The University of Mary Washington’s Great Lives lecture series announces the addition of Scott Harris ’83 to its team. As executive director of UMW Museums, Harris joins Great Lives founder and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History William Crawley as co-director of the hugely popular biography series, which returned for its 21st season in January.
Great Lives lectures are held Tuesdays and Thursdays through the end of March 2024. All are open to the public free of charge and begin at 7:30 p.m. in George Washington Hall’s Dodd Auditorium.
Harris is well known in the Fredericksburg area for his extensive involvement in historic preservation, having earned his bachelor’s degree with honors in history and historic preservation from Mary Washington. He has been employed at UMW since 2011 and has served in his current role since 2018, overseeing Gari Melchers Home and Studio at Belmont, the James Monroe Museum, and the Papers of James Monroe.
In addition, Harris is past president of the Virginia Association of Museums and is an editorial advisor and frequent contributor to the White House Historical Association’s journal, White House History Quarterly.
“I’m honored to work with Bill Crawley and the rest of the Great Lives team to bring such a distinguished lecture series to the public,” Harris said. “This year’s lineup is excellent, and we are looking forward to a terrific one in 2025.”
In his new position, Harris will collaborate with Crawley in presenting this season’s lectures, as well as assembling the schedule of topics and speakers for the coming year. According to Crawley, who has led the series since its inception in 2004, the co-directors will be working together to devise a programmatic structure that will enable the series to thrive in 2025 and beyond.
Great Lives began as an academic course offered by UMW’s Department of History and American Studies with a free public lecture series. A significant endowment by John Chappell, in honor of his late wife, Carmen Culpeper Chappell ’59, enabled the series to attract bestselling biographers who provide illuminating insight into the lives of the world’s most prominent personalities. More than 300 subjects have been featured over the last two decades.
In 2016, the program was renamed the William B. Crawley Great Lives Lecture Series. Numerous local organizations and corporations throughout the Fredericksburg area sponsor talks and support the series.
Lectures continue this month with World War II spymaster Wild Bill Donovan on Feb. 1 (rescheduled from Jan. 16), followed by George Washington on Feb. 6.
On Feb. 8, Kristen Green ’95 will share the story of Mary Lumpkin, an enslaved woman who turned a notorious slave jail into a school for Black men, the precursor to Virginia Union University, one of America’s first Historically Black Colleges and Universities. An award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author, Green penned Lumpkin’s biography, The Devil’s Half Acre.
Each lecture is recorded and will be available online shortly after the event.
A complete list of events, including dates, speakers, and sponsors, can be found at umw.edu/greatlives.
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