25-02-2025
Who is in the running to be next RI historian laureate? For now, it's a secret
Eight Rhode Islanders have applied to become the state's next historian laureate, but their identities will not be made public until after a winner is selected, the secretary of state's office said Monday.
Patrick Conley, Rhode Island's first and only historian laureate, did not seek to be reappointed when his term expired Feb 1.
Secretary of State Gregg Amore is holding an open selection process for students of history interested in taking up the volunteer role and the deadline to apply was last Friday.
Faith Chybowski, spokeswoman for Amore, on Monday said eight people had applied, but declined to release their names until the new laureate is selected "to protect the integrity of the application review process."
"We want to ensure the review committee is basing their recommendation on the application materials that were provided at the time of submission and in accordance with the guidelines outlined on our site," Chybowski wrote.
For an unpaid and fairly obscure role, the state historian laureate has been a political hot potato in recent years, in part due to divided opinions about Conley, 86, who has held the role since 2012.
A lawyer, former history professor and real estate investor known for working the Providence tax sale market, Conley has opined on a number of sensitive cultural issues, including the legacy of Christopher Columbus, and defended the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame's induction of retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn.
In 2020, then secretary of state Nellie Gorbea, who was eying a run for governor, reappointed Conley without publicly announcing it or soliciting competing bids.
Amore plans to select the next laureate after getting a recommendation from a review committee that is going through the applications. The committee is made up of Lorén Spears, executive director of the Tomaquag Museum; Theresa Moore, president of T-Time Productions; C. Morgan Grefe, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Historical Society and Rob Traverse Senior Advisor Director of Civic Programming and Special Projects in Amore's office.
Chybowski said no firm timeline has been set for when a selection for new historian laureate will be made.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI's historian laureate position is up for grabs. Who wants it?
