Park Welcomes Professor Ty Seidule as 2024 Resident Scholar

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Yesterday, Park welcomed Professor Ty Seidule as this year’s Resident Scholar. Professor Seidule is a retired brigadier general who served in the United States Army for 36 years and is the author of the book Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner’s Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause, which challenges the myths and lies of the Confederate legacy — and explores why some of this country’s oldest wounds have never healed.

Professor Seidule started the day presenting to the entire Upper School, sharing his story about how and why his beliefs radically changed from what he grew up knowing. He then led two different student sessions; A Monumental Issue: The Problem of Confederate Monuments and Common Ground: Civil Disagreement, Free Speech, and Bipartisanship on Campus and in Politics. Students were highly engaged, asking thoughtful questions about Professor Seidule’s experiences sharing his story around the country, his perspective as a historian and a soldier, and his success in starting difficult conversations and making change. 

In 2021, Professor Seidule was appointed to and served as the Vice Chair of the Congressional Naming Commission that worked to rename United States military bases and monuments that honored Confederates from the Civil War. He is currently a visiting professor at Hamilton College and serves as the Executive Director of Hamilton’s program for active citizenship, Common Ground. Seidule left Park students and faculty with many powerful messages, but emphasized the importance of sharing your own story and understanding that it is never too late to do the right thing.

Read more about our Visiting Scholars program here. 

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