RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – June 26, 2025 – After a nationwide search, the National Humanities Center (NHC) is pleased to announce the selection of historian Blair LM Kelley as its next president and director. Dr. Kelley’s appointment marks a pivotal moment for the NHC as it looks to build on five decades of foundational work in supporting and advancing humanities research and education.
Kelley comes to the Center with a stellar record as both a scholar and leader, having most recently served as the Joel R. Williamson Distinguished Professor of Southern Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was also director of the Center for the Study of the American South and co-director of Southern Futures. Previously, Kelley spent 20 years on the faculty and as an administrator at North Carolina State University, including as associate dean of interdisciplinary affairs and partnerships.
In her scholarly work, Dr. Kelley has offered profound insights into the lives of working-class African Americans and the history of social movements, and helped connect historical narratives about race, work, and activism with contemporary issues. Her bestselling recent book, Black Folk: The Roots of the Black Working Class (2023), received the 2024 Brooklyn Library Book Award, the 2024 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Book Award, the 2024 Philip Taft Labor History Prize, and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award in History. It was also hailed as one of the best books of the year by Smithsonian magazine, Amazon Editors, and the African American Intellectual History Society. In 2024, she was named one of the Top 40 Women in Higher Education by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine.
A sought-after commentator, Kelley has appeared on NPR’s Marketplace, Here & Now, and Fresh Air, MSNBC’s All in with Chris Hayes, The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart, Velshi, and the Into America podcast. She has also written for the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Root, The Grio, and The Daily Beast.
“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Blair Kelley to lead the National Humanities Center as its next president and director,” said Rishi Jaitly, interim chair of the NHC’s board of trustees. “Dr. Kelley’s exceptional scholarly record, proven ability to engage many publics across channels, and her commitment to—and conviction around—inspired leadership make her the ideal person to build on the Center’s remarkable, nearly 50-year legacy of service to the nation and the world. We live in dynamic times—an AI-ascendant era in which our culture and civic spaces will continue to experience weighty change—and I am confident Dr. Kelley will ensure the National Humanities Center, and advanced humanistic research, remain a standard bearer for higher understanding.”
Throughout her career, Dr. Kelley has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to fostering intellectual communities and championing the humanities across diverse platforms. Her experience in academic leadership, public scholarship, and innovative programming will be instrumental in expanding the NHC’s reach and impact. She will be charged with enhancing the Center’s renowned fellowship program, developing new initiatives to support emerging scholars and teachers, and advocating for the vital role of the humanities in addressing complex societal challenges.
“I am deeply honored and incredibly excited to join the National Humanities Center as its next president,” said Dr. Kelley. “For nearly fifty years, the Center has been a beacon for humanities scholars and teachers, providing an essential space for intellectual inquiry. I look forward to working with the talented team at the NHC, its esteemed Fellows, and our partners to amplify the voices of humanities scholars and educators and to demonstrate how their work enriches our understanding of the past, informs our present, and shapes a more just and equitable future.”
Kelley succeeds J. Porter Durham Jr., who has served as interim president of the Center since the retirement of Robert D. Newman in 2024. She is the first woman, the first person of color, and the first NHC Fellow to lead the Center.
Kelley received her BA from the University of Virginia in history and African and African American studies. She earned her MA and PhD in history, and graduate certificates in African and African American studies and women’s studies at Duke University. She was recently made a fellow of the Society of American Historians.
About the National Humanities Center
The National Humanities Center is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing discovery about the human experience, fostering community among humanities practitioners, and empowering all those seeking to better understand and improve the human condition. Located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, the NHC provides fellowships and other research programs for scholars, supports humanities education, and fosters wider public appreciation for, and engagement with, the humanities. For more, visit https://nationalhumanitiescenter.org.
About Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina
Since 1959, the Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina (Foundation) has served Research Triangle Park in its mission to facilitate collaboration among our region’s industries, universities, and workforce, and create economic impact for the residents of North Carolina by attracting the world’s most innovative companies and top-tier talent. Comprised of 7,000 acres, RTP’s boundaries are centrally located among Duke University, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. RTP is home to 55,000 employees and more than 375 companies and national labs, including Apple, BASF, Biogen, Cisco Systems, EPA, Fidelity Investments, IBM, LabCorp, Lenovo, Lilly, NetApp, NIEHS, RTI International and United Therapeutics. For more information, visit https://rtp.org.
Media Contact
Don Solomon
Vice President for Communications and Marketing, National Humanities Center
(919) 406-0120