Our Team

Dr. Bryan has served as President and CEO of the Virginia Historical Society since 1988. Under his leadership, the Society has raised more than $110 million, resulting in the significant expansion of its headquarters and educational offerings. Previously, Dr. Bryan was the Executive Director of the East Tennessee Historical Society and the St. Louis Mercantile Library Association. He has also served as adjunct associate professor of history at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and the University of Tennessee, and as a visiting lecturer at Arizona State University. Extensively published on the management of history museums and the American Civil War, Dr. Bryan edited (with Nelson Lankford) the best-seller Eye of the Storm: A Civil War Odyssey and Images from the Storm. Former president of the American Association for State and Local History, he is a member of the board of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History; former president of the Independent Research Libraries Association; corresponding member of the Academia de Historia de Cartagena de Indias (Colombia); and a member of the American Antiquarian Society. A sought-after speaker at museums and historical societies throughout the United States, he is a lecturer for the Organization of American Historians' Distinguished Lectureship Program. A graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, Dr. Bryan holds a Master's degree in history from the University of Georgia and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Tennessee.