SMU Center for Presidential History

CPH Senior Fellow Sharron Conrad appeared on MS NOW to reflect on the life and work of Rev. Jesse Jackson, and on the significance of three presidents being in attendance at his memorial service.

Former presidents among thousands at Rev. Jesse Jackson's funeral Former Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton are among thousands honoring civil rights icon Rev. Jesse Jackson at his memorial service in Chicago. Senior Fellow at SMU's Center for Presidential History Dr. Sharon Wilkins Conrad joins Chris Jansing to reflect on Jackson's impact on the....

Calling all K-12 History educators! Applications are DUE MARCH 6 for our Summer 2026 Seminar on the Declaration of Independence!
Join us & 100 teachers at SMU in Dallas, all expenses paid.
You can find all application info at www.smu.edu/cph/A250
(SMU Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences)

CPH Director Jeffrey Engel quoted in this Christianity Today piece on Trump memorializing his own name, while still in office.

Trump Memorializes Trump on Buildings, Bibles, and More - Christianity Today The president’s penchant for renaming things after himself is unprecedented in American politics.

Tonight at 6pm, Professor and former CPH Postdoctoral Fellow Paul M. Renfro (Florida State University) joins the CPH to discuss his new book The Life and Death of Ryan White: AIDS and Inequality in America.

In the 1980s, as HIV/AIDS ravaged q***r communities and communities of color in the United States and beyond, a straight white teenager named Ryan White emerged as the face of the epidemic. Diagnosed with hemophilia at birth, Ryan contracted HIV through contaminated blood products. In 1985, he became a household name after he was barred from attending his Indiana middle school. As Ryan appeared on nightly news broadcasts and graced the covers of popular magazines, he was embraced by music icons and well-known athletes, achieving a curious kind of stardom. Analyzing his struggle and celebrity, Paul M. Renfro’s powerful biography grapples with the contested meanings of Ryan’s life, death, and afterlives.

As Renfro argues, Ryan’s fight to attend school forced the American public to reckon with prevailing misconceptions about the AIDS epidemic. Yet his story also reinforced the hierarchies at the heart of the AIDS crisis. Because the “innocent” Ryan had contracted HIV “through no fault of his own,” as many put it, his story was sometimes used to blame presumably “guilty” populations for spreading the virus. Reexamining Ryan’s story through this lens, Renfro reveals how the consequences of this stigma continue to pervade policy and cultural understandings of HIV/AIDS today.

This event is presented by the Center for Presidential History, with support and partnership from the SMU Women’s and Gender Studies Program and the Scott Hawkins Fund of the Dedman College Interdisciplinary Institute.

The Life and Death of Ryan White: AIDS and Inequality in America – The Center for Presidential History Professor and former CPH Postdoctoral Fellow Paul M. Renfro (Florida State University) joins the CPH to discuss his new book The Life and Death of Ryan White: AIDS and Inequality in America. This event is presented by the Center for Presidential History, with support and partnership from the SMU Wom...

Join us in offering congratulations to Oscar Winberg (Turun yliopisto - University of Turku), winner of the 2026 CPH Book Prize for his book *Archie Bunker for President* ()

We look forward to welcoming Dr. Winberg to next academic year to share his work with our campus and Dallas community!

K-12 Educators - this announcement is for you!

Applications are now open for our American History & Civics Summer Seminar for K-12 educators.
Topic: The Declaration of Independence:
Info: Summer 2026, SMU, Dallas, TX!

We welcome applications from educators across the country AND have many spots reserved specifically for North Texas educators!

Deadline: March 6
Details & application: http://smu.edu/cph/A250

In one week on February 19th, Professor and former CPH Postdoctoral Fellow Paul M. Renfro (Florida State University) joins the CPH to discuss his new book The Life and Death of Ryan White: AIDS and Inequality in America.

In the 1980s, as HIV/AIDS ravaged q***r communities and communities of color in the United States and beyond, a straight white teenager named Ryan White emerged as the face of the epidemic. Diagnosed with hemophilia at birth, Ryan contracted HIV through contaminated blood products. In 1985, he became a household name after he was barred from attending his Indiana middle school. As Ryan appeared on nightly news broadcasts and graced the covers of popular magazines, he was embraced by music icons and well-known athletes, achieving a curious kind of stardom. Analyzing his struggle and celebrity, Paul M. Renfro’s powerful biography grapples with the contested meanings of Ryan’s life, death, and afterlives.

As Renfro argues, Ryan’s fight to attend school forced the American public to reckon with prevailing misconceptions about the AIDS epidemic. Yet his story also reinforced the hierarchies at the heart of the AIDS crisis. Because the “innocent” Ryan had contracted HIV “through no fault of his own,” as many put it, his story was sometimes used to blame presumably “guilty” populations for spreading the virus. Reexamining Ryan’s story through this lens, Renfro reveals how the consequences of this stigma continue to pervade policy and cultural understandings of HIV/AIDS today.

This event is presented by the Center for Presidential History, with support and partnership from the SMU Women’s and Gender Studies Program and the Scott Hawkins Fund of the Dedman College Interdisciplinary Institute.

The Life and Death of Ryan White: AIDS and Inequality in America – The Center for Presidential History Professor and former CPH Postdoctoral Fellow Paul M. Renfro (Florida State University) joins the CPH to discuss his new book The Life and Death of Ryan White: AIDS and Inequality in America. This event is presented by the Center for Presidential History, with support and partnership from the SMU Wom...

We are now welcoming applications for our 2-year Postdoctoral Fellowship program!
Do you work on U.S. History? Then you should consider applying!
All details here: https://apply.interfolio.com/176645

We are thrilled to share this news - We've been awarded a $1.5 Million grant from the U.S. Dept. of Education for history & civics education. We'll welcome 100+ teachers to SMU for the next three Summers to dive deep into the Declaration of Independence, American Revolution, and Constitution!
Check out this press release from SMU Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences for more:

SMU’s Center for Presidential History Awarded $1.5 Million U.S. Department of Education Grant to Advance History and Civics Education – Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences Categories Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences SMU’s Center for Presidential History Awarded $1.5 Million U.S. Department of Education Grant to Advance History and Civics Education Post author By 46804923 Post date October 16, 2025 Grant part of America 250 initiative to immerse K-12 teacher...

Now accepting submissions for the 2026 Center for Presidential History Book Prize! Awarded to a first-time author of a distinguished book in presidential history (broadly defined).
All details (including past winners!) at www.smu.edu/cph/bookprize