Lucas Morel Selected for Prestigious ACS Mellon Academic Leadership Fellowship The John K. Boardman Jr. Professor of Politics will use the fellowship to lead W&L’s “Liberating Ideas” initiative.

By Brian Laubscher
May 6, 2025

Lucas E. Morel, the John K. Boardman Jr. Professor of Politics at Washington and Lee University, was recently selected for the Associated Colleges of the South (ACS) Mellon Academic Leadership Fellowship.

Morel was one of nine professors nationwide selected for the second cohort of the fellowship, which is supported by a $2 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. He will assume a two-year leadership role in W&L’s Office of the Provost where he will focus on launching the university’s “Liberating Ideas” initiative. This programming is dedicated to promoting intellectual pluralism and inclusion by fostering independent thinking and civil discourse.

“I am excited to welcome Lucas to the academic affairs leadership team to direct ‘Liberating Ideas,’” said Lena Hill, university provost and professor of English. “At this moment in our country, we must lean into the most constructive ideals of liberal education. Lucas’ strong belief in interrogating diverse ideas with genuine goodwill and acceptance makes him well-suited to building community across differences. I look forward to the programs he will lead for the W&L community.”

“Liberating Ideas” strives to cultivate the intellectual curiosity at the heart of the W&L academic community, animating analytical thought, promoting respectful dialogue and informing civic engagement. With core programming to encourage thoughtful reflection on the aims and structures of a free society, the initiative welcomes faculty, students and staff committed to sustaining an intellectually vibrant culture and addressing public challenges.

The key features of “Liberating Ideas” include the creation of a faculty cohort to cultivate opportunities for robust intellectual exchange through attending program dinners, debates, external institutes and other activities. Cohort participants include department head and professor of sociology Jonathan Eastwood, assistant professor of history Romina Green, department head and professor of religion Jeffrey Kosky, clinical professor of law and Director of the Black Lung Clinic Timothy MacDonnell, Jo M. and James M. Ballengee Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Science Karla Murdock and assistant professor of accounting Ehi Rajsky. Morel will also manage collaborations between academic affairs and student affairs aimed at deepening students’ commitment to intellectual curiosity and investment in civil discourse.

“I’m honored to be awarded this fellowship and excited about the opportunity to take an administrative role at W&L that will enhance our commitment to promoting diversity of thought, civil conversations and civic education,” said Morel. “If our mission is to think, do good and help others do the same, then I hope to use this fellowship to promote an education that is as broad and diverse as opinions about the most important matters affecting human beings as they seek to understand and live in the world.”

Morel has been a member of the W&L faculty since 1999 and has served as the head of the Politics Department since 2010. As the inaugural Class of 1960 Professor of Ethics and Politics, he directed the Institute for Honor Symposium. Morel has served on numerous university committees including the President’s Advisory Committee, Courses and Degrees Committee, Faculty Handbook Revision Committee and several searches for high-level administrators. A respected scholar and thinker, his influence extends beyond campus. Morel has organized national conferences on Abraham Lincoln and Ralph Ellison, and he is the chair of the Academic Committee of the Academic Freedom Alliance, consultant for exhibits at the Library of Congress and National Archives, former president of the Abraham Lincoln Institute, moderator of high school teacher workshops for the Jack Miller Center and Civic Spirit, and member of the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, which will plan activities to commemorate the founding of the United States of America.

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