Former UVA Dean Ayers to serve fellowship at Monticello during America’s 250th

A former University of Virginia history professor who also served as president of the University of Richmond has been named to a key fellowship at a Monticello research organization.

Edward L. Ayers will serve as the 2026 Fritz and Claudine Kundrun Fellow at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies. The position lasts for nine months and will continue through the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson.

“Ed Ayers’ career is defined by scholarship in the public interest,” said Andrew M. Davenport, the Vice President for Research and Saunders Director of the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies (ICJS) at Monticello.

Ayers also served as also Dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at UVA.

The information release that announces Ayers’ appointment highlights two of his projects that are housed at the University of Richmond.

• New American History offers free resources to anyone who teaches history that are “intended to uncover new ways to teach the past in light of the present.” The website also includes the archive of the public radio program Backstory on which Ayers was a co-host.
• Bunk is a project named from a Henry Ford quote that seeks to present a connected set of accounts of history. “By highlighting some of the many points of connection between these overlapping stories and interpretations, we hope to create a fuller and more honest portrayal of our shared past.”

Ayers recently wrote an article for the New Republic on August 10, 2025 titled Trump’s Reckless Assault on Remembrance that offers insight into his perspectives on history. The essay critiques a presidential administration that has defunded the humanities.

“Documented history merges with local memory on historical signs that enliven roads, streets, and parks,” Ayers writes. “The markers embrace an ever-broader and deeper understanding, telling stories long forgotten that deserve to be remembered wherever people might pause.”

As part of the fellowship, Ayers will continue to work on the two projects as well as working with state historical societies to commemorate the 250th anniversary.

If you’re interested in learning more about what’s happening in Virginia, check out the Virginia Museum of History and Culture.

“Our American experiment is unique in human history—a government of laws and not of individuals; a government by the people and for the people, founded on the self-evident truth that all are created equal and are endowed with the universal rights of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness,” reads that website. “In our first two and a half centuries, our nation, through the determination of its people, and with its unlimited capacity for reinvention and renewal, has progressed in its journey, working to fulfill by struggle and sacrifice the promise of our founding for all Americans.”

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