OAH Distinguished Lecturer Profile
Edward Ayers is Tucker-Boatwright Professor of the Humanities and president emeritus at the University of Richmond. He has received the Bancroft and Lincoln Prizes for his scholarship, been named National Professor of the Year, received the National Humanities Medal from President Obama at the White House, and is former president of the Organization of American Historians. Ayers is the founding board chair of the American Civil War Museum in Richmond and executive director of New American History, dedicated to making the nation’s history more visible and useful for a broad range of audiences. His latest book is Southern Journey: The Migrations of the American South, 1790-2020.
New American History brings together four innovations at the intersection of professional history and broader audiences: the curation of history every day in Bunk, the envisioning of history in a digital atlas in American Panorama, the pioneering and long-runnng podcast of BackStory, and inventive video documentary of the Future of America's Past. As executive director, Ayers will highlight the potential of each medium to reimagine the work history can do.
