Distinguished Civil War professor James “Bud” Robertson Jr. will retire at the end of the academic year.
Robertson, who has been recognized as one of the foremost experts on the Civil War, is an alumni distinguished professor in history. He was the executive director of the U.S. Civil War Centennial Commission, which marked the war’s 100th anniversary.
He has written more than 20 books and teaches classes at Tech each semester that attract more than 300 students. Robertson has been teaching at Tech for 42 years.
History department chair Mark Barrow said Robertson is a “legend” at Tech, noting that many students take Robertson’s class because of recommendations from their parents.
“He’s been an institution here at Virginia Tech in terms of writing about, publicizing and researching the Civil War,” Barrow said. “His class has been extremely popular, as a large number of students have enjoyed hearing his accounts of what he considers to be one of the most important events in the history of the United States.”
This semester, his Civil War and Reconstruction class has 292 of 500 seats still available. There are no restrictions on the class.
Robertson is a native of Danville, Va. He earned his undergraduate degree at Randolph-Macon College before completing his master’s and doctorate degrees at Emory University.