Our Next Speaker

Dr. Edward L. Ayers, Tucker-Boatwright; Professor of the Humanities and President Emeritus Univ of Richmond; “A New Way to Teach American History!”

Ayers was Asheville, North Carolina and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in American studies from the University of Tennessee in 1974, summa cum laude, and a doctorate in American studies from Yale University in 1980.

He taught at the University of Virginia from 1980 to 2007, where he became the Dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences from 2001 through 2007.

He was elected president of the University of Richmond in 2007. During his term, the university increased students of color from 11 percent to 28 percent, doubled the percentage of students receiving Pell Grants, covered the full cost of attendance for all Virginia students with family income below $60,000, and created the Richmond Guarantee, a paid summer fellowship for all undergraduate students.

Ayers completed his term as president in 2015, when he was named the Tucker-Boatwright Professor of the Humanities. In 2015, Ayers founded New American History, an initiative to enable engaged and innovative learning in history at all grade levels. It is based at the University of Richmond and funded through philanthropic support.

He is married to Abby Ayers and they have two grown children, Nathaniel and Hannah. They have homes in Richmond and Charlottesville.