A Southern Illinois University Carbondale alumnus is the 10th Illinois state historian.
Trustees of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency appointed Samuel Wheeler on Tuesday.
Wheeler, an expert on the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln, will direct research and collections at the state historical library, which is part of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. He will also take the lead on education outreach programs through Illinois museums, library collections and historic sites throughout the state.
Wheeler earned his doctoral degree in history at SIU in 2008. He held positions on the College of Liberal Arts Council and the Graduate and Professional Student Council, and was president of the History Graduate Student Association. He worked as a teaching assistant during his doctoral studies, and as a lecturer at SIU from 2007-2010.
