John C. Hardin III is the Museum Division Director at the Alabama Department of Archives and History, located across Washington Avenue from the State Capitol. He is a native of Moulton in Lawrence County, Alabama, and a 1993 graduate of Auburn University, where he majored in history. He later earned a Ph.D. in history from Auburn, writing his dissertation on the longtime editor of a weekly church newspaper in Nashville called the Gospel Advocate. His wife, Amie, is from Jasper, Alabama, and they have two grown daughters. Hardin has worked for the State Archives since 1999, where he has held several roles, beginning as a reference archivist assisting patrons in the ADAH research room. He has served in his current role since 2017, leading division staff members in a variety of professional work revolving around historical collections, museum exhibits, school tours, teacher training, and service to small museums in Alabama.