Join us for a presentation by former Averett University professor Mr. Jay Hayes, as he explores the role of Virginia Presidents in shaping the nation.

Mr. Hayes served as a professor at Averett University for 45 years, specializing in 20th-century United States history, before retiring in 2020. Of those years, 41 were spent serving as a department chair. He was the first Wilbur Clarence Daniel Professor of History and Political Science, a position he held for 27 years.

Mr. Hayes holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hampden-Sydney College, a Master’s degree from Virginia Tech (VPI), and a Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina. He is the author of three published works: Dan Daniel and the Persistence of Conservatism in Virginia (Mercer University Press), South Carolina and the New Deal (University of South Carolina Press), and The Lamp and the Cross: A History of Averett College (Mercer University Press).

Mr. Hayes is an active member of the First Presbyterian Church in Danville, the Society of the Cincinnati, and Preservation Virginia (formerly APVA). Mr. Hayes also serves on the Salvation Army Advisory Board and is Secretary of the Danville Kiwanis Club. Additionally, he is an original member of the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee of the Supreme Court of Virginia.