2026 Virginia Conference on Introductory History Courses

The American Historical Association will hold the Virginia Conference on Introductory History Courses on Friday, August 28 and Saturday, August 29, 2026, at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture (VMHC) in Richmond. With support from New American History and Bunk History at the University of Richmond, VMHC, and other partners, this two-day, regional conference facilitates conversations among educators who teach introductory history courses, whether in secondary schools, community colleges, or four-year universities.

Conference Features

• Leading Historians and History Educators
  Attend presentations and workshops led by accomplished historians and innovative history educators from across the region.

• State of History Education in Virginia
  Explore current developments in state education policy with implications for K–12 public schools and higher education.

• Teaching with Primary Sources
  Discover classroom-ready materials from the Library of Congress and organizations in the Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) Consortium.

• Funding Opportunities
  Learn about regional grant opportunities available through the Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) Mid-Atlantic and US Territories Region at the AHA and discuss potential project ideas with program staff.

•  Share Resources and Ideas
  Join conversations with instructors teaching introductory US and world history across the region, and exchange resources and effective teaching strategies.

• Supporting Student Success
  Explore approaches for helping students navigate the transition from high school to college-level history courses and expectations.

Free parking will be available onsite for attendees, with validation from the Museum.

The current draft of the conference program is listed below or available as a PDF here. The details may change; a final version of the program will be available at the conference.

All sessions will be held in the Robins Family Forum unless otherwise noted

Friday, August 28

8:15–9:00            Registration and Coffee

9:00–9:15           Welcome

Michael Plumb, Virginia Museum of History & Culture
Julia Brookins, AHA
Ed Ayers, Univ. of Richmond

9:15–10:30    Plenary: America 250 Is Just the Beginning

Moderator: Ed Ayers, New American History, Univ. of Richmond
Kelley Fanto Deetz, James Madison’s Montpelier
Joe Schmidt, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; President, National Council for the Social Studies
Christy S. Coleman, Jamestown Yorktown Foundation

10:30–10:45       Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Regional Program (Whitney Barringer, AHA)

10:45–10:55       Transition to breakout rooms

10:55–11:45       Breakout #1 Sessions

1. Developing General Education Programs Through the Lens of Change, Belonging, and Identity, Part 1 (Cassandra Newby Alexander, Norfolk State Univ.), Lacy Meeting Room
2. The Many Wars of Independence: Approaches to Teaching the American Revolution with Primary Sources (Nathan Sleeter, Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, George Mason Univ.), Reynolds Leadership Center
3. America 250 Is Just the Beginning (Annie Evans, New American History, Melanie Holland, Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Kyle Stetz, James Madison’s Montpelier, and Sam Florer, Virginia Museum of History and Culture), Byrd Meeting Room
4. TPS/Scaling Inquiry Statewide: A K-12 Collaborative Social Studies Model (Vicki Hobson, Longwood University, VSSLC, Danyael Graham, Loudoun County Public Schools, VSSLC, Neeley Minton, Albemarle County Public Schools, VSSLC, Beau Dickinson, Rockingham County Public Schools, VSSLC, and Eric Duchaj, Falls Church City Public Schools, VSSLC), Cullen Meeting Room

11:45–12:00       Break

12:00–12:50   Breakout #2 Sessions

1. Developing General Education Programs Through the Lens of Change, Belonging, and Identity, Part 2 (Cassandra Newby Alexander, Norfolk State Univ.), Lacy Meeting Room
2. Dual and Concurrent Enrollment History Courses (Michelle Lukacs, Annandale High School, Fairfax County Public Schools), Cullen Classroom
3. Digging into the Data on Student Success in Intro History Courses (Andrew Koch, John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Higher Education), Byrd Meeting Room
4. Founders, not Footnotes: Expanding US History for a More Representative Story (Emily Krichbaum, National Women’s History Museum). Reynolds Leadership Center

12:50–2:20          Lunch (and Exhibits), Halsey Family Hall

2:20–3:20            Plenary: History and Dual Enrollment:  Mapping the Landscape

Moderator: Ed Ayers, Univ. of Richmond
Andrew Koch, Gardner Institute
Laura DaVinci, Every Learner Everywhere
Akilah Martin, Gardner Institute
Kate McConnell, Association of American Colleges and Universities
Micol Hutchison, Virginia’s Community College System

3:20–3:30           Transition to breakout rooms

3:30–4:15            Breakout #3 Sessions

1. Using Digital Humanities and Open Educational Resources in Intro Courses (Robert Nelson, Julian Hayter, Riley Champine, and Annie Evans, of Richmond; and Warren Hofstra, Shenandoah Univ.), Byrd Meeting Room
2. Building Media Literacy Confidence in a Complex Information Landscape (Sam Futrell, of William and Mary, Lily PD, and Ali Blankenship, Coll. of William and Mary, Lily PD), Reynolds Leadership Center
3. Digging Into the Humanities: Discussion on Making Virtual Archaeology Lessons for Virginia Classrooms (Rachel Alwine, Fairfield Foundation), Lacy Meeting Room
4. Measuring the Value of History to a Well-Rounded K-16 Education: ROI and Workforce Readiness (Julia Brookins, AHA), Cullen Meeting Room

Saturday, August 29

8:30–9:00            Registration and Coffee

9:00–9:20            Recap and preview

9:20–10:20         Plenary: The Civic Value of History Courses

Moderator: Julia Brookins, AHA
Ian McNeely, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Christina Ross, iCivics
Meg Heubeck, Univ. of Virginia Center for Politics
Shannon Salter, Educating for American Democracy, Allentown School District

10:20–10:40       Recent AHA activities

10:40–10:55       Transition to breakout rooms

10:55–11:45       Breakout #4 Sessions

1. Workshop: Teaching Historical Thinking Skills (Jennifer Hart, Virginia Tech), Lacy Meeting Room
2. Is Women’s History a Divisive Concept? (Moderator: Catherine Flinn, New American History, Lauranett Lee, Richmond Hill, Katherine Perrotta, Mercer Univ., and Catherine Allgor, Liaison to the Advisory Council, Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum), Byrd Meeting Room
3. Foundations of Democracy: A New Core Course in North Carolina (Heather Ruth Lee, Univ. of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Antwain K. Hunter, of North Carolina Chapel Hill), Reynolds Leadership Center
4. Historical Thinking in the Age of AI: Inquiry, Evidence, and Feedback in Advanced U.S. History Courses (Amy Allen and David Hicks, Virginia Tech), Cullen Meeting Room

11:45–12:00       Break

12:00–12:50       Breakout #5 Sessions: Making History Indispensable

1. We Want More History – Exploring Opportunities for Public Engagement (Jennifer Mills, George Mason Univ.), Byrd Meeting Room
2. Indispensable History Education, K-12 (Annie Evans, of Richmond), Reynolds Leadership Center
3. Indispensable History in Higher Education (Rebecca Harris, Northern Virginia Comm. Coll., Nate Sleeter (George Mason Univ.), Lacy Meeting Room
4. TPS Project Workshop – How to Develop Your Project and Apply for Regional Grants (Whitney Barringer, AHA), Cullen Meeting Room

12:50–2:20          Lunch (and Exhibits), Halsey Family Hall

2:25–3:00            Closing Plenary: Setting an Agenda for Introductory History Courses, Halsey Family Hall

Recommended Conference Pre-Readings

• Julia Brookins and Laura Ansley, eds., Designing Introductory History Courses for Student Success (AHA, 2024).
• AHA Tuning project, History Discipline Core statement (rev. Dec. 2016).
• History’s “Essential Concepts and Competencies,” from the Social Science Research Council’s Measuring College Learning project (2016). pdf
• Virginia 2023 Standards of Learning for History and Social Science: web; pdf
• AHA, American Lesson Plan: Teaching US History in Secondary Schools (2024).
• Andrew K. Koch, “Many Thousands Failed: A Wakeup Call to History Educators,” Perspectives on History, May 2017.
• Caleb Wood Richardson, “Turning Inquiry into Action: Using Communities of Practice to Build Better Introductory History Courses,” Perspectives on History, December 2020.
• Steven Mintz, “Reimagining the History Survey Course,” AHA Today, April 23, 2018.
• Paulina L. Alberto and Farina Mir, “History 101: What It Is and Why We Need It Now,” Perspectives on History, April 2018.
• Ryan Quinn, “How GOP State Lawmakers Are Reshaping General Education,” Inside Higher Ed, June 16, 2026.

Featured Speakers

Edward Ayers has been named National Professor of the Year, received the National Humanities Medal from President Obama at the White House, won the Bancroft, Beveridge, and Lincoln prizes in American history, served as president of the Organization of American Historians, and is president emeritus of the University of Richmond. He has written nine books on the history of the United States. Today, he is executive director of New American History, an online effort based at the University of Richmond designed to help students and teachers from K12 through college explore and more fully understand the nation’s history.

 

Andrew Koch, CEO of the Gardner Institute, has devoted nearly 35 years to advancing access, learning, and success in higher education. The child of immigrants, he is committed to redesigning educational systems so the American Dream is accessible to all students. An American Studies historian, his research examines how higher education shapes democracy and culture, with particular attention to educational inequities. His latest book, Transforming the Gateway Course Experience, was published by Routledge in 2024. His forthcoming book, Transforming the Graduate Student Experience, will be published by Johns Hopkins University Press in fall 2026.

 

 

Cassandra L. Newby-Alexander, Ph.D. is the Endowed Professor of Virginia Black History and Culture at Norfolk State University.  She is the author of numerous books and articles including Daily Life Along the Underground Railroad (2026) and Virginia Waterways and the Underground Railroad (2017). She has received grants totaling over $1.5 million and has appeared on numerous national programs and documentaries including NBC’s Nightly News on the descendants of slaveholders, PBS’s Many Rivers to Cross, C-SPAN’s Lectures in History series on the Underground Railroad and a host of other programs including the History Channel’s Race, Slavery and the Civil War.  She has appeared on BBC News’ “The British Role in America’s Tainted Past,” and Clay Jenkinson’s ”Listening to America,” podcast.

 

Sponsors

We are grateful for our sponsors, whose generous support make this conference possible.