Earl Lewis
Papers
1
Total Citations
3
H-Index
1
About
Earl Lewis is a distinguished historian and higher education leader whose work centers on the social history of race, labor, and urban life in the United States. His major contributions include redefining the study of African American communities through a lens of structural inequality and resilience, particularly in his influential book *In Their Own Interests: Race, Class, and Power in Twentieth-Century Norfolk, Virginia*. Lewis has also shaped national conversations on the future of liberal arts education, as seen in his widely discussed essay “Toward a 2.0 Compact for the Liberal Arts,” which argues for durable, adaptable learning in a changing world. With thousands of citations across his scholarly publications, his impact extends beyond academia into institutional leadership: he served as the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s president, directing over $6 billion in grants to advance the humanities and the arts. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Lewis remains a vital voice on equity, access, and the transformative power of education.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Toward a 2.0 Compact for the Liberal Arts3 citations · 2019