Kathleen DuVal to give Winter Commencement address
The Pulitzer Prize winner and distinguished Carolina historian will speak at the Dec. 14 ceremony.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author and longtime Carolina historian Kathleen DuVal will give the keynote address at UNC-Chapel Hill’s 2025 Winter Commencement.
The ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14, at the Dean E. Smith Center.
The Carl W. Ernst Distinguished Professor of History, DuVal has taught in Carolina’s College of Arts and Sciences since 2003, specializing in early American and Native American history. Much of her research focuses on how various Native American, European and African women and men interacted from the 16th through 19th centuries.
DuVal’s most recent book, “Native Nations: A Millenium in North America,” won the Pulitzer Prize for history in May. The book masterfully weaves together 1,000 years of Native American history, capturing the rise of Indigenous nations in America and their continued sovereignty and influence long after European colonists arrived.
“As a devoted member of the Carolina community, a Pulitzer Prize–winning author and a distinguished historian, Dr. DuVal represents the spirit of service and scholarship that define our University,” Chancellor Lee H. Roberts said. “Her extraordinary career underscores the power of the humanities to shape our world by deepening understanding, preserving our shared stories and illuminating often-overlooked perspectives in our history.
“I am confident our graduates at Winter Commencement will be inspired by her commitment to mentoring the next generation of leaders, her impressive achievements and her example as a world-renowned academic.”
DuVal teaches at Hamilton Hall in 2017. The Carolina history professor will give the Winter Commencement address on Dec. 14. (Johnny Andrews/UNC-Chapel Hill)
Along with the Pulitzer Prize, DuVal’s “Native Nations” was also the winner of the 2024 Cundill History Prize — the largest award for a book of nonfiction in English — as well as the Bancroft Prize and the Mark Lynton History Prize.
The book was inspired, in part, by a course DuVal has taught at Carolina for more than 20 years. Called “Native North America,” the class aims to cover the entirety of Native American history in one semester.
“I love that students get this long span of Native American history in that class, and that really led me to think about a book that could do the same thing for readers,” DuVal said. “Over and over, I’ve gotten to talk about Carolina when I talk about the book and the Pulitzer.
“UNC been such a great home for me and made all my work possible. It specifically was the place where this book was born, not just in my writing of it, but in the class I taught, in the large number of scholars and Native and non-Native people I’ve met over the years working here. I couldn’t have written this book any place else.”
DuVal said that Commencement at Carolina is always a special time for her, providing an opportunity to celebrate her students and interact with their parents and families. DuVal’s son, Quentin DuVal-Smith, just started his senior year at Carolina, adding an extra dose of emotion to this year’s festivities.
Fittingly, DuVal said her Winter Commencement speech will touch on early American history — and Carolina’s place in it.
“We’re coming up on the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution,” DuVal said. “I want to talk about the founding of UNC right after the Revolution, and how UNC was founded to educate North Carolinians to be good citizens. It’s a good time to be talking about citizenship and its importance as we approach the anniversary.”
