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 p.m. Program Registration Hotchkiss
5:30-6:30 p.m. Opening Reception Hotchkiss
7:00-8:10 p.m. Opening Dinner Science Addition Great Hall
8:15-9:00 p.m. Introduction of Topic and Ideas Elrod Commons

Friday, June 12, 2026

Time Event Location
9:10-10:10 a.m. Intro to America 250: Frederick Douglass Looking Back
Lucas Morel, John K. Boardman Jr. Professor of Politics		 Huntley 327
10:10-10:25 a.m. Discussion Huntley 327
10:25-10:45 a.m. Break Café 77
10:45-11:45 a.m. Reading: The Declaration
Cara Rogers Stevens, Associate Professor of History		 Huntley 327
11:45 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Discussion Huntley 327
12:00-1:00 p.m. Lunch Marketplace
1:00-2:00 p.m. Thomas Jefferson’s Manual of Parliamentary Practice: A Story About Books, Power, and America at 250
Brian Alexander, Associate Professor of Politics		 Huntley 327
2:00-2:15 p.m. Discussion Huntley 327
2:30-3:30 p.m. The Landsdowne Portrait and Other Founding Pieces
Meaghan Walsh, Curatorial Fellow American Art		 Watson Galleries
3:30-5:30 p.m. Break
5:30-6:30 p.m. Jefferson and the Fight Against Slavery
Cara Rogers Stevens, Associate Professor of History
Cosponsored with Rockbridge Historical Society		 Stackhouse Theater 
6:30-8:30 p.m. Reception and Dinner Watson Galleries/Science Addition Great Hall

Saturday, June 13, 2026

Time Event Location
9:10-10:10 a.m. Lecture on Legacy: Lincoln and the Founders
Lucas Morel, John K. Boardman Jr. Professor of Politics		 Huntley 327
10:10-10:25 a.m. Discussion Huntley 327
10:25-10:45 a.m. Break
(Group Photo)		 Café 77
10:45-11:45 a.m. The Imperial Crisis as Educational Conflict
Zachary Deibel, Assistant Professor of History		 Huntley 327
11:45 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Discussion Huntley 327
12:00-1:15 p.m. Lunch Science Addition Great Hall
1:15-1:45 p.m. Hometown Histories: American Commemorations in 1976 & 2026
Eric Wilson, Director, Rockbridge Historical Society		 Huntley 327
1:45-2:30 p.m. Lexington Revolutionary Walking Tour w/ Eric Wilson
2:45-4:00 p.m. Intellectual Warfare in the American Revolution
Zachary Deibel, Assistant Professor of History		 Huntley 327
6:00-6:45 p.m. Reception Moot Court Lobby
6:45-8:00 p.m. Dinner Village Pavilion
8:00-10:00 p.m. Films: Highlights from 1776 (dir. Peter H. Hunt);
Act I of the Broadway smash hit Hamilton (dir. Thomas Kail)
Cosponsored with Rockbridge Historical Society		 Stackhouse Theater

Sunday, June 14, 2026

Time Event Location
9:00-9:55 a.m. Religion in Early America
David Cox, Professor of History		 Huntley 327
10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Sunday Morning Worship Break
12:00-1:15 p.m. Lunch Marketplace
1:30-2:30 p.m. Phillis Wheatley Peters and the Beginning of American Literature
Michael Berlin, Visiting Assistant Professor of English		 Huntley 327
2:30-2:45 p.m. Discussion Huntley 327
2:45-3:45 p.m. Phillis Wheatley Peters’ Imagination
Michael Berlin, Visiting Assistant Professor of English		 Huntley 327
6:00-6:45 p.m. Reception Tucker 112
6:45-7:45 p.m. Dinner Science Addition Great Hall
8:00-10:00 p.m. Film: Act II of Hamilton (dir. Thomas Kail)
Cosponsored with Rockbridge Historical Society		 Stackhouse Theater

Monday, June 15, 2026

Time Event Location
9:00-10:10 a.m. The Idea of America
Lucas Morel, John K. Boardman Jr. Professor of Politics		 Huntley 327
10:10-10:30 a.m. Discussion Huntley 327
10:30-10:45 a.m. Break Café 77
10:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Institutional History and the Revolution
Matthew Davis, Director of Institutional History		 University Chapel
12:30-1:30 p.m. Lunch Science Addition Great Hall
1:15-2:15 p.m. Special Collections Founding Documents Leyburn Library
2:30-3:30 p.m. The Revolution of 1800: Who Won—Jefferson and Hamilton?
Brian Alexander, Associate Professor of Politics		 Huntley 327
3:30-3:45 p.m. Break Huntley Lobby
3:45-4:30 p.m. Faculty Panel Huntley 327
6:00-8:00 p.m. Reception and Dinner Belfield
8:00-9:00 p.m. Desserts and Coffee; Culmination Trivia Game Hillel House

Tuesday, June 16, 2026

Time Event Location
8:30-9:30 a.m. Breakfast and Wrap-up Marketplace
9:30-10:45 a.m. Bus Trip to Monticello
11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. 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
12:30-2:15 p.m. Exploration of Visitor’s Center Visitor’s Center
2:20, 2:25, 3:35 p.m. Tour Departures
3:35-5:00 p.m. Independent Tours/Exploration including Garden Tour, Slavery at Monticello Tour
5:00-5:30 p.m. Return to Visitor’s Center
5:30-6:15 p.m. Reception in the Courtyard Atrium
6:15-8:30 p.m. Dinner Woodland Pavilion
8:30 p.m. Bus Departure back to Lexington