SKOWHEGAN — The Margaret Chase Smith Library is pleased to announce the arrival of our new director, Dr. Chris O’Brien. The Margaret Chase Smith Library is an archive, museum, educational facility, and public policy center devoted to preserving the legacy of Margaret Chase Smith, promoting research into American political history, advancing the ideals of public service, and exploring issues of civic engagement. The library houses the political papers, documents, honors, photographs, and memorabilia stemming from the 32-year congressional career of former U.S. Sen. Margaret Chase Smith. The Margaret Chase Smith Library is owned by the Margaret Chase Smith Foundation and operated under its auspices by the University of Maine.
Prior to his arrival, Dr. O’Brien served as director of the Theodore Roosevelt Center in Dickinson, North Dakota from July 2022 to September 2024. In that time, he helped transition the operation to a new and expanded office complex, launched a Gallery space and research library, added additional staff, and began a fundraising campaign, among other initiatives.
For nearly 30 years immediately prior, he was a college professor specializing in modern US History, including more than 15 years at the University of Maine at Farmington. AT UMF, he chaired the history department and the Division of Social Sciences and Business and served as president of the faculty. He is the author of several articles and book chapters on Cold War American culture; has conducted grant supported research at the Hoover, Truman, Eisenhower and Kennedy presidential libraries; and was named a Linus Pauling Fellow at Oregon State University. For more than a decade, he served on the Maine Historical Records Advisory Board which seeks to preserve, catalog and digitize state and local history.
