Presidency Research Group at Work

This section outlines activities of the Presidency Research Group. These include its standing committees, and PRG Board actions.

I.  Presidency Projects

• The White House Transition Project - Formerly called The White House 2001 Project under direction of PRG members Terry Sullivan and the current Project Director Martha J. Kumar, it helped smooth the transition to the current administration, and has provided general insights for future transitions.  See also White House Transition Project Home at the White House for the same information and links.
      The Pew Charitable Trusts provided funding support via the Transition to Governing Project, outlined at AEI - Research.
   
• Strategic Directions - This was a planning/vision document for the National Archives & Records Administration (and presidential libraries) and other guiding documents that PRG members helped to compose.

II.  Publication

    The official newsletter and research report of the PRG is the PRG Report, published biannually in Spring and Fall issues, and currently edited by Richard Powell at the University of Maine.  The button links to our Archive of PRG Reports. 

III. PRG-sponsored Programs and Events:   

• American Political Science Association (APSA) Centennial Center.  As part of the Centennial celebration of the American Political Science Association in 2003, the PRG sponsored the development of research fellowships for presidency scholars to work at the Centennial Center in Washington. You can contribute to these fellowships by contacting APSA Countdown to the Centennial.
   
• Presidential Power conference - "Forging the Presidency for the 21st Century" - Conference sponsored by PRG and Columbia University, November 1996.

IV. Policy Statements by PRG:

The Board of Directors of the Presidency Research Group has periodically made statements on issues of concern to presidency scholars.  They are listed below by year of the event.

2001
Executive Privilege (Executive Order 13233), issued by President Bush on 1 November 2001. The PRG joined with APSA and many other organizations to encourage the President to rethink his order restructuring the handling of presidential papers under the Presidential Records Act. The PRG believes the order as currently written undermines the timely accession of essential evidence on the conduct of the office.

Note: On the following, cross-reference is to an old site with the file name PRG Reports that is not related to the PRG Reports cited above.  The old URL is http://www.ibiblio.org/lia/prgnet/reports/PRGReports.html.

1997
Wilson Center Letter - The PRG joined with APSA to encourage the U.S. House conferees to support the Senate version of the funding bill for the Woodrow Wilson Center of the Smithsonian Institution.

1995
Archivist of the US - Qualifications for the Archivist of the United States. This PRG Policy Statement cites the appropriate qualifications of a nominee to direct the National Archives and Records Administration.  PRG on John Carlin is an undated statement in support of Archivist nominee John Carlin.

PRG Statement before the U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs is a PRG Policy Statement supporting the Clinton Administration's nomination of John W. Carlin to be Archivist of the United States.  The Senate confirmed Carlin, who remains Archivist today as head of NARA - US National Archives & Records Administration.

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