OBU archivist chosen state’s new historian

The library archivist at Ouachita Baptist University will start work as the state historian and director of the Arkansas State Archives in May — three months after the resignation of the last archivist, who cited what she called an intolerable work climate when she left.

The appointment of Wendy Richter of Donaldson, who served as director of the state archives when it was known as the Arkansas History Commission from 2005-12, was announced Wednesday by Stacy Hurst, director of the Department of Arkansas Heritage. Richter has been the library archivist and a faculty member at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia since 2013.

Richter replaces Lisa Speer, who had been archivist since June 2013 and left in February.

Hurst hired Richter for the post after 36 applicants met the job’s minimum qualifications, said Department of Arkansas Heritage spokesman Melissa Whitfield. Whitfield said that Meredith McFadden, archival manager at Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives, and Richter were interviewed for the position.

“I was committed to finding the most qualified candidate for the position, and I was absolutely thrilled to learn of Dr. Richter’s interest,” Hurst said in a written statement when asked by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette why she hired Richter.

“She knows the job and understands the importance of the Archives and its work. Through her own scholarly research, she has made valuable contributions to the preservation of Arkansas history. We are lucky to have her back,” Hurst said.

Richter, who has more than 35 years of experience in archival records and research, starts May 14 at an annual salary of $87,095, the department said. Speer was paid $89,636, Whitfield said.

Richter holds a doctoral degree in heritage studies from Arkansas State University, master’s degrees in heritage studies from ASU and in public history from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from UALR, according to her resume. She is an expert on the history of the upper Ouachita River Valley and Clark, Hot Spring and Garland counties, the department said.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson approved Hurst’s recommendation to hire Richter, said his spokesman, J.R. Davis.

“The work of the Arkansas State Archives is very important, and I look forward to Dr. Richter’s leadership of the organization and its mission of maintaining the historical records of our state,” the governor said in a written statement issued through the Department of Arkansas Heritage. “Her understanding of and scholarship in Arkansas history are an extraordinary gift to our state.”

In an interview Wednesday, Richter said she decided to return to the job that she departed in 2012 because “it always was my dream job.”

She said she resigned as director of the Arkansas History Commission in 2012 for personal reasons. Three grandchildren came to live with her and her husband at that time and they are now attending college, she said.

Richter said she works with Speer, who is now an assistant library archivist and weekend supervisor at Ouachita Baptist University, but they “haven’t really discussed” why Speer departed as director of the archives and as state historian in February.

“We are all about work,” Richter said.

Speer started as the director of what was then called the state History Commission in June 2013. She was retained by Hurst in June 2016 when the department took over the smaller agency from the Department of Parks and Tourism under legislation enacted by the Republican-controlled Legislature and Hutchinson in a special session.

In her resignation letter in February, Speer told Arkansas Heritage Deputy Director Rebecca Burkes and Hurst that she found the work climate “intolerable.”