Research

The history of environmental affairs in New York State is the story of how New Yorkers have used natural resources and how they struggle to use soil, timber, water, air, and wildlife in ways that do not do irreparable damage.

Environmental policies developed in New York State have set national and international precedents:

Within the Environmental History Virtual Research Collection you will find links to records and images that document the wide array of public and private perspectives on the acquisition, management, and use of the Adirondack and Catskill Parks.

New Perspectives on Research and the Historical Record

Proceedings

Pre-Conference Paper

The Spencer Fellows Program offered a unique opportunity for 10 rising scholars in education policy to both interact with senior experts in the field around the topic of states’ impact and enhance their awareness of the role and importance of archival materials and research to their scholarship.

To support this effort, the Spencer Foundation contributed funding for Spencer Fellows to take part in the conference, which brought together 120 education scholars, policymakers, teachers, advocates, journalists, and archivists. 

Patricia Sullivan has had an extensive career in K–12 and postsecondary education policy in Washington, D.C.  She currently is the deputy director for Educational Issues at the American Federation of Teachers.  Prior to that she was an independent consultant heading up her own firm, Sullivan Consulting Services, where she provided advice to a range of clients on both the workings of Washington and states education agencies.  During her career, Patricia has served as the director of the Center on Education Policy, the deputy director of the Coun

Marshall Smith has been the program director for the Education Program at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation in Menlo Park, California, since 2001.  Prior to that, he was acting deputy secretary and undersecretary for education in the Clinton administration.  During the Carter administration, he was chief of staff to the secretary for education and assistant commissioner for policy studies in the Office of Education.  While not in government, he was at different times an associate professor at Harvard, and a professor at Stanford and at t

Kathleen D. Roe is Director of Operations at the New York State Archives. She oversees records management and archival services to state agencies, local governments and historical records repositories statewide. She also manages the State Archives facility, holding over 200 million items. Kathleen is past president of the Council of State Archivists and currently chairs the CoSA Government Relations Committee.

Lynn Olson has written about public education in the United States for more than 20 years.  A nationally recognized education journalist, she has won awards from the Education Writers Association, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, and the International Reading Association.  In 2005, she won an award from the Consortium for Policy Research in Education for her outstanding contributions to education policy.  She is the managing editor for special projects at Education Week, an independent, national newspaper that c