September 20, 2017 John Haskell Named Director of John W. Kluge Center

Press Contact: Gayle Osterberg, (202) 707-0020
Public Contact: Travis Hensley, (202) 707-8807

John R. Haskell, an accomplished political scientist, author and professor, has been named director of the John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress. Haskell brings three decades of leadership experience from both academia and the Library to his new position.

“With his years of experience here at the Library and in academia managing scholarly research, we are thrilled to have John taking the helm at the Kluge Center,” said Jane McAuliffe, director of National and International Outreach at the Library.  “As a published authority on legislative politics and policymaking, with considerable congressional experience, John is well positioned to support Kluge scholars and the Librarian’s aspiration of making the Kluge Center a more vital resource for Congress.”

The Kluge Center, a scholarly research center within the Library of Congress, attracts the world’s best thinkers to Washington, D.C., to facilitate their access to the Library's unparalleled collections and to engage them in conversation with members of Congress and other public figures. The Kluge Center director oversees the selection of this vibrant community of scholars and guides the development of a rich program of lectures, symposia, panel discussions and book talks from current and former residents.

Haskell comes to Kluge from a stint as research director for a major congressional commission, where he led a 25-person research team charged with streamlining the Defense Department’s acquisition system. Prior to that, he headed the Government and Finance Division at the Congressional Research Service (CRS) from 2013 to 2016. Part of CRS senior leadership, Haskell managed all aspects of the 75-person division and regularly represented the Library with members of Congress, congressional staff and a wide range of external audiences.

Before joining CRS, Haskell was curriculum chair and senior fellow at the Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown University from 2000 to 2013. An alumnus of the American Political Science Association (APSA) Congressional Fellowship, he also served as a legislative assistant for a member of Congress and associate staff to the House Budget Committee.

Haskell currently teaches public policy for Claremont McKenna College and Georgetown University. He was a tenured political science professor at Drake University and has also taught at Davidson College and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he received his Ph.D. in American politics. His B.A. is in political science from Davidson College. He has authored three books on congressional process and our political system: “Congress in Context,” “Direct Democracy or Representative Government?” and “Fundamentally Flawed.”

The Library of Congress established the Kluge Center in 2000 through a generous endowment from John W. Kluge, an American entrepreneur and philanthropist. For more information about the center, visit loc.gov/kluge/.

The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States—and extensive materials from around the world—both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov; access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov; and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.

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PR 17-135
2017-09-21
ISSN 0731-3527