2026 Citizen Leadership Medalist Henry Louis Gates, Jr. to Visit UVA Batten

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is the 2026 recipient of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Citizen Leadership, which is the highest external honor bestowed by the University of Virginia and recognizes the achievements of luminaries who embrace endeavors in which Jefferson excelled and held in high regard. The medal, along with those in Law and Architecture, will be awarded as part of UVA’s Founder’s Day festivities.

Gates, the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University, will come to Garrett Hall on April 14 at 11:00 a.m. for a fireside chat with his former student, Dean Ian Solomon.

An Emmy, duPont, and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker, literary scholar, and institution builder, Gates has published numerous books and produced and hosted an array of documentary films about Black History.

Gates’ groundbreaking genealogy and genetics series, “Finding Your Roots,” which received a Primetime Emmy nomination, is now in its twelfth season on PBS. His latest book, “The Black Box: Writing the Race,” was named one of The New York Times’ 100 Best Books of the Year.

The Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Citizen Leadership is sponsored by the Batten School. To register for the event, please click here.