Writer and television host Hugh Hewitt was named the next president and CEO of the Richard Nixon Foundation Monday, 40 years after Nixon hired him to develop the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda — a project that took another 10 years.
Hewitt, 63, is a law professor at Chapman University School of Law in Orange. He’s written several books, currently hosts a radio show on Salem Radio Network, and has been a familiar host and commentator on televised political coverage since the 1980s.
“Hugh Hewitt led the Nixon Foundation nearly 30 years ago, and now he’s coming home,” Foundation Chairman Dr. James H. Cavanaugh said.
“The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum recently underwent a complete renovation, and the new, interactive museum galleries enjoy increased attendance and positive reviews,” Cavanaugh said. “Hugh will lead the Nixon Foundation in its exciting next phase of growth, expanding its presence through national programming with an emphasis on articulating the Nixon legacy of pragmatic realism in domestic and foreign affairs.”
“I am honored to be invited back to serve the legacy of President Nixon,” said Hewitt, who called the nation’s 37th president “a grand strategist and master diplomat” whose “vision is exactly what is needed today as America faces challenges and opportunities with China, North Korea, Russia, throughout the Middle East and elsewhere.”
“We are delighted to welcome Hugh home to Yorba Linda,” Nixon’s daughters Tricia Nixon Cox and Julie Nixon Eisenhower wrote in a joint statement. “… We are most excited about the emphasis that Hugh, as President of the Nixon Foundation, will place on education and scholarship: creating a national programming presence for the Nixon Foundation, and building closer cooperative relationships to continue to positively shape our father’s legacy.”
Hewitt replaces William H. Baribault, who led the Foundation since 2014, effective July 1, 2019. He will continue to host The Hugh Hewitt Show, his weekday morning radio show on the Salem Radio Network.