Edward L. Ayers

​Edward L. Ayers is a historian of the South and the Civil War era. He is the author of many award-winning books, including The Promise of the New South and The Thin Light of Freedom: The Civil War and Emancipation in the Heart of America, and directed the innovative digital history project, “The Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War.” Ayers is professor of history and president emeritus of the University of Richmond. He previously served as dean of arts and sciences at the University of Virginia.