Retirement of Eisenhower Library Director Karl Weissenbach

Retirement of Eisenhower Library Director
Karl Weissenbach

Karl H. Weissenbach, Director of the Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum, and Boyhood Home in Abilene, Kansas, will retire on June 3, 2016.

Karl has been the library's director since April 2008. As director, Karl created the Kansas Town Hall, a public forum which brings policymakers into dialogue with citizens. He led local officials in establishing the Five Star Museum District, an innovative collaboration linking Abilene's numerous cultural institutions into a more integrated visitor experience. He also established the Symphony at Sunset, an annual event at the Library to commemorate the service of General Eisenhower and all World War II veterans.

Karl also led major commemorative programs of the 65th and 70th anniversaries of World War II, and was instrumental in establishing the Dwight D. Eisenhower-Harry S. Truman Presidential Highway along the Interstate 70 corridor between Abilene, Kansas, and Independence, Missouri. Among the many partnerships he forged during his tenure at the Eisenhower Library are relationships with the Kansas Humanities Council, American University, Rockhurst University, Kansas Wesleyan University, and Kansas State University.

In 2010, Karl received the Archivist's Award for Outstanding Achievement for excellence in promoting civic literacy through public programming. Karl was also recognized in 2010 by the Abilene Chamber of Commerce as the Distinguished Business Person of the Year and received the Kansas Governor's Tourism Award in 2011. 

Karl began his National Archives and Records Administration career in the microfilm reading room at Archives I when he was an American University student. Over his many years with the agency, he served as Supervisory Archivist of the Central Research Room, Director of the Nixon Presidential Materials Staff, and Director of the Eisenhower Library.  

Deputy Director Tim Rives will be acting director until a new director is selected.

 

The Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home, a nonpartisan federal institution, is part of the Presidential Libraries network operated by the National Archives and Records Administration. Presidential Libraries promote understanding of the presidency and the American experience. We preserve and provide access to historical materials, support research, and create interactive programs and exhibits that educate and inspire.