A historian has joined the 16-member board of trustees of the Alf Engen Ski Museum. He is Dr. Todd Samuelson, Assistant Director for Special Collections at the University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library.  The Special Collections include the Utah Ski and Snowsport Archives, the largest collection of skiing history in the country.  

The announcement of the new trustee was made by Ron Steele, chairman of the museum board which oversees the operation of both the Engen ski museum and the George S. and Delores Doré Eccles Olympic Winter Games of 2002 Museum, both housed in the S. J. (Joe) Quinney Winter Sports Center.  

Samuelson noted that “the Engen museum and the university library have a long and productive history of collecting and promoting history of ski, snow sports and outdoor recreation in Utah and the region.   

“I look forward to participating in this dynamic work as well as preparing for new opportunities to share the culture and impact of the industry through what promises to be a dynamic decade for winter sports in Utah.” 

Steele said Samuelson will fortify the museum’s unique association with the library.  

That relationship was formed when the museum opened in 2002, due to the efforts of Dr. Greg Thompson, who was director of Special Collections at the library until his retirement in 2022.  A founding and current board member of the museum, Thompson was co-founder of the Ski Archives in 1989.  

The museum-library relationship finds the museum preserving and exhibiting three-dimensional materials of historical significance (skis, trophies, etc.) while the library preserves and makes available to the public and researchers fileable materials such as manuscripts, film, video, oral histories, and photos.