POUGHKEEPSIE (September 12, 2014) –  As one of a small group of historical advisers for the latest project from acclaimed film maker Ken Burns film, “The Roosevelts: An Intimate History,” Associate Professor of History and Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow Dr. David Woolner spent a week at Burns’ studio in Walpole, N.H. 

There, he reviewed an early version of the documentary, read the script, and discussed various recommended changes with Burns and the film’s writer, Geoffrey C. Ward.

The seven-part, fourteen-hour film chronicles the lives of Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, three members of the most prominent and influential family in American politics, premieres on PBS this Sunday, Sept. 14.

Dr. David Woolner (left) and film maker Ken Burns discuss child poverty and the role of government at a special screening of "The Roosevelts" at the recent symposium “Inequality Begins at Birth: Child Poverty in America,” sponsored by the Century Foundation, the Roosevelt Institute and the Academic Pediatric Association, in Washington, D.C.

A Roosevelt scholar with more than fifteen years experience interpreting the Roosevelt legacy, first as the Roosevelt Institute's Executive Director and now as Senior Fellow and Resident Historian, Woolner has been interviewed by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, among other national publications, and has appeared on CNN, C-SPAN, and elsewhere to discuss FDR, his legacy, and the modern presidency.

"The Roosevelts: An Intimate History" premiers Sunday, Sept. 14 at 8 p.m. EDT on PBS.

Check local listings for the channel.

“'The Roosevelts' brings to life the dramatic and little-understood relationship between Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt," Woolner says. "There has been a great deal written about each of the Roosevelts individually, but thanks to Burns artistry—and the superb writing of Geoffrey Ward—we gain a much more profound understanding, not only of these three towering figures of the 20th century, but also of the times in which they lived and the legacy they bequeathed to America and the World. This is an outstanding film, and it was a real honor and a pleasure to serve as one of the historical advisers.”

The documentary also features many scenes and artifacts from the FDR Presidential Library and Museum, an institution with which Marist has enjoyed a long standing relationship. As one of just a handful of colleges and universities affiliated with a presidential library, Marist hosts the archives of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, including FRANKLIN, a virtual research room and digital repository that provides free and open access to the digitized collections of the Roosevelt Library—to everyone, anywhere in the world. FDR Library and Museum Director Lynn Bassanese is an alumna of Marist College.