Biographies
Full Bio
Ryan S. Olson is a research professor at the University of Virginia and a senior fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. A classicist by training, Olson’s current scholarship focuses on the literary, historical, religious, and cultural context of ancient education from Archaic Greece through Late Antiquity, offering comparative insights for periods of cultural transformation, including the late modern world.
Olson is co-director of the program on culture and formation at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia. He is the founder of the Moral Ecology Trust, a network of senior leaders from various sectors of American society who gather to pool their expertise, networks, and influence to improve the moral ecosystems that form students, citizens, and leaders.
Olson earned graduate degrees in theology, Asian and Middle Eastern studies, and classical languages and literature from Durham University and Oxford University, completing his D.Phil. in Classics at Oxford (Trinity College). His book, Tragedy, Authority, and Trickery: The Poetics of Embedded Letters in Josephus (Harvard University Press), is a study of narrative epistolography in its historical and cultural contexts. He is also co-editor of The Content of Their Character and of The Necessity of Character. He is writing a book on Aristotle’s moral ecology and the reception of the classical tradition in American education. His larger research agenda aims to understand the continuities and discontinuities among the diverse cultures of education across the ancient Mediterranean world, drawing on archaeological, literary, and documentary sources in Greek, Latin, and Syriac. His work also attempts to translate insights from antiquity to the contemporary world using micro- and macro-social theories of subjectivity, morality, education, and knowledge.
Previously, Olson directed the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia and served as president of the Advanced Studies in Culture Foundation (2016–2024), where he was responsible for administration, board development, and fundraising. He was a program director at the Kern Family Foundation, leading grant-making initiatives in educational reform and character education, and earlier directed an education policy department at a state-based think tank. He has been invited to give presentations and lectures by the Philanthropy Roundtable, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Association of Education Finance and Policy, the State Policy Network, and the U.S. Department of Education.
Olson has held fellowships at Harvard University’s Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, DC. He is a faculty affiliate of the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University.
Shortened Bio
Ryan S. Olson is a Research Professor at the University of Virginia and Senior Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. A classicist by training, Olson studies the literary, historical, and cultural contexts of ancient education from Archaic Greece through Late Antiquity, with comparative insights for late modernity. He co-directs the Institute’s program on culture and formation and founded the Moral Ecology Trust, a network of senior leaders working to strengthen moral ecosystems across civil society.
Olson earned graduate degrees in theology, Asian and Middle Eastern studies, and Classics from Durham and Oxford, earning his D.Phil. at Oxford (Trinity College). His publications include Tragedy, Authority, and Trickery (Harvard University Press) and co-edited volumes The Content of Their Character and The Necessity of Character. He is currently writing on Aristotle’s moral ecology and the classical tradition in American education.
Previously, Olson directed the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture and served as president of its foundation, as well as leading grant-making initiatives in educational reform and character education at the Kern Family Foundation. He has presented to organizations including the OECD, U.S. Department of Education, and Philanthropy Roundtable. Olson has held fellowships at Harvard’s Center for Hellenic Studies and is a faculty affiliate of Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program.
Speaking Introduction
Ryan S. Olson is a Research Professor at the University of Virginia and Senior Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. A classicist by training, he studies ancient education and its relevance in the late modern world. Author of Tragedy, Authority, and Trickery (Harvard University Press), Olson also founded the Moral Ecology Trust.
Conference Biography
Ryan S. Olson is a Research Professor at the University of Virginia and Senior Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. A classicist by training, Olson explores ancient educational cultures and their relevance in the late modern world. He co-directs the Institute’s program on culture and formation and founded the Moral Ecology Trust. Olson earned his D.Phil. in Classics from Oxford and is author of Tragedy, Authority, and Trickery (Harvard University Press) and co-editor of The Content of Their Character. His work bridges classical scholarship and contemporary education, and he has held fellowships at Harvard’s Center for Hellenic Studies.
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