Edward L. Ayers

Recently, he has chaired the National Endowment for the Humanities program that explored the preliminary emancipation proclamation. He also chaired the first Signature Conference of the Virginia Sesquicentennial Commemoration of the American Civil War Commission, and currently chairs the Steering Committee of The Future of Richmond's Past which sponsors Civil War and Emancipation Day and inclusive conversations to advance a better understanding of Richmond’s shared history. Ayers served as Senior Scholar for Making Sense of the American Civil War program sponsored nationally by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association’s Public Program Office.

Ayers is also one of the co-hosts of the nationally syndicated public radio program "BackStory," alongside Brian Balogh, Joanne B. Freeman, and N. D. B. Connolly. "BackStory" is broadcast on 36 stations around the country each week and has been downloaded more than 2.7 million times through podcasts. The program, which takes a topic from current headlines and examines it in historical context, began in 2008 and is supported in part by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Ayers is an advocate of digital history, having helped found both the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities and the Virginia Center for Digital History, having served as the latter's director until 2001. Ayers also oversaw the Valley of the Shadow project, which provides users with letters, diaries, and newspaper accounts of life in two communities, one Southern and one Northern, during the Civil War. He also serves on the editorial board of the Papers of Abraham Lincoln.

Prior to his appointment as President of the University of Richmond, he had been on the faculty of the University of Virginia since 1980, most recently as the Hugh P. Kelly Professor of History and the Buckner W. Clay Dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. In 2003, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching named Ayers National Professor of the Year.

Ayers received a Bachelor of Arts degree in American studies from the University of Tennessee in 1974. He then earned both a Master of Arts and a doctorate in American studies from Yale University. During his presidency he developed The Richmond Promise, a five-year strategic plan to guide University priorities. In addition to teaching a first-year seminar, Ayers serves as a senior research fellow with the University's Digital Scholarship Lab, which creates digital tools to reveal the patterns of American history.

Edward Lynn "Ed" Ayers (born January 22, 1953; Kingsport, Tennessee) is an American historian, professor, administrator, and ninth President of the University of Richmond, serving from 2007 to 2015. In July 2013, he was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama at a White House ceremony.