Earl Lewis has been the President of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation since March 2013. Under his guidance, the foundation has reaffirmed its commitment to the humanities, arts, and higher education by emphasizing the importance of continuity and change. Prior to joining the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Lewis was provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and the Asa Griggs Candler Professor of History and African American Studies at Emory University. A noted social historian, Lewis has held faculty appointments at the University of California at Berkeley (1984–89), and the University of Michigan (1989–2004). He has been a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 2008.

Lewis is the author and co-editor of seven books, including The African American Urban Experience: Perspectives from the Colonial Period to the Present (with Joe William Trotter and Tera W. Hunter, Palgrave Macmillan, 2004); the eleven-volume The Young Oxford History of African Americans (with Robin D.G. Kelley, Oxford University Press, 1995–1997); and the award-winning book series American Crossroads (University of California Press).
Lewis holds several honorary doctorates and is a recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award from the University of Minnesota and the Harold R. Johnson Diversity Service Award from the University of Michigan.