William R. Ferris

William R. Ferris

William Reynolds Ferris (born February 5, 1942 in Vicksburg, Mississippi) is an American author and scholar and former chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. With Judy Peiser he co-founded the Center for Southern Folklore in Memphis, Tennessee; he was the founding director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi, and is co-editor of The Encyclopedia of Southern Culture.