Trask lecturer Claire Jerry urges federal historians to persist and adapt

Claire Jerry, honored with this year's Roger R. Trask Award, used her Trask lecture at the Society for History in the Federal Government ceremony to reflect on career pathways into federal history and on enduring institutional challenges.

Titled "History, Of the Government, For the Government In the Government: The many Paths to Federal History," Jerry framed federal history as a field that requires collaboration across curators, archivists, communications staff and others. She said many past Trask lecturers raised recurring themes—"access, transparency, accountability, engagement"—and argued these continue to shape the practice.

Jerry described practical collecting work—traveling to campaign rallies, gathering political ephemera and mounting exhibits—and recounted a COVID-era pivot from a cancelled physical exhibit to an online project that posted more than 125 objects and "approached 2 million impressions," a figure she cited when describing the project's reach. She cautioned, however, that digital work also raises questions about priorities and sustainability for long-term curation.

Addressing audiences of federal historians, Jerry urged hiring and mentoring choices that value experience at all ages: "Don't be afraid to take a chance on the older intern," she said, and emphasized that federal history work "matters," concluding that "public service is a noble calling." The lecture touched on staffing shortages, funding pressures, the need to preserve independence in interpretation, and the new challenges and possibilities presented by AI and digital collecting.

Jerry's remarks drew on examples across federal institutions and stressed the civic value of preserving government history for future research and public understanding.