The Charlie Kirk Fund for Media Excellence
Despite several pleas from students and alumni last month, President William Dudley refused to publicly condemn the political assassination of Charlie Kirk. In his words, Washington and Lee “[U]niversity and its community are best served when the presidential voice is reserved for issues that bear directly on our mission or operations.”
Those of us with The Generals Redoubt (TGR) have thought long and hard about this message, and how to respond to it.
At first, we were outraged by President Dudley’s inaction. For him to claim that this major event did not affect Washington and Lee is to ignore the obvious: that students were moved to tears during the community vigil hosted by The Spectator; that campus social media was abuzz with comments reacting, sometimes disgustingly, to Kirk’s murder; that his memorial service in Phoenix had nearly 100,000 attendees, including recent graduates and current parents. To purport that Charlie Kirk’s assassination did not directly influence our community is to misapprehend the agony felt by thousands of Generals.
But I don’t want this message to focus on President Dudley and what was not done. I want to focus on the hope Charlie’s legacy has sprouted. I want to outline how Charlie’s actions — his commitment to truth-seeking and self-education — have inspired The Redoubt and our community of students, parents, alumni, and friends.
One of Charlie Kirk’s greatest lessons for our time is to seek the truth and gain knowledge independent of the classroom. A self-professed autodidact with no collegiate education, Charlie could speak extensively on moral philosophy, economics, religion, and history. This expertise showed during countless campus debates, revealing a major weakness in modern academia: just because one receives a formal education does not mean they have attained virtuous knowledge.
Robert E. Lee’s father, “Light Horse Harry” Lee, wrote extensively about this concern over two centuries ago. Harry Lee had studied at the College of New Jersey (Princeton) and was widely considered by his family and classmates to be one of the most intelligent men of his generation. He immersed himself in Antiquity, studying ancient military theory and reading the tomes of countless Greek and Roman statesmen. These studies had a profound impact on his own military and political strategy during and after the American Revolution. Decades later, he began to worry that his children, including young Robert, would shy away from these textual pursuits.
(The Lee Family Crypt in Lee Chapel, National Historic Landmark. General Henry Lee was exhumated and removed to Lexington in 1913 | TGR)
Writing from the Bahamas in 1816, Harry sent his 18-year-old son, Charles Carter Lee, several philosophical books and advised him to “Read therefore the best poets, the best orators, and the best historians; as from them you draw principles of moral truth, axioms of prudence and material for conversation.”
While he was highly supportive of educational institutions — indeed it was Lee who suggested President Washington consider donating stock to Liberty Hall Academy — he had concerns about the curriculum offered: “Now I must urge you, as the library of Cambridge will present to your discrimination a large collection, to avoid all frivolous authors.” After going on at length about which authors to avoid, and why, he further counselled his son that, “I would rather see you unlearned and unnoticed,” that is, not formally educated at a prestigious university, “if [you are] virtuous in practice as well as theory.”
For Harry Lee, whose Classical knowledge modern scholars can hardly rival, the best education was one predicated on virtue and truth. A college degree was only useful in so far as it accompanied those attributes.
The Generals Redoubt shares these views, which is why we devote significant time and resources to produce educational material about Washington and Lee’s history and traditions. The university does not inform students about these critical subjects, so we do.
Charlie Kirk did much the same thing, but on a broader level of conservative ideals. Unlike two hundred years ago, the timeless principles of moral truth and the wise axioms of prudence which Harry Lee advanced don’t have to be gleaned entirely from leather-bound volumes. Kirk shared his knowledge through campus dialogue, national podcasts, and other digital media. He taught hundreds of thousands of young college students how to think critically and converse civilly.
And so, the question facing TGR is, how can we continue Charlie Kirk’s mission through our work with Washington and Lee students?
As simple as it may seem, we started with a magnolia tree in Charlie’s memory. Participants of Young Alumni Weekend planted the tree near the entrance to Fancy Hill, as a testament to the longevity of both his legacy and The Generals Redoubt. We hope that our supporters will continue to visit the tree every year and watch it grow alongside the conservative movement in Rockbridge County.
(Students and Alumni gather together to plant a magnolia tree in Charlie Kirk’s memory at Fancy Hill, Sept. 20, 2025. | TGR, Daniel Straub,’28)
We have also established an ideological memorial to Charlie Kirk and his educational mission.
Those of you who have visited Fancy Hill this year have remarked fondly about our new recording studio. This room is the heart of our digital library, and we have had a great time experimenting with different content: from the General Lee Speaking podcast to short-form videos and historical narrations.
(The Fancy Hill Podcasting Studio, opened in January 2025 | The Generals Redoubt )
And now, we are excited to launch the “Charlie Kirk Fund for Media Excellence.” This $30,000 campaign emphasizes our commitment to empowering W&L students to seek truth and attain historical knowledge amid a modern media landscape. And thanks to a generous donor, we are matching the first $15,000 raised!
Funds contributed to this campaign will go towards the acquisition of additional equipment for our Fancy Hill recording studio, which will be henceforth be named in memory of Charlie Kirk. The campaign will also support the purchase of portable audio and visual equipment to be used for campus events and within the George Washington and Robert E. Lee Parlors of Fancy Hill.
Beyond equipment, the campaign will help us establish a podcasting program wherein we can compensate students from Washington and Lee and other nearby universities for further developing and broadcasting their conservative values to the community. This is a necessary step towards achieving ideological diversity in higher education, and we are excited for the impact it will have on the rising generation of young Americans.
Please help us keep Charlie Kirk’s educational dream alive by supporting the “Charlie Kirk Fund for Media Excellence” today! You can learn more by clicking HERE.
We also welcome you to schedule a visit to Fancy Hill the next time you come to Lexington. The home is a physical testament to the moral virtues of both our forebearers and modern leaders like Charlie Kirk. May his legacy of civility and truth root into the hearts of future generations.
Sincerely,
Kamron M. Spivey
Executive Director
The Generals Redoubt