University of Richmond Historian Edward L. Ayers Awarded Fellowship for Innovative Digital Humanities Work
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND — Edward L. Ayers, president emeritus and professor of humanities at the University of Richmond, has been named the 2026 Fritz and Claudine Kundrun Fellow by the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies.
The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, who owns and operates Monticello and the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies, awards the nine-month Kundrun Fellowship to exceptional public scholars who will research and write on topics related to Thomas Jefferson, his times, and legacy.
During the fellowship, Ayers plans to advance University of Richmond’s digital history projects New American History and Bunk, and will amplify efforts across Virginia to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary.
“New American History and Bunk are projects dedicated to deepening students’ awareness of the American past using digital tools and resources. I look forward to my time as a Kundrun Fellow, cultivating these projects in new ways during an especially significant time of remembrance as we approach the 250th anniversary of the United States,” said Ayers.
“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. “As Monticello’s 2025–26 Fritz and Claudine Kundrun Fellow during the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding, Ayers will make yet another significant contribution to our knowledge of American history.”
Among his many accomplishments, Ayers was named National Professor of the Year, received the National Humanities Medal, won the Bancroft, Beveridge, and Lincoln prizes in American history, and served as president of the Organization of American Historians.
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