Smithsonian Institution. Office of American Studies.

The Office of American Studies was created in 1970 to provide formal training in American material culture to students enrolled in graduate programs at various universities in the Washington, D.C., area and elsewhere. Wilcomb E. Washburn was Director, 1970-1992. The office was attached first to the Assistant Secretary for History and Art and then to the Assistant Secretary for Research from 1986 untill its 1992 closing. In addition to Washburn, the office was staffed by Harold K. Skramstad, a Specialist in American Studies, 1971-1972.