The University of Richmond is set to grapple with its history with race next week with two panels that will coincide with the institution’s 180th Founders Day on Wednesday, March 4.

The first, The Institutional History Panel from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, will focus on research into the remains of enslaved African-Americans discovered on the grounds of the campus. The panel will be held in the Brown-Alley Room in UR’s Weinstein Hall.

A report, researched and written by UR Professor Lauranett L. Lee, graduate student Shelby Driskill and others, was released last month and delves into the history of the site located near Westhampton Lake, including its use as a slave burial ground.

Dr. Lee and Ms. Driskill will be part of the panel, which is open to the public, along with Dr. Edward Ayers, president emeritus of the university and co-chair of the University Memorialization Committee.

The Student Alumni Panel, set for 5 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 4, in UR’s Whitehurst Hall Living Room, also is open to the public. It is focused largely on connecting the UR community to the lives and legacies of the first African-American students enrolled at the private university. The three, Madieth Malone, Barry Greene and Isabelle Thomas LeSane, enrolled in 1968 and graduated in 1972 and will at- tend the panel.

The two panels are co-sponsored by the Richmond College Student Government Association and Westhampton College Government Association as a way to face and reflect on the school’s history, while also giving the university and the broader community a way to celebrate those who helped create a more inclusive school but have been largely unacknowledged.

“Acknowledging the complexities of the issues allows for us to be aware of our past and take active steps to move forward as an institution, to reconcile some of the history of this ground and prevent our history from being hidden,” said Richmond College-SGA representative Benjamin Weiser and Westhampton College SGA representative Claire Tate in a joint statement. Details: benjamin.weiser@richmond.edu.