Press Release

NAVAL ACADEMY ANNOUNCES 32nd ANNUAL BANCROFT LECTURE

NOTE TO EDITORS AND REPORTERS: If you wish to cover Dr. Edward Ayers' lecture Oct. 3, please contact the USNA Public Affairs Office no later than noon, Oct. 3.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Renowned historian Professor Edward Ayers will speak at the Naval Academy's 32nd annual Bancroft Lecture Monday, Oct. 3 at 7:15 p.m. in Mahan Hall Auditorium. He will speak on “The Logic of Southern Secession.” The event is free of charge and open to the public.

Edward Ayers became president of the University of Richmond in 2007. There, he has overseen The Richmond Promise, an ambitious collaboration across the institution. His work has attracted record numbers of excellent applicants from around the nation and the world, inspired high levels of alumni involvement, initiated bold curricular innovation and strengthened ties between the university and the city of Richmond.

Ayers has been named Council for the Advancement and Support of Education National Professor of the Year and won the Bancroft Prize for distinguished writing in American history for his book, “Presence of Mine Enemies: The Civil War in the Heart of America, 1859-1863” and was a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist for his book, “The Promise of the New South.”. He maintains an active scholarly career, teaching first-year students at UR, speaking widely, collaborating with the University's Digital Scholarship Lab and co-hosting a nationally syndicated radio show, BackStory.

A fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, Ayers serves on the boards of the American Council for Education, the National Humanities Center, and a range of historical and community organizations in Richmond.

The Bancroft Lecture series was established by the academy’s history department to honor the founder of the academy, George Bancroft. Held in early October each year, the Bancroft Lecture series celebrates the anniversary of Bancroft's birth (Oct. 3, 1800) and the anniversary of the founding of the academy (Oct. 10, 1845).

The inaugural Bancroft Lecture was delivered in 1980 and is supported by private gift funds donated through the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation. Since then, the Bancroft Lecture series has brought eminent historians to speak to a mixed audience of midshipmen, faculty, and the Annapolis community about their research and the relevance of the historian's craft to today's world.

Visitors may walk through Gate 1 (King George Street) or Gate 8 (Md. Route 450) and will be required to show a valid picture ID. Vehicles without Department of Defense decals are not permitted on the Naval Academy grounds. Gate 3 will close to pedestrians at 7 p.m. Handicapped visitors with proper decals may be issued a pass from security personnel at Gate 1. All bags are subject to search.