In July 2019, I became the director of the George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center at the Pennsylvania State University, taking the helm from the first and only former head, William Blair. You can read about this transition here.

Established in 1998, the Richards Center is an initiative of the Department of History and the College of the Liberal Arts at Penn State University. The Center is a scholarly home dedicated to the idea that the Civil War was fundamentally a struggle over the intersections of race, slavery, and democracy. Embracing an expansive view of this crucial struggle in American history that encompasses the earliest histories of slavery to the modern struggle for civil rights, the Center has become a national leader in shaping academic and public understandings of the war, from its causes and conduct to its long-enduring consequences. Recognizing that this is a collective endeavor, the Center’s programming features pre- and post-doctoral fellowships, including one in partnership with the Africana Research Center; undergraduate internships at Civil War battlefields; a public lecture and book series with University of North Carolina Press; the premier journal in the field, the Journal of the Civil War Era; and resources for faculty and graduate students. 

As Director, I oversee several scholarly lectures and workshops, including serving as the series editor for the Steven and Janice Brose Lectures in the Civil War Era at University of North Carolina Press.

For more information about the Center or to become a member, visit our home page.