Summer College I: The Founding of an Independent Nation at 250 Schedule of Events

June 11-16, 2026

Washington and Lee University Alumni Engagement Lifelong Learning Campus Programs Summer College I: The Founding of an Independent Nation at 250 Summer College I: The Founding of an Independent Nation at 250 Schedule of Events
Lifelong Learning

Thursday, June 11, 2026

Time Event Location
3:00-5:00 pm Program Registration Hotchkiss
5:30-6:30 pm Opening Reception Hotchkiss
7:00-8:10 pm Opening Dinner Great Hall
8:15-9:00 pm Introduction of Topic and Ideas Amphitheater

Friday, June 12, 2026

Time Event Location
9:10-10:10 am Intro to America 250: The Founding
Lucas Morel, John K. Boardman Jr. Professor of Politics		 Huntley 221
10:10-10:25 am Discussion Huntley 221
10:25-10:45 am Break Café 77
10:45-11:45 am Reading: The Declaration
Cara Rogers Stevens, Associate Professor of History		 Huntley 221
11:45 am-12:00 pm Discussion Huntley 221
12:00-1:00 pm Lunch Marketplace
1:00-2:00 pm Jefferson’s Manual
Brian Alexander, Associate Professor of Politics		 Huntley 221
2:00-2:15 pm Discussion Huntley 221
2:30-3:30 pm The Landsdowne Portrait and Other Founding Pieces
Meaghan Walsh, Curatorial Fellow American Art		 Watson Galleries/Leyburn Library
3:30-5:30 pm Break
5:30-6:30 pm Jefferson and the Fight against Slavery
Cara Rogers Stevens, Associate Professor of History
Co-sponsored with Rockbridge Historical Society		 University Chapel
6:30-8:30 pm Reception and Dinner Watson Galleries/Great Hall

Saturday, June 13, 2026

Time Event Location
9:10-10:10 am Lecture on Legacy
Lucas Morel, John K. Boardman Jr. Professor of Politics		 Huntley 221
10:10-10:25 am Discussion Huntley 221
10:25-10:45 am Break (Group Photo) Café 77
10:45-11:45 am The Imperial Crisis as Educational Conflict
Zachary Deibel, Assistant Professor of History		 Huntley 221
11:45 am-12:00 pm Discussion Huntley 221
12:00-1:15 pm Lunch Great Hall
1:15-1:45 pm Hometown Histories: American Commemorations in 1976 & 2026
Eric Wilson, Director, Rockbridge Historical Society		 Huntley 221
1:45-2:30 pm Lexington Revolutionary Walking Tour w/ Eric Wilson
2:45-4:00 pm Intellectual Warfare in the American Revolution
Zachary Deibel, Assistant Professor of History		 Huntley 221
6:00-6:45 pm Reception Moot Court Lobby
6:45-8:00 pm Dinner Village Pavilion
8:00-10:00 pm Films: Highlights from 1776 (dir. Peter H. Hunt); A delightful musical that walked so Hamilton could run;
Act I of the Broadway smash hit Hamilton (dir. Thomas Kail)
Co-sponsored with Rockbridge Historical Society		 Moot Court Room

Sunday, June 14, 2026

Time Event Location
9:00-9:55 am Religion in Early America
David Cox, Professor of History		 Huntley 221
10:00 am-12:00 pm Sunday Morning Worship Break
12:00-1:15 pm Lunch Marketplace
1:30-2:30 pm Phillis Wheatley Peters and the Beginning of American Literature
Michael Berlin, Visiting Assistant Professor of English		 Huntley 221
2:30-2:45 pm Discussion Huntley 221
2:45-3:45 pm Phillis Wheatley Peters’ Imagination
Michael Berlin, Visiting Assistant Professor of English		 Huntley 221
6:00-6:45 pm Reception Tucker 112
6:45-7:45 pm Dinner Great Hall
8:00-10:00 pm Film: Act II of Hamilton (dir. Thomas Kail)
Co-sponsored with Rockbridge Historical Society		 Stackhouse Theater

Monday, June 15, 2026

Time Event Location
9:00-10:00 am Liberating Ideas
Lucas Morel, John K. Boardman Jr. Professor of Politics		 Huntley 221
10:10-10:30 am Discussion Huntley 221
10:30-10:45 am Break Café 77
10:45 am-12:30 pm Institutional History and the Revolution
Matthew Davis, Director of Institutional History		 University Chapel
12:30-1:30 pm Lunch Great Hall
1:15-2:15 pm Special Collections Founding Documents Leyburn Library
2:30-3:30 pm Lecture on Jefferson
Brian Alexander, Associate Professor of Politics		 Huntley 221
3:30-3:45 pm Break Huntley Lobby
3:45-4:30 pm Faculty Panel Huntley 221
6:00-8:00 pm Reception and Dinner Belfield
8:00-9:00 pm Desserts and Coffee; Culmination Trivia Game Hillel

Tuesday, June 16, 2026

Time Event Location
8:30-9:30 am Breakfast and Wrap-up Marketplace
9:30-10:45 am Bus Trip to Monticello
11:00 am-12:15 pm The Revolutionary War and the Homefront
Lauren Duval, Fellow, UVA Karsh Institute of Democracy,
Assistant Professor of History, University of Oklahoma		 Visitor’s Center Classroom
12:30-1:15 pm Exploration of Visitor’s Center Visitor’s Center
1:30-2:35 pm Tour Departures
2:35-5:00 pm Explore Mountain Top/Monticello Tours
5:00-5:30 pm Return to Visitor’s Center
5:30-6:15 pm Reception in the Courtyard Atrium
6:15-8:30 pm Dinner Woodland Pavilion
8:30 pm Bus Departure back to Lexington