USC Fund-Raiser Named to Direct Reagan Library

A former political consultant who is a key fund-raiser for USC has been appointed director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, the fourth director in its nine-year history.

R. Duke Blackwood, who has pledged to raise the library’s profile in part by improving its ties to the academic community, will assume stewardship of the library on June 19, said chief archivist John Carlin.

Blackwood, 41, will replace Mark Hunt, who left in April to lead the Roosevelt Presidential Library in Hyde Park, N.Y.

Blackwood is executive director of the University of Southern California Associates, which helps USC raise more than $200 million a year for research and education.

Previously, Blackwood was a political consultant, specializing in fund-raising and public relations strategies. He served as finance chairman for former Gov. George Deukmejian’s campaign committee.