CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the private nonprofit that owns and operates Monticello, is pleased to announce Professor Frank Cogliano as the interim Saunders Director of the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies (ICJS) at Monticello.
Cogliano is Professor of American History at the University of Edinburgh where he serves as the University’s Dean International (North America). He received his B.A. in history from Tufts University and earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in history from Boston University. He has taught at universities in the United States, England, and Scotland and has been a member of the History Department at the University of Edinburgh since 1997. He will serve as interim Saunders Director of the ICJS during the 2023-2024 academic year.
"It is a great privilege to be able to join the Monticello staff as the Saunders Director of the International Center for Jefferson Studies,” Cogliano said. “I am thrilled to join wonderful colleagues at the Center, and Monticello generally, as we plan for the semiquincentennial of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. Monticello occupies a special place in the history and culture of the United States, and I'm honored to have the opportunity to support the important scholarship undertaken here."
A specialist in the history of the American Revolution and the early United States, Cogliano is the author or editor of nine books, including: Thomas Jefferson: Reputation and Legacy (2006), The Blackwell Companion to Jefferson (2012) and Emperor of Liberty: Thomas Jefferson’s Foreign Policy (2014). His Revolutionary America, 1763-1815: A Political History is now in its fourth edition. In February 2024 Harvard University Press will publish his next book: Revolutionary Friendship: Washington, Jefferson and the American Republic.
“Frank Cogliano is a tremendous scholar who has already contributed much to Monticello,” said Gardiner Hallock, interim President of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. “We are honored to welcome Frank into this role. We are grateful for his leadership as we continue our work to share the historical lessons and frameworks for democracy associated with Jefferson and Monticello around the world.”
Founded in 1994, the ICJS is a multidisciplinary research center that oversees the work of several departments at Monticello and supports the ongoing international study of Thomas Jefferson and his world. Through a fellowship program, international scholarly conferences, panel discussions, teacher workshops, lectures, and curriculum-based tours, the ICJS establishes relationships with people from around the world. The ICJS encompasses the departments of Archaeology, Getting Word African American Oral History Project, historical research, the 15,500-square foot Jefferson Library, and the editorial operations of the Papers of Thomas Jefferson: Retirement Series. An Advisory Committee of acclaimed scholars helps guide the Center’s activities.