Reagan Library Director, Duke Blackwood
R. Duke Blackwood was appointed as the Director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum effective June 19, 2000. He is the longest serving director of all of the presidential libraries within the National Archives. From October 2003 to April 2009, Mr. Blackwood also served as the Executive Director for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. During the 2008 Presidential Campaign, the Library hosted two of the Republican Presidential Candidates debates, becoming the only Presidential Library to do so. The Library has gone on to host a total of four presidential debates over three election cycles.
During his tenure at the Library, Mr. Blackwood oversaw the largest expansion of the Reagan Library campus since its opening in 1991. With the addition of the Presidential Learning Center and the Air Force Pavilion, over 115,000 square feet of program, education, and exhibitory space was added making it the largest of all presidential libraries.
As Director, Mr. Blackwood has a creative approach to education where he and his team have produced programs based upon their “Three E” philosophy – Engage, Excite and you will Educate. The library’s programs are available across the country reaching tens of thousands of students each year. In the fall of 2007, one of the country’s most unique education experiences was inaugurated when the critically acclaimed Air Force One Discovery Center opened. That program now reaches in excess of 28,000 students a year and is booked a year in advance. September, 2016 saw the opening of the Library’s most technologically and exciting program, The Situation Room Experience. This is an immersive educational game where students take on the role of senior White House administration officials and members of the media to handle a historically based crisis in the actual Situation Room from the White House.
Learn about the most innovative Presidential Library in America from Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Director Duke Blackwood at the Downtown Lincoln Club!