Agency overview | |
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Formed | 1971 |
Jurisdiction | State of North Carolina |
Headquarters | 109 East Jones Street MSC 4601 Raleigh, NC 27699-4601 |
Agency executive |
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Website | www |
The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources is a cabinet-level department within the state government of North Carolina dedicated to overseeing projects in the arts, culture, and history within the borders of the state. The current Secretary of Natural and Cultural Resources, the cabinet-level officer who oversees the department, is D. Reid Wilson. Wilson has been in office since January 2021 and was immediately preceded by Susi Hamilton, who served as secretary from 2017 to 2020 [1] [2]
The department was founded as the North Carolina Department of Art, Culture, and History. Its first secretary was Sam Ragan, poet and arts advocate who later became North Carolina Poet Laureate. [3] It was renamed to Department of Cultural Resources in 1973. [4] In 1973, Grace Rohrer succeeded Ragan, becoming the first woman to hold a cabinet-level office in North Carolina. [5]
Many of the offices and divisions of the department were founded as separate institutions, such as the State Library of North Carolina, founded in 1812, the North Carolina Museum of History, founded in 1902, and the North Carolina Symphony, founded in 1943. These organizations either remained independent or were gradually combined under the Office of Archives and History until 1971, when the Department of Cultural Resources became the first cabinet-level office of any state in the United States to deal solely with history, the arts, and cultural knowledge. [6] [7]
On September 18, 2015, the Department of Cultural Resources was renamed the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. The name change came with a transfer of several divisions to the department, including North Carolina's state parks, aquariums, zoological park, museum of natural sciences, the Clean Water Trust Fund and the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program. [8]
The Department of Natural and Cultural Resources supervises and cares for a large number of historic sites, documents, pieces of art, and other items and places of cultural value for the state. The State Archives, for instance, contain over 100 million historic documents, including North Carolina's copy of the United States Bill of Rights and the original 1663 charter for the colony as granted by Charles II of England. Perhaps the most prominent building supervised by the department is the North Carolina State Capitol, an 1840 Greek Revival building that contains a substantial number of historic artifacts, furniture, and monuments related to the history of North Carolina. The North Carolina General Assembly's appropriation in 1947 of $1 million for the purchase of artworks and sculpture to be housed in the Museum of Art made it the first state in the nation to use public funds for the purpose of building a state art collection [4]
The department is organized in the following manner (all divisions located in Raleigh unless otherwise noted): [9] [10]
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The Department of Natural and Cultural Resources also oversees the North Carolina Award. [11] [12]
The North Carolina Secretary of State is an elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of North Carolina, and is fourth in the line of succession to the office of Governor of North Carolina. The secretary maintains the official journal of the North Carolina General Assembly and is responsible for overseeing land records, chartering corporations, and administering some commercial regulations. The incumbent is Elaine Marshall, a Democrat and the first woman elected to the office.
Samuel Talmadge Ragan was an American journalist, author, poet, and arts advocate from North Carolina.
The North Carolina Cabinet is the group of unelected heads of the executive departments of the Government of North Carolina. It is separate and distinct from the North Carolina Council of State, the members of which are elected statewide, and which makes up the rest of the executive leadership of the government. All cabinet secretaries are appointed by the governor.
Barton College is a private college in Wilson, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Christian Church.
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (NCMNS) is a museum in Raleigh, North Carolina. The museum is the oldest in the state.
The State Library of North Carolina is an institution which serves North Carolina libraries, state government employees, genealogists, and the citizens of North Carolina. The library is the main depository for North Carolina state publications and serves the needs of North Carolina government agencies and state government employees by providing access to information resources that are vital to public decision-making and economic development.
The New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs is a state agency of the New Mexico government. Created as the Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA) in 1980, the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs was elevated to a state Cabinet-level agency in 2004. The department oversees the state museum, monument, art, library, heritage preservation, and archaeology programs.
The Sam Ragan Awards are an annual fine arts award presented by St. Andrews University in Laurinburg, North Carolina. The award honors Sam Ragan who was a North Carolina Poet Laureate and North Carolina's first Secretary of Cultural Resources. It is presented annually for "outstanding contributions to the Fine Arts of North Carolina over an extended period--including, but above and beyond--the recipient's own primary commitment."
The North Carolina Arts Council is an organization in the U.S. state of North Carolina that provides grants to artists, musicians and arts organizations. The group's mission is "arts for all people." It was founded by executive order in 1964 by Governor Terry Sanford, and it became a statutory state agency on April 11, 1967. It is an agency of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, which is the United States' first cabinet-level state agency for the arts, history and libraries. It operates from headquarters in Raleigh.
The North Carolina Poet Laureate is the poet laureate for the US state of North Carolina. At first a life appointment, the term of office is now two years. The program is run by the North Carolina Arts Council. Laureates are appointed by the Governor of North Carolina.
Kathryn Stripling Byer, also called Kay Byer, was an American poet and teacher. She was named by Governor Mike Easley as the fifth North Carolina Poet Laureate from 2005 to 2009. She was the first woman to hold the position.
Joseph Bathanti is an American poet, novelist and professor. He was named by Governor Bev Perdue as the seventh North Carolina Poet Laureate, 2012–2014.
The executive branch of the government of Puerto Rico is responsible for executing the laws of Puerto Rico, as well as causing them to be executed. Article IV of the Constitution of Puerto Rico vests the executive power on the Governor—whom by its nature forms the executive branch.
Grace Rohrer, was an American educator, arts and women's rights activist, and politician who served as the first woman to hold a state cabinet-level position in North Carolina when she was appointed Secretary of Cultural Resources by Governor James Holshouser from 1973 to 1977. A Republican, she also served as Secretary of Administration under James G. Martin from 1985 to 1987.
Susan Wear Kluttz is a former Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and was formerly the longest-serving mayor of Salisbury, North Carolina.
The State Archives of North Carolina, officially the North Carolina Division of Archives and Records, is a division of North Carolina state government responsible for collecting, preserving, and providing public access to historically significant archival materials relating to North Carolina, and responsible for providing guidance on the preservation and management of public government records to state, county, city and state university officials. First founded as the North Carolina Historical Commission in 1903, the State Archives has undergone multiple changes in organization, title, and relation to other state agencies. Since May 2012, it has been known as the Division of Archives and Records within the North Carolina Department of Natural & Cultural Resources' Office of Archives and History.
Shelby Stephenson is an American poet. On December 22, 2014, he was named by Governor Pat McCrory as the ninth North Carolina Poet Laureate, a position he held from 2014 to 2016.
The literature of North Carolina, USA, includes fiction, poetry, and varieties of nonfiction. Representative authors include playwright Paul Green, short-story writer O. Henry, and novelist Thomas Wolfe.
The North Carolina Department of Revenue was created in 1921 by the North Carolina General Assembly. The department is headed by a Secretary that is appointed by the Governor. The secretary is a member of the North Carolina Cabinet. Currently, the department is responsible for administering the collection of the North Carolina state income tax, gasoline tax, sales tax, beverage tax, and inheritance tax.
Jeanelle Coulter Moore was an American schoolteacher, patron of the arts, and civic leader who, as the wife of Governor Dan K. Moore, served as the First Lady of North Carolina from 1965 to 1969. She was the first wife of a governor in North Carolina to have a full-time secretary and maintain her own office in the North Carolina Executive Mansion, and she served as president of the Sir Walter Cabinet while her husband was in office. She was responsible for the creation of the Executive Mansion Fine Arts Committee within the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, which provides funding to restore and decorate the official residence, and established a chapel at the Raleigh Correctional Center for Women. Prior to her time as first lady, Moore served as a board member of the North Carolina Fund and of the North Carolina School of the Arts, having been appointed by Governor Terry Sanford. In 1980 she received the North Carolina Award for Public service.