Warner, Robert Mark, 1927-

Archivist, historian and professor, Robert Mark Warner was born on June 28, 1927 in Montrose, Colorado, son of Mark Thomas and Bertha Margaret (Rich) Warner. Warner completed his undergraduate work in history at Muskingum College in 1949. It was here he met Eleanor Jane Bullock, whom he married in 1954. After a year as a high school teacher of history and speech in Montrose, he was drafted into the U.S. Army where he served in Germany, from 1950 to 1952, during the Korean War. Upon his return, Warner continued his education at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he earned an M.A. (1953) and a Ph.D. (1958) in history. Warner's studies concentrated on "recent" history (then defined as 1876 to the 1950s). After completing his doctoral degree, Warner joined the faculty of the history department of the University of Michigan where he taught Michigan history. In 1974, he was invited by Dean Russell Bidlack to join the faculty of the University of Michigan School of Library Science and inaugurate the archival studies program.

Warner's association with archives began during his early years as a graduate student, when he used the University of Michigan's Michigan Historical Collections (MHC) to do research. When a position as a research assistant in the Collections became available, Warner took his first step down a completely different road than he had imagined his career would take. During his years at the MHC, he was active in several professional archival organizations, including the International Council on Archives (ICA) and the Society of American Archivists (SAA). Warner was particularly active in SAA, where he served on the Council, as secretary, director, vice president and president, as well as many committees. By 1966, Warner had become director of the MHC (now known as the Bentley Historical Library), a position which he held until his appointment as Archivist of the United States in 1980.

When Warner arrived at the National Archives and Records Services (NARS) in July of 1980, the organization had been without leadership for nearly a year, since the resignation of his predecessor James B. (Bert) Rhoads in 1979. Warner described the atmosphere which greeted him as one of demoralization and high tension. Friction had developed between NARS and its parent organization, the General Services Administration (GSA), over perceived interference and inappropriate intervention of GSA in archival matters. GSA Administrator Admiral Roland G. Freeman's plan to relocate federal records to regional Federal Records Centers around the country caused an uproar in NARS and among scholars and archival and historical organizations around the country. NARS also faced an investigation by Congress and the Executive Branch over preservation activities and suffered from management problems.

Warner's major accomplishment as Archivist of the U. S. was to secure the independence of the National Archives from GSA. While the National Archives had originally been created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as an independent agency in 1934, by the 1950s it had been become a subdivision of the GSA. As early as 1968, a movement to free NARS from the GSA had been launched, but quickly foundered. Bills were introduced in the Senate in 1980 and 1981, but failed to come to a vote. In 1982, the Smithsonian Study came out, recommending autonomy, but was rejected by GSA Administrator Gerald Carmen. By 1983 it had become clear to Warner that NARS could no longer remain a captive of GSA if it was to be an effective organization. With the support of Senator Mark Hatfield of Oregon and several other key figures in Washington, the National Archives and Administration Act of 1983 was introduced in the Senate on March 23, 1983 (S. 905). In September, the bill was introduced in the House as H.R. 3987. As the bill made its way through congress, Warner worked behind the scenes, generating support and attention from such organizations as SAA, the American Historical Association and such figures as Barbara Tuchman, Alex Haley and Ed Meese. In June of 1984, the Senate passed the bill, followed by the House in August. After going to conference, the revised bill was passed by the Senate and the House on October 3 and 4, 1984, respectively. President Ronald Reagan signed the Act on October 19, 1984, creating the independent National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), effective April 1, 1985.

Other highlights of Warner's years at NARS included the completion of a twenty-year preservation plan in 1984, the creation of a technology assessment division, the completion of the appraisal and retention plan for FBI records in 1981, controversy over the Richard Nixon Presidential papers, as well as the founding of the Carter Library and planning of the Ronald Reagan Library.

By the end of 1984, Warner had decided to resign his position as Archivist of the U. S. in order to return to the University of Michigan, where he would become Dean of the School of Information and Library Studies (SILS). Warner stayed on at NARS until April 1985, after which he took up his new position at the University of Michigan. From 1988 to 1991, Warner also served as acting director of the University of Michigan Library. He retired from the deanship in 1992, and was succeeded by Daniel Atkins.

Warner spent one year teaching at the School of Library and Information Science at UCLA. He was also involved with the National Library of Education Task Force and actively served on the University of Michigan History and Traditions Committee.

From the guide to the Robert M. Warner papers, 1958-1992, 1980-1992, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)