Betty Koed

Betty K. Koed is an American historian who was the third Historian of the United States Senate and the first woman to hold that position.^[1] Upon her retirement, the US Senate designated her as Historian Emerita of the United States Senate.^[2]

Betty Koed
3rd Historian of the United States Senate
In office June 1, 2015 – October 2023
Preceded by	Donald A. Ritchie
Succeeded by	Katherine A. Scott
Personal details
Education	Santa Barbara City College University of California, Santa Barbara (BA, MA, PhD)

Koed graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1983 and received a bachelor's in English. She went on to earn her master's and PhD in history, also from University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1991 and 1999 respectively, after beginning her career as a technical writer.^[3][4][5] While pursuing her PhD, Koed studied with Otis L. Graham Jr. and Robert Kelley at the University of California, Santa Barbara.^[6]

She later went on to teach American History at the University of California, Santa Barbara before joining the Senate Historical Office in 1998.^[3]

Koed won the Distinguished Alumni Award from UC Santa Barbara in 2016.^[7]

In 2022, Koed authored the book Scenes: People, places, and events that shaped the United States Senate, which "presents a collection of 150 scenes from Senate history."^[8]