Reagan Library Names New Director

Richard Norton Smith, a historian and biographer who late last year became executive director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and the Center for Public Affairs, will also become director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley on Feb. 20.

Smith, who has served as director of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Dwight D. Eisenhower Center, succeeds Ralph C. Bledsoe, who has headed the Reagan library since it opened in November, 1991.

Bledsoe, will return to Washington, D.C., to take a “high level” position with the National Archives and Records Administration, Smith said Monday.

Bledsoe was not available for comment.

“I think one of the exciting things about, in effect, combining all of these positions is the opportunity to approach everything we do in a unified fashion,” Smith said Monday. “Whether it’s creating a temporary exhibit in the museum or a scholarly conference in the Center for Public Affairs or a promotional strategy designed to increase our visibility and visitation--all of this planning will come from one office.”

Reagan welcomed Smith in a prepared statement.

“Nancy and I are delighted to have Richard Norton Smith build upon the remarkable work he has already set in motion during these past few months,” Reagan said in the statement. “We could not have found a better candidate to head the library. His ability is equaled only by his enthusiasm.”