William Charles Ayers better known as Bill Ayers is an American college professor and former 1960s anti-war activist.

He is known for the radical nature of his activism in the 1960s and 1970s as well as his current work in education reform, curriculum, and instruction.
In 1969 he cofounded the radical left organization the Weather Underground, which conducted a campaign of bombing public buildings during that time. Now, he's a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, holding the titles of Distinguished Professor of Education and Senior University Scholar.
In 1997 Chicago awarded him its Citizen of the Year award for his work on public education reform.

But how does an admitted terrorist become a professor and Chicago's citizen of the year. Ayers became involved in the New Left and the Students for a Democratic Society in 1968 and 69. He became a prominent leader of the group.
In 1970 he "went underground" with several associates after the Greenwich Village townhouse explosion, in which Weatherman member Ted Gold, Ayers' close friend Terry Robbins, and Ayers' girlfriend, Diana Oughton, were killed when a nail bomb they were assembling exploded.

Kathy Boudin and Cathy Wilkerson survived the blast. Ayers was not facing criminal charges at the time, but the federal government later filed charges against him.

Ayers participated in the bombings of New York City Police Headquarters in 1970, the United States Capitol building in 1971, and The Pentagon in 1972, as he noted in his 2001 book, Fugitive Days. Because of a water leak caused by the Pentagon bombing, aerial bombardments during the Vietnam War had to be halted for several days.

While underground, he and fellow member Bernardine Dohrn married, and the two remained fugitives together, changing identities, jobs and locations. By 1976 or 1977, with federal charges against both fugitives dropped due to prosecutorial misconduct they later turned themselves in.

In an interview published in 1995, Ayers characterized his political beliefs. He said
"I am a radical, Leftist, small 'c' communist ... Maybe I'm the last communist who is willing to admit it. The ethics of Communism still appeal to me. I don't like Lenin as much as the early Marx.

Much of the controversy about Ayers during the decade since 2000 stems from an interview he gave to The New York Times.

The reporter quoted him as saying "I don't regret setting bombs" and "I feel we didn't do enough", and, when asked if he would "do it all again," as saying "I don't want to discount the possibility. Ayers has not denied the quotes, but said he was misunderstood, deliberately distorted.