Dr. Joe Gershtenson is a Colorado native, but the new director of Eastern Kentucky University's Center for Kentucky History and Politics has close family ties to Kentucky's rich history and politics.

His mother-in-law, Terry Green, is the former executive director of Henry Clay's Lexington estate, Ashland.

Gershtenson succeeds the Center's founding director, Dr. Paul Blanchard, who recently was named as the University's executive director for government relations.

"I respect what Dr. Blanchard has accomplished with the Center, and I hope to build on that success," Gershtenson said.

In addition to developing the annual series of public lectures and programs beginning in late September, the new director said he would like the Center to undertake more research projects involving undergraduate and graduate students and "build some bridges with K-12" with workshops that help teachers deliver lessons related to Kentucky history and politics.

"We want to help inform citizens about the politics and history of the state but the Center also has a service role in a broader perspective," he said. "We want to find out how citizens feel about the state and what we can do to get them more engaged."

Gershtenson, who also holds a tenure-track teaching position in the Department of Government, comes to EKU from East Carolina University, where he had taught the past two years. Previously, he taught at the University of Texas at Austin.

He earned a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University, a master's degree from the University of California at San Diego and a doctoral degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

His wife, Jennifer Green, a Versailles native, teaches third grade at Model Laboratory School.

EKU established the Center for Kentucky History and Politics in 1999 to encourage and support significant research and scholarly writing on the history and politics of the Commonwealth and to engage citizens in meaningful discussions about the results of that research.

For more information about the Center, call 859-622-2606.