About Us
Ty Seidule
Visiting Professor of History, Executive Director of Common Ground
Ty Seidule’s latest book is Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner’s Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause. Seidule is the author or editor of six other books of military history, three of which won distinguished writing prizes, including The West Point History of the Civil War.
A leader in digital history, Seidule created and co-edited the award-winning West Point History of Warfare, the largest enhanced digital book in any field. His video lecture “Was the Civil War About Slavery” has more than 30 million views on social media. Seidule served in the U.S. Army for more than three decades, retiring in 2020 as a brigadier general. He is professor emeritus of history at West Point.
Seidule served as the vice chair of the Congressional Naming Commission, which renamed Department of Defense assets that honored Confederates. He is a presidential advisor for the National World War II Museum, a member of the Scholar Advisory Board for the Gilder Lehrman Institute for American History, and an International Security Fellow at New America.
Kaity Stewart
Assistant Director of Common Ground
Kaity Stewart graduated from Bowling Green State University with a Master's Degree in College Student Personnel and spent ten years working in student life. The first 3 years of her career were in residential life at Syracuse University, followed by 7 years in Student Activities at Hamilton College. She is an event planner who manages complex logistics and budgets while also integrating an emphasis on the student experience into her work. Stewart oversees the day-to-day operations of the Common Ground team and works to execute on all aspects of the Common Ground events and mission.
Kimberly Ritchie
Common Ground Program Assistant
Kim Ritchie graduated from The Ohio State University with a Master’s Degree in English. While in graduate school, she worked in the Office of Academic Affairs in the Program Review Office. After graduation she worked first as a technical writer at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor, Ohio and then as the Manager of Technical Publications and Document Control at the Fernald Environmental Management Project near Cincinnati. Since then she has been a freelance writer and retail manager. She provides logistical and administrative support to Common Ground.
