E-mail this pageDavid Nicandri, Class of '70
A Life in Public History
"After graduation from Plattsburgh I attended the University of Idaho where I secured a Master's Degree in History. Indeed, Idaho had been recommended to me by one of my professors at Plattsburgh, David Glaser, who had secured his doctorate there. Though I toyed with the idea of pursuing an academic career in history, the field of public history was just beginning to emerge as a major option for history graduates. So I started as an intern at the State Capital Museum in Olympia in 1972 and slowly worked my way up through the field, becoming head of the Washington State Historical Society
in 1987.
"One aspect of historical administration that I have always appreciated is the large volume of people--students on field trips; scholars doing research; folks visiting museums and historic sites--that you can reach. Presently I am spending a lot of my time on the Lewis and Clark bicentennial.
"In fact, I'm hoping to put the finishing touches on a book about the Corps of Discovery later this year or early next, tentatively entitled: Lewis and Clark on the Snake and Columbia Rivers: An Environmental History.
"I tell people that I became the person I am as a result of my education at Plattsburgh. I benefitted from an absolutely outstanding faculty at Plattsburgh come to mind in particular. The intellectual environment was rigorous and provided me with a set of skills and outlooks that have lasted me a lifetime."