2007. We are happy to welcome her to the team!

The Vietnam Archive is pleased to announce that Dr. Kelly Crager has joined the Vietnam Archive as the new Head of the Oral History Project. Dr. Crager will coordinate and manage all aspects of the project, to include outreach, interviewing, transcription, and other administrative duties.

Dr. Crager earned a B.A. in Political Science and an M.A. in History from Pittsburgh State University in Pittsburgh, Kansas. He completed his Ph.D. in History at the University of North Texas. While at UNT, he worked under Dr. Rob Marcello in the Oral History Program. Dr. Crager comes to the Vietnam Archive from Texas A&M University, where he taught United States History and American Foreign Relations. His forthcoming book, Hell under the Rising Sun: Texan POWs and the Building of the Burma-Thailand Death Railway, will be published by Texas A&M Press later this year.

The Vietnam Center & Archive is pleased to announce that Steve Maxner, PhD, has been appointed as the new Director of the Vietnam Center. Maxner replaces James Reckner, PhD, who founded the Vietnam Center in 1989 and served as its director for 18 years. Reckner now serves as Executive Director of the recently created Institute for Modern Conflict, Diplomacy, and Reconciliation (IMCDR).

The Vietnam Archive is also pleased to announce that Mary McLain Saffell, C.A. has been named Associate Director and Archivist of the Vietnam Archive. Saffell held the position of Associate Archivist at the Vietnam Archive before accepting this new position.

Texas Tech University and the Vietnam Center & Archive are pleased to announce the creation of the Institute for Modern Conflict, Diplomacy, and Reconciliation (IMCDR). This new institute has been created as an archive-based research facility focusing on America’s involvement in the world from 1950 to the present. It will encompass Texas Tech’s aerospace and military science departments as well as the newly created Center for War and Diplomacy in the Post-Vietnam War Era and the existing Vietnam Center and Archive. The IMCDR will guide the development of these research centers and archives and will continue the practice of preserving the record of all points of view. The Vietnam Center and Archive’s goals and missions will remain the same.

James Reckner, PhD, former Director of the Vietnam Center, has been named Executive Director of the IMCDR and Ron Miliam, PhD, will serve as Interim Director of the Center for War and Diplomacy in the Post-Vietnam War Era. Steve Maxner, PhD, has been appointed Reckner’s replacement as Director of the Vietnam Center.

Institute for Modern Conflict, Diplomacy, and Reconciliation
Post-Vietnam War Era Center and Archive

The Vietnam Archive regretfully announces that oral historians Richard Verrone, PhD, and Laura Calkins, PhD, have both left the Vietnam Archive for other opportunities. The Vietnam Center & Archive wish them the best of luck with their new endeavors.

The Oral History Project will continue as before. The Vietnam Archive is in the process of hiring new oral historians to fill the two vacancies. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the Oral History Project please don’t hesitate to contact the Vietnam Archive at 806-742-9010 or vietnamarchive@ttu.edu.

We are pleased to announce that Mr. Chuck Carlock of Ft. Worth has very generously donated four completely restored helicopters to the Vietnam Center at Texas Tech.The helicopters will arrive on campus at the Memorial Circle about 9:50 on Wednesday, 18 January. President Whitmore will then hold a press conference in Memorial Circle to accept this wonderful gift.Please join us as we welcome these new additions to our collection, and also to welcome Mr. & Mrs. Chuck Carlock and Mr. Chester Grudzinski. Chuck and Chet both are Vietnam helicopter pilots.

The Vietnam Archive has a new man at the helm, although he is hardly a new face on the scene. Steve Maxner has been named Associate Director (Archives), replacing Ron Frankum, who has moved on to a new teaching opportunity.Maxner joined the Vietnam Archive in 1998 as a research assistant. In 1999 he became the Archive’s first oral historian and played a key role in the development of the Archive’s Oral History Project. “Steve was well-trained under Ron,” said Jim Reckner, director of the Center. “I know he will do an outstanding job in that lead position. Ron’s departure is a great loss, but his move is a new opportunity for pursuing his career objectives.”Maxner is working on his dissertation for a doctorate in history at Texas Tech. He received BA and MA degrees in American history at the University of North Carolina and UNC-Wilmington in 1990 and 1995, respectively. Frankum had been at the Archive for nearly five years. His new horizon is a tenure track teaching position at Millersville University in Pennsylvania.

Dr. Richard Verrone was promoted to direct the Oral History Project when Steve Maxner was named to the Associate Director (Archives) position. Richard will pick up where Steve left off and continue to grow the project that Steve has built over the past three years.