Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
GIBSON, Michael D.
GIBSON, Michael D. (Pocatello, ID, September 22, 1947--). Archivist, local historian. B.A. (History) Idaho State University, M.A. (History) LORAS COLLEGE, graduate of the Modern Archives Institute, at The National Archives. Before coming to Dubuque, Gibson served as a Research Associate/Administrative Assistant to the Director of the State Historical Society of Iowa in Iowa City and as Book Review Editor for The Annals of Iowa. In 1983, he became the Director of the CENTER FOR DUBUQUE HISTORY/College Archivist at Loras College. He retired in 2020 after a 37-year career in what he terms “the best job in Dubuque.”
In addition to serving as the Director of the CDH, Mr. Gibson was highly involved in related activities. Beginning in 1989, he served on the governor-appointed Iowa Historical Records Advisory Board and on the Documentary Collections grant panel for the Historic Resource Development Program (HRDP). He served on state, county, and municipal boards and commissions including the Board of Directors of the State Historical Society, Dubuque County Historical Society Board of Directors, the Carnegie-Stout Public Library Board, Dubuque County Historic Preservation Commission, and the Friends of the Mines of Spain Board of Directors. At Loras College he served on the Loras Staff Organization, College Planning Council, Heritage, and Benefits Committees.
Also active in community theater, Gibson was a charter member of the American Association of Community Theater, Iowa Community Theater Association, Dubuque County Fine Arts Players, Grand Opera House and served as president of the Fly-By-Night Productions Board of Directors. He was also active in various professional affiliations including the Society of American Archivists (SAA), Midwest Archives Conference (MAC), Iowa Conference of Archivists of Catholic Institutions, Organization of American Historians (OAH), Western History Association (WHA), American Association of State and Local History (AASLH) and the Dubuque County/Key City Genealogical Society.
Gibson is co-author of A City at Work: Dubuque 1912, 2019; Mines of Spain: In Its Historical Context, 1985; contributing writer, Faith & Fortunes: An Encyclopedia of Dubuque County, 1998; and contributing writer for The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa, 2008. He has written articles for The Palimpsest, The Annals of Iowa, Julien’s Journal, and the Journal of Popular Culture. He was included in Who’s Who in the Midwest and won the Loren Horton Community History Award from the State Historical Society of Iowa for his role in producing a local history based multi-media educational kit. Designed for elementary children and a part of the Dubuque Community School’s third grade curriculum, the kit was entitled Dubuque’s Heritage: Life in Our Own Backyard. He received an award from the American Association of State & Local History for exemplary service to local history.
In 2020, Gibson received the William J. Petersen-Edgar B. Harlan Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor from the State Historical Society of Iowa, for his contributions to Iowa and local history. Two years later he was recipient of the Preservation of the Year Award for decades of leadership in historic preservation.
Gibson is married. His wife, Dr. Teresa Eckhart, is a retired physician and was the senior partner in Dubuque OB-GYN, PC. They are parents of four grown children, William, Wade, Dana, and Drew. Besides enjoying history, Gibson is a collector of books about his native state of Idaho, an amateur actor, a basketball fan, and an avid auto racing enthusiast and former stock car owner.
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Source:
Autobiographical information supplied by Michael Gibson