2023 CoSA Awards Program Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient
The Lifetime Achievement Award was created by the CoSA Awards Committee this year to recognize a peer who has performed dedicated service to CoSA and, in so doing, elevated the work and the voice of state and territorial archives. The recipient will be nominated by and chosen at the discretion of the committee, and may not be given every year.
The recipient of the inaugural CoSA Lifetime Achievement Award 2023 is Thomas J. Ruller, Retired New York State Archivist and former CoSA President.
Tom is a vocal and passionate voice for the important work of state and territorial archives. While on the CoSA Board, Tom bridged conversations with various allied stakeholders about the potential and the challenges of these government agencies. Each state and territorial archives operates under a legal mandate to document the actions of government by preserving essential records and making them publicly available. Tom understands the breadth of this mandate and the magnitude of the responsibility required to carry it out.
With a BA in History and a Masters in Library Science from the University at Albany, Tom came to the New York State Archives after a brief stint at the Alabama Department of Archives and History. For 35 years, he held roles in both the New York State Archives and the Office of Cultural Education, managing and coordinating IT and information management initiatives, and serving as the archives’ Director of Operations and Assistant Commissioner and State Archivist.
We all have an advocate for our work in Tom Ruller. And for that we are very grateful.
The Council of State Archivists (CoSA) Awards Program acknowledges individuals, institutions, and programs that enrich and strengthen our nation's state and territorial archives. The Awards Program rewards innovative efforts and provides encouragement for the development of new and remarkable projects. By recognizing exemplary achievements, CoSA hopes to inspire others to make similar contributions to the field of government archives. The awards will be presented at the CoSA annual meeting in Washington, DC this July. The program is made possible with generous support from FamilySearch.