Spider Insider Kevin Hallock RICHMOND’S 11TH PRESIDENT
For faculty & staff at the UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND Autumn 2021
THE RAT PACK Urban ecologist and biology professor Jonathan Richardson (pictured here with members of his undergraduate research team Nick Gonzales, ’23, and Katelyn Wing, ’22) conducts “rat safaris” in the dark corners of downtown Richmond, where he studies rats to better understand their behaviors. The goal: to reduce nuisance rat populations and the risks they pose as carriers of zoonotic diseases. “Coming up with long-term solutions is the only way we’re going to figure this out,” he says. “Understanding the ecological part of this as it relates to public health — for me, that’s where I want to be.” Read about it in the Autumn 2021 print issue of University of Richmond Magazine or online at urnow.richmond.edu/magazine.
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Autumn 2021
Vice president for University Communications John M. Barry Associate vice president for communications and digital engagement Phillip Gravely
Spider Insider
Editor Cheryl Spain Director of creative services Samantha Tannich Graphic designer, publications Gordon Schmidt Photographer Jamie Betts Staff contributors: Ashley Bentley, Joshua Briere, Sunni Brown, Catherine Amos Cribbs, Chad Devers, Matthew Dewald, Mike Domina, Joedy Felts, Paul Heltzel, Kevin Heraldo, Alicia Hubbard, Brian Ivasauskas, Pamela Lee, Katie McBride, Joe Minick, Nicole Hansen, Cynthia Price, and Cindy Smith Spider Insider is printed on paper that is FSC® certified, with 10% post-consumer recycled content and certified fiber.
ON THE COVER Kevin F. Hallock began his term as University of Richmond’s 11th president on Aug. 15, 2021.
We welcome your input.
Send your story ideas or comments to spiderinsider @richmond.edu.
Thinking Cap Spider Pride was on full display at the start of the fall semester.
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Meeting of the Minds Two UR offices combine to form the Student Center for Equity and Inclusion
Social Buzz
3 Editor’s Letter Celebrating 4 years of ‘Spider Insider’
Making a Difference Spider family supports students during third annual giving day
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Rethinking Gen Ed Faculty votes to adopt proposed changes to UR’s general education curriculum
Q&A: A Conversation with President Kevin F. Hallock
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Naming Principles Commission Begins Work
Championing Accessibility Office of Disability Services strives to be a resource and an advocate for students
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The Conversation: Does Outer Space End — or Go On Forever?
8 Photograph by Jamie Betts
A High-Pressure Job UR’s boiler plant crew keeps campus running 24/7
PEOPLE 16 Facilitating Excellence 18 Accomplishments 19 Distinguished Educator & Distinguished Scholarship Awards 20 Endowed Position Holders 21 Caps Off, Spiders! Congratulations to UR’s most recent employee graduates
Accolades ‘Multilingual, Multitalented, and Future-Facing’ UR welcomes the Class of 2025
15 ‘On Strong Footing’ University enters fiscal year 2021–22 in strong financial shape
24 New Hires, Moves, and Retirements
Staff in the Student Center for Equity and Inclusion provide social and transition support for underserved students and promote dialogue among individuals of diverse backgrounds and identities. Clockwise from top left: Lisa Miles, associate director; Morgan Russell, senior associate director; Lee Dyer, associate director for LGBTQ campus life; Adraine Gibson, administrative coordinator; and Tina Cade, associate vice president for student development and SCEI director .
Meeting of the Minds
Two UR offices combine to form the Student Center for Equity and Inclusion LEARN MORE For more information on the Student Center for Equity and Inclusion, including its programs and services, visit inclusion. richmond.edu.
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Partnership can be a beautiful thing — a truism apparent in the newly formed Student Center for Equity and Inclusion (SCEI) at UR. The SCEI is the unified result of the merging of the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Office of Common Ground. These two worked together to develop a mission statement for the office; determine the new name; and identify a set of shared goals, programs, resources, and services. “By merging our two offices, we are able to combine our strengths and offer the most effective support for underserved students,” said Tina Cade, director of the new center and associate vice president for student development. The SCEI seeks to cultivate inclusive communities, empower and affirm students in the intersections of their identities, and amplify students’ voices. In the coming year, the office also plans to expand its emphasis on Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Latinx students and reorganize how it serves students of color. Also planned is an expanded focus on low-income students as part of a first-generation/low-income student initiative. In support of the SCEI’s mission, the center is dedicated to enhancing multicultural, LGBTQ, and first-generation student experiences on
campus. This effort is made manifest by both offices’ thoughtful work in reimagining their services and programs to reach a wider audience and improve the experience of underrepresented students. Visitors can expect to see an expanded LGBTQ lounge, office space for SCEI staff and student workers, and student office space for the Race and Racism Project. Cade has managed both the merger and the construction of the center — and she insisted that the new physical space have a certain “wow” factor. “We’re really happy with how it’s turned out,” Cade said. “This focus and attention is a celebration of our increasingly diverse student body at Richmond.” Cade and her team hope that through the combined powers of the merged offices, the SCEI will build upon its strong foundation and be a key component of the University’s ongoing commitment to building a more equitable and inclusive campus community. “It is our aim that the center can continue to promote productive, respectful dialogue between individuals of diverse backgrounds and identities,” Cade said.
In support of the SCEI’s revamped mission, the center is dedicated to enhancing multicultural, LGBTQ, and first-generation student experiences on campus.
Celebrating 4 years of ‘Spider Insider’ Dear Colleagues, As the University marks the start of another academic year of in-person education amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, those of us who contribute to Spider Insider have another reason to celebrate. This issue marks the four-year anniversary of this publication sharing stories of your extraordinary work. When University Communications launched Spider Insider in fall 2017, we had two goals in mind: Share stories with faculty and staff about University accomplishments and progress and affirm and appreciate readers for their service to the University. Fully aware that some staff members don’t use computers or email as part of their day-to-day work responsibilities, we committed to printing, personally addressing, and delivering the publication on campus to every full-time and part-time staff and faculty member. We strongly believe in this inclusive approach and are proud to maintain this commitment as we begin our fifth year with the fall 2021 issue. Although the pandemic changed the way we work — my dining room table served as a merely adequate substitute for my corner of Puryear Hall from March 16, 2020, until last month — it never changed our desire for personal connection. I, like many of us, missed the daily interaction with campus friends and colleagues tremendously. And while Spider Insider couldn’t fill the void that the pandemic created, I hope its many stories and beautiful campus photos continued to help you feel a little closer to the Spider community and those you missed while we were away. On behalf of the Spider Insider team, I want to thank you for your role in its success — without you, after all, there are no stories to tell. And now that we’re back on campus and enjoying lunchtime walks around Westhampton Lake, the beautiful evening chimes from Boatwright Tower, and the other familiar sights and sounds of everyday UR life, I look forward to hearing from you with news to share and successes to celebrate. Until then, stay well, my friends.
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EDITOR’S LETTER
Cheryl Spain Editor
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LEARN MORE For more information about President Hallock, visit president.richmond.edu.
Q&A: A Conversation with President Kevin F. Hallock Kevin Hallock is a distinguished scholar, a dedicated teacher, and an accomplished academic and institutional administrator. On Aug. 15 he became the University of Richmond’s 11th president. WHAT MADE YOU PURSUE A CAREER IN HIGHER EDUCATION? My father was a professor for 50 years at the same university, and he loved his job — he still loves talking about his job and is still doing some research. He formally retired in May 2020. He could do really creative, interesting things and study what he wanted. I saw that he could inspire young people through his teaching, research, and service — and I thought, “Well, I don’t want to be a physicist, but I kind of like the idea of being an academic.”
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WHAT DREW YOU TO THE UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND? As I started reading about the University and talking with people, the intensity and the love for the place, the commitment to the student experience, and the universal concern for student, staff, and faculty well-being and sense of belonging was something that really resonated with me. I aspire to have a place where everyone feels the
same sense of belonging that I’ve enjoyed at the institutions that I’ve been a part of. I think the University is extraordinary but can be even better — and it’s well poised to do exactly that. I think the mix of the intense focus on the liberal arts with professional schools, a uniquely stunning setting, and an emphasis on incredible extracurricular opportunities for students is a rare combination. There are very few places that do this well, and Richmond does it extremely well. IN EARLY CONVERSATIONS WITH COLLEAGUES ON CAMPUS, HAS ANYTHING SURPRISED YOU? When I was being recruited, I noticed that everyone I met loved the University of Richmond. And I mean everyone. And at first, I thought this overwhelming enthusiasm seemed strange. I figured I was not being introduced to a random selection of staff, students, faculty, and alumni. Yet as I met more and more community members, I kept hearing the same excitement. I realized that while not everyone here agrees on the issues, everyone feels great pride in and a special connection to the University. I was inspired by this enthusiasm and share this love for the University.
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WHAT’S GOING TO BE IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO DO AS YOU GET STARTED? Within about the first month after I was named president, I started reaching out to get to know members of the community, including students, staff, faculty, senior administrators, and alumni. We also visited Richmond a couple of times. Each university has a unique culture, and just because something worked elsewhere doesn’t mean that it will work well at Richmond. I think it’s worth being patient and taking time to get to know the place, and I intend to invest quite a bit of time in my early days trying to understand various perspectives. This has been a really challenging year for universities across the world with multiple catastrophic issues, including issues related to the pandemic and race and racism. That combination has been painful across America, and Richmond hasn’t been immune to it. I think the University has made important strides over the past couple of years, but we obviously have much more work to do. That’s something that I am committed to — that we all have to be committed to as a community.
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE STAFF AND FACULTY TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR LEADERSHIP STYLE? I hope people come to understand that I am an inclusive leader. I like to listen to various perspectives. I think the way to make better decisions is to have more voices involved in talking about the merits, costs, and benefits of any particular decision. I don’t mean, of course, only financial costs. I really strive to be honest, objective, open, transparent, and fair. Not everyone will agree with every decision that a university leader makes, but my hope is that everyone will respect that that decision was made with a fair and open process.
“I really strive to be honest, objective, open, transparent, and fair. Not everyone will agree with every decision that a university leader makes, but my hope is that everyone will respect that that decision was made with a fair and open process.”
FAMILY MATTERS President Hallock and his wife, Tina, have been married for 30 years and have two grown children. There is a service-mindedness to the Hallock family that can’t be denied. Their son is a firefighter, their daughter a nurse. Tina does work supporting families with children who struggle with mental health and recently co-created a podcast aimed at normalizing the conversation around parenting and mental health. Throughout the pandemic, Hallock and his family remained in close contact. He called his parents daily and had weekly Zoom calls with his brother, sister-in-law, and their children. Although spread throughout the country, “We’re actually more together now than we have been in decades,” he said.
WHEN NOT IN YOUR OFFICE, WHERE CAN YOU LIKELY BE FOUND? You’ll find me where you find students. That may be at a performance, an athletic event, a student club meeting, visiting the classroom, or maybe teaching a lecture or leading a discussion. I’ll be out and about on campus as often as possible.
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NAMING PRINCIPLES COMMISSION BEGINS WORK
In May, the board of trustees and former President Ronald A. Crutcher announced the creation of an advisory commission to develop and recommend principles and criteria for naming and renaming campus buildings, professorships, programs, and other elements of campus named to honor individuals or entities. The nine-member Naming Principles Commission includes staff, faculty, student, alumni, and trustee representatives selected by their respective representative bodies. Christy Coleman, executive director of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, and John Roush, a UR trustee and president emeritus of Centre College, are cochairs. The charge instructed the commission to develop “clear and rigorous principles” for future naming decisions, to consider recommendations that address the removal or modification of names already in use, and to recommend guidelines for honorific namings, such as whether they should be of limited duration. It also instructed the commission to “ensure a transparent and inclusive process” that includes consultation with internal and external experts; review of other universities’ experiences; hosting of campus discussions; and a survey of faculty, staff, students, alumni, and parents. The survey, which will launch in October, will be conducted by the education research practice of Gallup Inc. Respondents will be contacted by Gallup directly and will remain anonymous. Top-line survey results are expected to be made available to the University community sometime in the spring. “Fundamental to the Naming Principles Commission’s charge is to offer an open and inclusive exchange of ideas,” said President Kevin F. Hallock. “I encourage all members of our University community to share their views with the commission, including through the Gallup survey. I look forward to seeing the commission’s report when it is completed in the spring, and I pledge to listen and learn from the community as we continue this extraordinarily important work.”
“Fundamental to the Naming Principles Commission’s charge is to offer an open and inclusive exchange of ideas”
For more information about the Naming Principles Commission, including its roster, charge, and upcoming events, visit president.richmond.edu/ university/naming-principles/index.html.
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MEDIA MENTIONS “Library of Congress Looks to AI to Help Users Sift Through Its Collection” LAUREN TILTON, assistant professor of digital humanities, is using computer vision to examine about 250,000 images from five of the Library of Congress’ early-20th-century photography collections. Computer vision is a field of AI where machines are trained to analyze images. “That is not an easy task because many of today’s computer vision algorithms are trained to recognize modern-day objects,” Tilton said. “Infrastructure alert: ‘Fix it when it breaks’ mindset is unsustainable” “You have to have accurate data to tell a compelling story,” said PAUL LOZO, director of environmental operations, related to the University’s strategic asset management system. “All of our assets and building components tell a story that drives back to our budget and funding model and allows us the flexibility to move money around based on our needs.” “Starbucks Stadium? Coffee chain applies for naming rights” “Either it is actively looking to make a deal to sponsor a venue, or it wants to protect its right to potentially use its name in that manner,” said Associate Professor of Law ASHLEY DOBBS, who specializes in intellectual property, in regard to Starbucks’ application with the U.S. trademark office for the right to use its name on a sports stadium or training facility. “Best and Worst Places to Start a Career” “Many young people lose out on the benefits of remaining with a specific organization for a longer time, including building long-lasting relationships and the deep expertise that only comes from perfecting your craft over a long period,” said FRANK ALLEN, director of employer relations, about the biggest career mistakes young people make. “Expert: Vaccination Rates, Lack of Blockbuster Movies to Affect Halloween 2021” “I would say any areas with high vaccination rates, where people feel safer, are likely to do well,” said TOM ARNOLD, Joseph A. Jennings Chair in Business. “The areas with low vaccination rates might experience COVID spikes by Halloween, especially because they’ll be bringing kids back into school and creating crowded contact. Those areas might pay a price for not vaccinating as well, and that will curtail Halloween celebrations.” “Rooted: 3 North Texas men with loc’d hairstyle were told ‘cut your hair to get the job’” “It’s a problem when there’s tension between what someone inside of an industry wants to display that pushes back at that industry’s expectations, but there are industries out there that it’s simply not a problem,” said BERT ASHE, Jabez A. Bostwick Chair of English, related to dreadlocks in the workplace. Ashe is the author of Twisted: My Dreadlock Chronicles.
Visit news.richmond.edu to view additional media mentions or connect with University Communications’ Media and Public Relations team, Cynthia Price and Sunni Brown.
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THE CONVERSATION
Does Outer Space End — or Go On Forever? By Jack Singal, associate professor of physics Have you ever wondered what it would be like to travel to outer space — and then keep going? What would you find? Scientists are able to explain a lot of what you’d see. But there are some things we don’t know yet, like whether space just goes on forever. At the beginning of your trip through space, you might recognize some of the sights. The Earth is part of a group of planets that all orbit the Sun — with some orbiting asteroids and comets mixed in, too. You might know that the Sun is actually just an average star and looks bigger and brighter than the other stars only because it is closer. To get to the next nearest star, you would have to travel through trillions of miles of space. If you could ride on the fastest space probe NASA has ever made, it would still take you thousands of years to get there. If stars are like houses, then galaxies are like cities full of houses. Scientists estimate there are 100 billion stars in Earth’s galaxy. If you could zoom out way beyond Earth’s galaxy, those 100 billion stars would blend together — the way lights of city buildings do when viewed from an airplane. You would have to travel through millions of trillions more miles of space just to reach another
galaxy. Most of that space is almost completely empty, with only some stray molecules and tiny, mysterious, invisible particles scientists call “dark matter.” Using big telescopes, astronomers see millions of galaxies out there — and they just keep going in every direction. If you could keep going out as far as you wanted, would you just keep passing by galaxies forever? Are there an infinite number of galaxies in every direction? Or does the whole thing eventually end? And if it does end, what does it end with? These are questions scientists don’t have definite answers to yet. Many think it’s likely you would just keep passing galaxies in every direction, forever. In that case, the universe would be infinite, with no end. Some scientists think it’s possible the universe might eventually wrap back around on itself — so if you could just keep going out, you would someday come back around to where you started, from the other direction. In either case, you could never get to the end of the universe or space. Scientists now consider it unlikely the universe has an end — a region where the galaxies stop or where there would be a barrier of some kind marking the end of space. But nobody knows for sure. How to answer this question will need to be figured out by a future scientist.
Scientists estimate there are 100 billion stars in Earth’s galaxy.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION This article was originally published in The Conversation, and this excerpt has been adapted with the author’s permission. The piece was picked up by more than 40 media outlets, including Astronomy magazine, Space.com, and Yahoo! News, for a potential readership of 123 million. To read this full article and additional The Conversation articles written by UR faculty, visit news. richmond.edu/placements/conversation.
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Chris Weaver, boiler mechanic, is part of a 10-person, round-theclock boiler plant crew that keeps campus up and running.
SOCIAL APPRECIATION “The team in the steam plant is the heartbeat that keeps campus up and running. 365 days a year 24 hours a day. It never sleeps.” —Francis McMurrough via Facebook “One of my favorite buildings on campus.” —Bill Caraher via Facebook
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A High-Pressure Job
UR’s boiler plant crew keeps campus running 24/7 The boiler plant is one of six remaining original campus buildings. Yet, most faculty, staff, and students have never stepped foot inside the structure. Constructed in 1914, the plant originally provided high-temperature water to other buildings; in the mid-1950s, it converted to the steam system used today. On an average school day, four boilers inside the plant produce roughly 30,000 pounds of steam per hour. A system of underground tunnels carries that steam to buildings throughout campus, where it’s used for the HVAC systems, hot water, cooking, dehumidification, and sterilization in the science labs. “Without steam, the University doesn’t operate,” said Jesse Forbes, boiler plant supervisor. “Even at the height of the pandemic, when many began working from home, this team continued to work a normal on-campus schedule. We couldn’t just shut this thing off. The team knew that they were needed here, and they got the job done.” Maintenance and operation of the steam system are provided by a 10-person crew that
operates the plant 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days of the year. It’s one of only two teams at the University — the other is the police department — with nonstop staffing. Because of that, boiler plant employees are cross-trained to provide after-hours emergency support for facilities. Appropriately called REACT, a name that stems from its ability to “react to whatever is happening on campus,” the team responds to calls for everything from flooding to electrical outages to wildlife on the road. “My crew has different specialties,” Forbes said. “One’s strong in electricity; one’s strong in welding; one’s strong in carpentry skills. They’re jacks of all trades.” During normal business hours, boiler plant operators also often lend their skills to other projects on campus. Most recently, they built and installed new metal light fixtures for the Heilman Dining Hall renovation, installed banner poles on campus, and adjusted the gates on the fence at the president’s home. Throughout the years, the boiler plant has seen its fair share of changes. Most notably was the
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chapter. It was a shift transition from coal to that much of the cleaner-burning natural current boiler plant gas as the primary fuel team helped facilitate. source in 2012. Before Half the crew has been the shift, the University with the University for burned an average of more than 20 years, 30 to 35 tons of coal including Forbes, who a day, according to has logged 33 years of Forbes — roughly a service. tractor-trailer full. And “It takes a unique init was a very manual dividual to work in this process. department,” Forbes “Coal wasn’t ausaid. “Not everyone is tomatically fed into cracked up for it. It’s a the boilers like gas,” level of dedication that said Bo Towner, boiler a lot of people don’t plant operator. “We’d have. And each time use a metal paddle to we have an empty load the coal into the position, it gets harder boilers and mix it to and harder to fill.” get it to burn faster The nature of the and hotter. We did that job and the sacrifice sometimes 30 times Supervisor Jesse Forbes has seen many changes often needed have a day. Everybody was since he began working in the boiler plant in 1989, created a “we’re in this in good shape back including the shift from coal to natural gas as a together” attitude that then,” he joked. fuel source. makes Forbes view his Called out in the team as extended family — family he knows he University’s first Climate Action Plan in 2010, can always count on. the goal was to phase out coal over 20 years, “If a guy is off, and I call and say, ‘I need you significantly reducing UR’s greenhouse emishere,’ there’s no question they’d be here,” Forbes sions over time. The goal was achieved 18 years said. “I’m really proud of this team.” early, however, due partly to decreasing costs of natural gas and a campuswide “beyond coal” campaign headed by the University’s Sierra Club
A QUICK LEARNER Jesse Forbes has worked in the University’s boiler plant for 32 of his 33 years at UR. He started as a boiler operator in 1989, was promoted to boiler mechanic a year later, and landed his current role as boiler plant supervisor in 2008. It’s easy to say he knows the job inside and out. But that wasn’t always the case. “When I started here, I really didn’t know anything about this business,” he said. “I worked in the University’s landscaping department and came over on my lunch breaks and after work to learn as much as I could about the plant and how it operates. My first day on the job, they put me on night shift by myself and said, ‘See you later.’”
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SOCIAL BUZZ A roundup of reactions to posts on @urichmond: He sounds like a wonderful addition to UR both as professor and as President! —Carolyn Elmore via Facebook Referring to the board of trustees announcement of Kevin F. Hallock as UR’s 11th president Thank you for coming our way! You are leaving an indelible imprint on the University for all people and as an African American Alum, I cannot stop smiling! #WesthamptonClassof1992 —Dorinda Williams via LinkedIn Referring to Ronald A. Crutcher’s legacy as UR’s 10th president
Making a Difference Spider family supports students during third annual giving day
Professor Hoyle taught me to always walk into the room prepared… the CPA exam is like the Super Bowl for accountants….train your mind and body for that day like it is a marathon and you only need a 75 to stay alive. Congrats to one of the greats! —Liz Pec via Facebook Referring to Joe Ben Hoyle’s celebration of 50 years of teaching Well done! There is little doubt that the value of my UR diploma (RC ’88) has only increased over time. —Daniel Evans via LinkedIn Referring to UR recording its largest applicant pool in its history I will always remember him. My class was the first for which he signed diplomas. I saw him at a number of alumni events in Los Angeles and class reunions. We had the opportunity to reminisce about his role in shaping the future of UR after the Robins gift. —Paul Hatfield via Facebook Referring to the installation of a statue of former UR President Bruce Heilman in his Kentucky hometown
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The yearlong pandemic has led to hardships for many — during the 2020– 21 academic year, the University saw a 75% spike in student requests for reevaluation of their financial needs. It was with those needs in mind that the Spider family stepped up during the third annual UR Here Giving Day to meet the needs of students. In just 36 hours, more than 1,900 supporters around the world — including 245 faculty and staff — contributed $1.2 million to support students, departments, and programs across campus. “UR Here is a special opportunity to bring our community together, showcase areas of UR that Spiders can support philanthropically, and celebrate the impact of giving,” said Kim Lebar, director of annual giving. “We are deeply grateful to those who took part in Giving Day this year. Their gifts will have a positive impact on the University and our students now and in the future.” Spiders supported more than 160 funds representing six impact areas: academics; athletics; greatest needs; student life; well-being; and honoring the Crutchers, a new area featuring two causes dear to the Crutchers’ hearts. The Dr. Ronald A. and Dr. Betty Neal Crutcher Scholarship provides financial aid to first-generation students with financial need, and the Dialogue and Inclusion Fund supports UR’s work to foster an inclusive intercultural community and to build the University’s collective capacity to engage across lines of difference and navigate challenging conversations. Collectively, the new Crutcher funds raised more than $191,000 on Giving Day. Additional new funds this year included the CAPS Access Fund and Spiders Support Recovery. Soon, Spiders will have another opportunity to show UR students how much they care. Spiders Helping Spiders, the annual weeklong event focused entirely on benefiting students in need, will kick off on Oct. 21. Throughout the campaign, gifts will be directed toward financial aid; the Student Emergency Fund, which helps students with financial need meet urgent and unforeseen expenses; and the Career Opportunity Fund, which provides students financial assistance to pursue job, graduate school, and internship opportunities. “There are families that are in real need of additional resources when it comes to helping support their child’s Richmond education,” said Jamie Hughes, assistant vice president of development. “Spiders Helping Spiders is the most direct way to ensure those needs are met.” To make a gift or learn more about the ways to support the University, visit giving.richmond.edu.
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Rethinking Gen Ed
Faculty votes to adopt proposed changes to UR’s general education curriculum University of Richmond faculty, for the first time in more than 30 years, has voted in favor of a proposal to significantly revise the general education curriculum. The process has taken four years and the work of three devoted committees. The general education curriculum (GEC) is a set of required courses that all undergraduate students must pass prior to graduation. The goal: to broaden students’ interests while laying the groundwork for the acquisition of advanced skills and deeper knowledge within one’s major. Unfortunately, students don’t always see the value. “One of the common perceptions among students is that general education is an obstacle — you do this and then you get to be an econ or music major,” said Timothy Hamilton, associate professor of economics and General Education Curriculum Improvement Committee (GECIC) co-chair. “We look at gen ed as a foundation — you have to do this because it’s really important, regardless of your major. We want this to be something students see as relevant to their education.” The new curriculum, called the “Web of Inquiry,” retains several aspects of the current GEC model, including a first-year experience, a second-language proficiency requirement, and an array of coursework grounded in traditional liberal arts disciplines. It supplements them with integrated focus areas aimed at strengthening the curriculum’s emphasis on numeracy and written and oral communication. It also calls for the addition of a diversity, equity, and inclusion requirement and a 14-week wellness course intended to promote a healthy start for all firstyear students toward lifelong wellness. A pilot
program that encourages students to develop a portfolio that ties together their UR experience and integrated learning across all four years is also in the works. The committee was tasked “to develop a general education curriculum that our students could understand, enabling them to recognize the value of this part of their UR education,” said Jennifer Cable, professor of music and GECIC co-chair. “Student feedback on elements of the adopted proposal was favorable.” Gaining support for major GEC changes is often difficult, Cable and Hamilton said. They credit the hard work of the prior committees, as well as the commitment of the members of the GECIC and the time and resources devoted to the process. It was an iterative practice that included frequent — often weekly — committee meetings, outreach to campus stakeholders, discussions at Faculty Senate and school departmental meetings, and open forums to discuss curriculum models and ideas. The GECIC also took advantage of resources available through the Association of American Colleges and Universities. With the proposal now adopted, an implementation committee will form this fall and begin its work. “One of the issues is how we map the focus areas to actual classes,” said Hamilton. “We need a set of learning objectives and a set of processes that connect what we have on paper to what we actually do in the classroom.”
LEARN MORE For more information on the “Web of Inquiry” and to read the full proposal, visit facultysenate. richmond.edu/ committees/gecic.
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Emily Helft, director of disability services, stands in the testing center, a dedicated space for students who have been approved for testing accommodations.
WEBSITE ACCESSIBILITY The University of Richmond strives to ensure that websites, tools, and technologies are designed and developed so that people across a diverse range of hearing, movement, sight, and cognitive abilities can effectively use them. The University uses a World Wide Web Consortium compliant validation tool to monitor website compliance and assist with remediation of noncompliant features. It also provides ongoing training on web accessibility best practices for web developers and content creators. “A focus on web accessibility is an important piece of fulfilling our commitment to being an inclusive learning environment and a University that is welcoming to all,” said Joedy Felts, director of user experiences in University Communications. “It’s an ongoing commitment that we are working to maintain as guidelines change and evolve.”
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Championing Accessibility Office of Disability Services strives to be a resource and an advocate for students A dedicated testing center and tracking of food allergies are new efforts of the Office of Disability Services, created as a stand-alone office in 2020 with staff specializing in disability culture, accommodations, accessibility, and community education. “One of the goals of Student Development was to establish an Office of Disability Services because many of the services were spread among several offices,” said Steve Bisese, vice president for student development. “With the creation of the office, we can ensure that we are more seamlessly meeting the needs of our students. The office serves as a campus partner to ensure all aspects of the student experience are accessible, including classroom, dining, and housing.” While disability support in the form of reasonable accommodations has been a part of the University of Richmond for years, the Office of Disability Services aims to champion accessibility through outreach education, community trainings, and accessibility support. “We are bringing accessibility and disability to the forefront as a part of the University’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said
director Emily Helft, previously a senior accessible education specialist at Virginia Commonwealth University. Helft applied for the position prior to the pandemic, so by the time she started, many of the University’s staff were working remotely. Her transition was aided by Julia Kelly, disability services coordinator, whom she credited with paving a smooth path for her. Kelly, who also is Bisese’s assistant, is pursuing a disability resources specialist graduate certificate at Northern Arizona University. “I’m excited to integrate what I learn to better our office and support our students,” Kelly said. Helft spent her first year at the University gathering data and feedback. She said some things became clear to address early and was encouraged that campus partners wanted to be more involved. Working with others, she oversaw the creation of the Disability Services Testing Center and redesigned proctoring procedures and protocols. “Sometimes our approach to supporting students and accessibility mesh between students and faculty,” Helft said. “One of the newest
“Accommodations can be anything that is reasonable,” Helft said. “We work to circumvent or remove the barrier.” One example is the installation of wind chimes on campus. The tonally different wind chimes situated about 15 feet apart at a busy pedestrian intersection near the Robins School of Business catch even the slightest breeze to indicate directions for people who are blind or vision-impaired. Helft said the University’s overlapping pathway entrances and exits can be disorienting, especially when they meet in a circle. “Accessibility can enhance a space and be both beautiful and helpful,” Helft said. Helft said her office strives to foster positive relationships with students so the office is seen as a valuable resource. “But we also are dedicated to helping students become experts on themselves to develop self-advocacy skills that are essential in college and the world after graduation.” For more information on the Office of Disability Services, visit disability.richmond.edu.
“The office serves as a campus partner to ensure all aspects of the student experience are accessible, including classroom, dining, and housing.”
AROUND THE LAKE
ways we are addressing this intersectionality is through the opening of our testing center, which offers a calm and inviting space for students who are approved for testing accommodations.” Even with some students studying remotely during the 2020–21 school year, 184 tests were proctored in the center, Kelly said. The figure is not surprising. Roughly 10% of the undergraduate student body is registered with the Office of Disability Services, which equates to one to two students in an average-size class. The office provides more than physical accommodations. Other areas of focus include mental health and dietary needs. “A disability is any condition that significantly impacts a major life activity and can be a lot of things,” Helft said. “Students often don’t realize that mental health concerns could be considered a disability. If a student experiences anxiety or depression and it prevents them from good selfcare or getting to class, then it likely could be considered a disability.” Whatever the need, students who register with the office get individualized attention.
PERSON-FIRST VERSUS IDENTITYFIRST LANGUAGE When Emily Helft talks about the Disability Services office, she switches her language between person-first and identity-first, noting that the disability community is relatively split on their preferred approach language. Person-first language includes “person with a disability” or “person with autism,” while identity-first language is “disabled” or “autistic.” Some people take the stance that they are more than their disability, Helft said. They are a person first, and they happen to have a disability. But others, she said, are reclaiming the term “disabled” and see it as a point of pride because it is an important part of their identity.
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ACCOLADES These awards and rankings are a testament to UR’s overall commitment to excellence. The Princeton Review named UR to its list of the 200 “BEST VALUE COLLEGES” for 2021. UR ranked No. 2 among private schools on the “BEST SCHOOLS FOR INTERNSHIPS” list, up from No. 6 last year. The Fiske Guide to Colleges selected UR for its 2022 listing of the “BEST AND MOST INTERESTING” colleges in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, and Ireland, noting, “Business and a unique school for leadership studies are featured offerings, along with a strong global emphasis.” The Emergency Management Accreditation Program commission granted UR’s emergency management program FULL ACCREDITATION. Accreditation recognizes the ability of programs to bring together personnel, resources, and communications from a variety of agencies and organizations in preparation for and in response to disasters of any type. The Council for Advancement and Support of Education awarded University Communications three 2021 CIRCLE OF EXCELLENCE AWARDS. UR received gold in the Magazines — Alumni/ General Interest 3x per Year or More category for University of Richmond Magazine, gold in the Digital Communications — Websites — Institutional category, and bronze in the Design — Covers category for the cover of the Autumn 2020 issue of University of Richmond Magazine. University of Richmond Magazine was one of six finalists for the 2021 Robert Sibley Magazine of the Year award, which recognizes the best collegiate alumni magazine in the nation. The Digital Scholarship Lab received a 2021 ACLS DIGITAL EXTENSION GRANT from the American Council of Learned Societies for “Mapping Inequality: Redlining in New Deal America.” The grant will allow the DSL to make the project more useful by adding little-known or unknown redlining maps of smaller cities and towns, working with teachers to create materials for K–12 and undergraduate classrooms, and collaborating with scholars to add their expertise about particular cities. The American Association of School Librarians named UR’s New American History project one of the “BEST DIGITAL TOOLS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING” for 2021. The recognition honors electronic resources that provide enhanced learning and curriculum development for school librarians and their educator collaborators.
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The National Association of College & University Food Services announced UR a recipient of the NACUFS 2020 LOYAL E. HORTON DINING AWARD. UR received silver in the Residential Dining — Special Event (Large Institution) category for the November 2019 Pan-Asian dinner.
‘Multilingual, Multitalented, and Future-Facing’ UR welcomes the Class of 2025
The Class of 2025 stands out in many ways. It has the highest-ever incoming grade point average (3.71) and is one of the most diverse classes in UR history, with 29% U.S. students of color. International students represent 11% of the class, and first-generation college students make up 14% of the class. The enrolled students are from 40 states and citizens of 36 countries. Stephanie Dupaul, vice president for enrollment management, attributes the record number in part to UR successfully offering in-person instruction for the entire academic year of 2020–21. “That was really well received with parents, counselors, and students,” Dupaul said. “We delivered an in-person student experience. We stood out for our ability to provide what students value — personal relationships with faculty, staff, and other students, combined with superior academics — even in a time of crisis. Our laser focus on the student experience is what makes us desirable to prospective students and families.” Admission has also worked to expand the pool of candidates with more first-generation college students and a geographic focus that strengthens local enrollment while expanding geographical reach into new markets. The addition of an all-grant aid program for students from Richmond, targeted outreach to cities in growth areas, and outreach to students earlier, when they are high school sophomores, are all elements of this expansion strategy. “Earlier outreach is part of a long-range strategy to build awareness over time, particularly in new markets and with underserved populations,” Dupaul said. “We are continuing to focus on expansion into states in the Midwest, Southeast, and West with more favorable demographic trends and have increased applications from Arizona, Illinois, and Texas by over 60% in just five years.” The incoming class is highly accomplished. One student is a youth champion of Go, believed to be the oldest board game in existence. Another created a fundraiser in cooperation with the U.S. Pain Foundation for children living with chronic pain. One is the only teenage female professional race car driver in North America, and another is a competitive sailor who competes in overnight sailing regattas. One is a professional actor. Another is a junior firefighter. One student has already published five research articles and participated in 16 science fairs. “As a group, they are multilingual, multitalented, and future-facing,” Dupaul said. “I’m eager to see what they bring to our campus and to see how being here at UR, with our incredible faculty and resources, will accelerate their already strong trajectories.” Official information will be available after the University’s census date, Oct. 1, via the Office of Institutional Effectiveness.
AROUND THE LAKE
‘On Strong Footing’
University enters fiscal year 2021–22 in strong financial shape After a year of substantial budgetary uncertainty driven by the pandemic, the University entered the 2021–22 fiscal year “on strong footing,” said David Hale, executive vice president and chief operating officer. He also emphasizes that caution and contingency planning remain important. Hale credits this position to efforts by staff and faculty across campus to implement operating expense reductions in every division and school. “I know it can sound cliché and trite to say, but it’s true: Everyone really leaned into it,” he said. “We should all be really proud of what we were able to pull off last year to pursue our educational mission.” The reductions addressed an expected dip in enrollment and the tuition, housing, and meals revenue it brings. That dip happened but was not as deep as anticipated. At the same time, some University operating expenses decreased significantly — events and University-related travel, for example — because of the impact of the pandemic on normal operations. “We used the savings associated with reduced operations last year to fund much of the COVID mitigation efforts we made — things like the prevalence testing and the modular units for quarantining,” he said. “We covered most of those one-off COVID expenses thanks to our savings and federal aid.” The University also had a very strong investment year, which aids budget stability over the long run. These successes explain, in part, the
University’s ability to institute its across-the board pay increase in March, during the four months prior to the last fiscal year close, and the lifting of the hiring freeze over the summer. Hale said the budget for the current fiscal year, which began July 1, “is about normal in terms of year-to-year expectations. It’s really just getting us back to the level we were just before the pandemic emerged, but that’s good news given the risks we faced.” Some COVID-19-specific expenses will continue in the near term, such as prevalence testing, tent installations, and provision of masks, among other things. Other new expenses will be permanent going forward, such as upgrades to HVAC systems that improve air filtering. “We just think that’s the right thing to do, COVID or not,” he said. Until the pandemic ends, COVID-19 remains “a persistent risk not only to the health and safety of our community, but to the health of our budget,” Hale said. Another risk he and his team are keeping an eye on is the possibility of rising inflation, which the University has already seen in things like increased materials costs for building projects. Despite these concerns, he said he is pleased by the University’s financial position. “All things considered, we feel very good,” he said. “We‘re in strong shape financially and budgetarily and enter the year with a lot of confidence while being mindful that the health and well-being of our community is our top priority.”
“We should all be really proud of what we were able to pull off last year to pursue our educational mission.”
BENEFITING OTHERS One of last year’s onetime expenses will do long-term good for Virginians in crisis. The University arranged to donate five double-wide modular units to Family Crisis Support Services in Norton, Virginia. Richmond purchased the units as part of its response to COVID-19. FCSS provides emergency shelter and transitional housing to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault and offers emergency shelter for victims of homelessness. The donation allows FCSS to increase its number of available beds and reduce spending on hotel rooms, Marybeth Matthews-Adkins, executive director of FCSS, wrote in a thank-you letter.
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FACILITATING EXCELLENCE You may not recognize these faces. You won’t find them in classrooms or other high-traffic areas on campus. These are just a few of our colleagues in University Facilities. With more than 200 employees and seven distinct areas of operation — construction, engineering, custodial/recycling, energy management, landscaping, and maintenance services — University Facilities is the largest department at UR. While much of their work happens behind the scenes, their constant attention to the UR community’s needs and their thoughtful care of our buildings and grounds contribute to UR repeatedly being ranked high with accolades like “best-run colleges” and “most beautiful campuses” by the nation’s leading college guides, including The Princeton Review and U.S. News and World Report. Clockwise from top left: Herb Heider, auto mechanic; Justin Howe, carpenter; Tim Johnstone, HVAC mechanic II; Aubrey Grubbs, electrician II; Chris Machalski, electrician II; and Paul Sandman, integrated pest management specialist.
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PEOPLE
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OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS We celebrate the accomplishments of UR’s talented faculty and staff. See more accomplishments and submit your own grant, publication, or honor at richmond.edu/ faculty-staff.
NANCY BAGRANOFF,
professor of accounting, received the 2021 AICPA Distinguished Achievement in Accounting Education Award from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. DENIZ BESIK, assistant professor of manage-
ment, submitted a statement to the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Agriculture regarding the food supply chain during the COVID-19 pandemic. JAMIE BETTS, photographer,
received the designation of Certified Remote Pilot from the Federal Aviation Administration, allowing him to operate the University’s drone under the FAA’s small unmanned aircraft systems requirements. KRISTIN BEZIO, associate professor of leadership
studies, published the chapter “‘Mountainish Inhumanity’: The Politics of Religion, Refugees, and Ego from ‘Sir Thomas More’ to Donald Trump,” in William Shakespeare and 21st-Century Culture, Politics, and Leadership (Edward Elgar Publishing), which she co-edited with Anthony Russell, associate professor of English and comparative literature. CAROL BROWN, professor
of law, was appointed to the Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia board of directors and accepted an invitation to become academic liaison for the Real Property Section of the Virginia State Bar. SUNNI BROWN, director of media and public
relations, won first place in the National Federation of Press Women’s annual communications contest and first place in the Virginia Professional Communicators’ annual communications contest in the Information for the Media — Media Pitch category for her media relations work with Jory Brinkerhoff, associate professor of biology, related to similarities between Lyme disease and COVID-19. Brown and Cynthia Price, associate vice president of media and public relations, won third place in the Web and Social Media — Social Media Presence — Nonprofit, Government, or Educational category for “@URNews2Use: Twitter Feed for Media Relations.”
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CINDY BUKACH, MacEldin
Trawick Professor of Psychology, co-presented “What Happens When Things Go Off the Rails?: Grant management for when the best-laid plans don’t go as planned,” as part of the American Association for the Advancement of Science — Improving Undergraduate STEM Education summer labs series. COLLEEN CARPENTER-SWANSON, assistant
professor of biology, received a $25,000 grant from the LGS Foundation for her research on Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, a severe childhood-onset epilepsy. KATE CASSADA, associate professor of educa-
tion, was named president of the Virginia Professors of Educational Leadership. RONALD A. CRUTCHER, University Professor
and president emeritus, was presented with a House Joint Resolution honoring him as a distinguished leader at UR and in higher education. CRUTCHER’s memoir, I Had No Idea You Were Black: Navigating Race on the Road to Leadership, was featured in the research and books section of the Council of Independent Colleges’ spring Independent newsletter. RANA DAJANI, visiting
scholar in leadership studies, co-published “iOntoBioethics: A Framework for the Agile Development of Bioethics Ontologies in Pandemics, Applied to COVID-19” in Frontiers in Medicine; “Peer Mentoring Women in STEM: An Explanatory Case Study on Reflections from a Program in Jordan” in Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning; and “The Effects of Reading-Based Intervention on Emotion Processing in Children Who Have Suffered Early Adversity and War Related Trauma” in Frontiers in Psychology. MONTI DATTA, associate professor of political
science, received the University of Richmond 2020–21 Advisor Excellence Award.
KELLING DONALD, profes-
sor of chemistry, received a $376,067 grant from the National Science Foundation for his research on chemical bonding.
LISA DONOVAN, adjunct assistant professor of
education, co-published Teacher as Curator: Formative Assessment and Arts-Based Strategies (Teachers College Press).
Rethinking Norman Italy: Studies in Honour of Graham A. Loud (Manchester University Press). DELLA DUMBAUGH, professor of mathematics,
was named editor-in-chief of American Mathematical Monthly, a publication of the Mathematical Association of America. JESSIE FILLERUP, associate professor of musi-
cology, published Magician of Sound: Ravel and the Aesthetics of Illusion (University of California Press). DON FORSYTH, Colonel Leo K. and Gaylee Thors-
ness Endowed Chair in Ethical Leadership, published “Individual differences in ethics positions: The EPQ-5” in PLOS ONE.
AL GOETHALS, E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished
Professor in Leadership Studies, published “The 2020 Election and Its Aftermath: Love, Lies, and Ensorceling Leadership” in Leadership.
DAVID HALE, executive vice
president and chief operating officer, was a finalist for Virginia Business magazine’s 2021 Virginia CFO of the Year award in the Large Nonprofit/Foundation category.
Congratulations
to this year’s award recipients who were honored at Colloquy in August.
PEOPLE
JOANNA DRELL, professor of history, co-edited
Distinguished Educator Awards
In recognition of outstanding contributions to excellence in education
STEPHANIE COBB
George and Sallie Cutchin Camp Professor of Bible
TIMOTHY HAMILTON
Associate Professor of Economics
SHANNON JONES
Director of Biological Instruction
LAURA KUTI
Assistant Professor of Education
TOM MULLEN
Director of Public Affairs Journalism
DEAN SIMPSON
Professor of Classical Studies
ANDY SPALDING Professor of Law
JEFF HASS, associate professor of sociolo-
gy, published Wartime Suffering and Survival: The Human Condition under Siege in the Blockade of Leningrad, 1941–1944 (Oxford University Press). KEVIN HERALDO, videographer, received the
designation of Certified Remote Pilot from the Federal Aviation Administration, allowing him to operate the University’s drone under the FAA’s small unmanned aircraft systems requirements. DANIEL HOCUTT, web
manager in the School of Professional and Continuing Studies, presented “Usability Testing to Trace Posthuman Agency: Uncovering Language, Access, and Power” at the Engaging Power in Technical Communication Practices session of the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing annual virtual conference. Hocutt was invited to become a member of the Building Digital Literacy research cluster in the Digital Life Institute, an international research network of multidisciplinary scholars studying the social implications of disruptive digital technologies.
Distinguished Scholarship Awards In recognition of a consistent record of outstanding contributions in scholarship as documented through published research, scholarship, or creative expression
DOUG BOSSE
David Meade White Jr. Chair in Business
HANK CHAMBERS
Austin E. Owen Research Scholar and Professor of Law
DEAN CROUSHORE
Rigsby Fellow in Economics
CRYSTAL HOYT
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Colonel Leo K. & Gaylee Thorsness Endowed Chair in Ethical Leadership
KELLY LAMBERT
MacEldin Trawick Professor in Psychology
ERIK NIELSON
Associate Professor of Liberal Arts
ELIZABETH OUTKA Professor of English
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ANN HODGES, professor of law emerita and
paralegal studies program chair, published “Employers and Covid Vaccines — What’s Legal and What’s Not?” on the American Constitution Society Expert Forum blog.
NEW & REAPPOINTED
Endowed Position Holders
CRYSTAL HOYT, Colonel Leo
These academic honors recognize an individual’s attainment of the highest levels of teaching, scholarship, research, and service in their discipline or field.
MILES JOHNSON, assistant professor of chemis-
BERT ASHE
try, received a $17,000 summer research grant from Organic Syntheses Inc. for his project “Development of Mild Nickel-Catalyzed C–N Cross-Coupling Reactions Enabled by Modular Phosphinopyrrole Ligands.”
Jabez A. Bostwick Chair of English
THOMAS BONFIGLIO
William Judson Gaines Chair in Modern Foreign Languages
SANDRA JOIREMAN, Weinstein Chair of Inter-
DEAN CROUSHORE
national Studies, co-published “Promised Land: Settlement Schemes in Kenya, 1962 to 2016” in Political Geography.
Rigsby Fellowship in Economics
PAT FISHE
Patricia A. and George W. Wellde Jr. Distinguished Chair in Finance
PETER KAUFMAN, George Matthews & Virginia
Brinkley Modlin Chair in Leadership Studies, published the chapter “Learning about leadership from ‘Coriolanus’ and Coriolanus” in William Shakespeare and 21st-Century Culture, Politics, and Leadership (Edward Elgar Publishing).
MARSHALL GEIGER
CSX Professorship in Accounting or Management Systems
JERRY GILFOYLE
Robert and Lena Loving Chair of Physics
AL GOETHALS
E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professorship in Leadership Studies
MICHELLE HAMM
Clarence E. Denoon Jr. Chair in Natural Sciences
VIOLET HO
E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professorship in Business
KATHRYN JACOBSEN
William E. Cooper Distinguished University Chair
MONIKA KUKAR-KINNEY
F. Carlyle Tiller Chair in Business
MICHAEL LEOPOLD
Floyd D. and Elisabeth S. Gottwald Chair in Chemistry
SHAKUN MAGO
Joseph A. Jennings Chair in Business
DEL MCWHORTER
Stephanie Bennett-Smith Chair in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
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K. and Gaylee Thorsness Endowed Chair in Ethical Leadership, co-published “Well-being in the time of COVID-19: Do metaphors and mindsets matter?” in the International Journal of Psychology and “Believing in the American Dream Sustains Negative Attitudes toward Those in Poverty” in Social Psychology Quarterly.
MICHAEL LEOPOLD, Floyd
D. and Elisabeth S. Gottwald Professor of Chemistry, received a $272,738 grant from the National Science Foundation to explore the development of a nanoparticle-based sensor used for detecting explosives. He received a $2,000 Mednick Memorial Fellowship from the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges for his project “Exploring Halogen Bonding as a Fundamental Interaction toward the Development of Nanoparticle-Based Sensing of Explosive Molecules.” TODD LOOKINGBILL, associate professor of
biology and geography and the environment, co-published “Thermal Inequity in Richmond, VA: The Effect of an Unjust Evolution of the Urban Landscape on Urban Heat Islands” in Sustainability. ROB MCADAMS, director of Partners in the Arts,
was a panelist on RPS Live! discussing arts in Richmond public schools and the value of arts integration across the curriculum in celebration of Arts in Our Schools Month. McAdams participated in the Teachers College Press virtual book launch of Lisa Donovan, adjunct assistant
PEOPLE
Caps Off, Spiders! Congratulations to UR’s most recent employee graduates JESSIE BUFORD
Master of Nonprofit Studies Box Office Manager, Modlin Center for the Arts
RAY DONAHOO
Bachelor of Science in Professional Studies Floater Manager, Heilman Dining Center
LEAH DOWNEY
Master of Nonprofit Studies Administrative Assistant, Alumni Relations
RYAN FOULDS
Master of Education Project Manager, Alumni and Career Services
FESS KHAN
Master of Human Resource Management User Services Project Coordinator, Information Services/User Services
ROSE NICHOLSON
Certificate in Applied Studies Administrative Coordinator, Department of Chemistry
KATY OLNEY
Master of Human Resource Management Administrative Specialist, School of Law
BLAKE STACK
Master of Human Resource Management Nursing Supervisor, Student Health Center
Master of Nonprofit Studies Assistant Director of Student Engagement and Operations, Bonner Center for Civic Engagement
INGRID HALE
ANDREA VEST
SLADE GORMUS
Master of Nonprofit Studies Seasonal Application Assistant, Undergraduate Admission
Master of Teaching Administrative Coordinator, Academic Advising Resource Center
BRIAN IVASAUSKAS (pictured above) Master of Business Administration Associate Director of Marketing, University Communications
CINDY KENNON
Certificate in Applied Studies Associate Director of Financial Reporting, Spider Management Co.
Employees listed above graduated in December 2020, May 2021, or August 2021. Many, if not all, received their undergraduate or graduate degrees using the University’s tuition remission program. Visit hr.richmond.edu/ benefits for more details.
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professor of education, and Sarah Anderberg’s Teacher as Curator: Formative Assessment and Arts-Based Strategies. The book features students in PIA’s grant-funded Arts Integrated Learning Certificate program. KIMMARIE MCGOLDRICK,
professor of economics, was ranked the Journal of Economic Education’s No. 7 all-time publisher in the field of economic education and the leading female author as examined by The American Economist. JOE MINICK, director of multimedia, received the
designation of Certified Remote Pilot from the Federal Aviation Administration, allowing him to operate the University’s drone under the FAA’s small unmanned aircraft systems requirements. CAMILLA NONTERAH, assistant professor of
health psychology, received a $50,000 grant from the American Society of Transplantation for her project “The Development of the Barriers in Access to Transplantation Scale.” I Got Something to Say: Gender, Race, and Social Consciousness in Rap Music by MATTHEW OWARE, Irving May Professor of Human Relations, was named one of the “59 Best Rap Music Books of All Time” by BookAuthority. SANDRA PEART, Dean of the Jepson School
of Leadership Studies and E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professor in Leadership Studies, published The Essential John Stuart Mill (The Frasier Institute). CYNTHIA PRICE, associate vice president of
media and public relations, and Sunni Brown, director of media and public relations, won third place in the Web and Social Media — Social Media Presence — Nonprofit, Government, or Educational category for “@URNews2Use: Twitter Feed for Media Relations.” CHRISTOPHER VON RUEDEN, associate professor
UR Now, the University’s digital news digest, reports on faculty and staff achievements, expertise, creative work, and scholarship. Get the news you need about your colleagues and the University every week in your inbox and visit the website. urnow.richmond.edu 22
of leadership studies, co-authored “Do wealth and inequality associate with health in a smallscale subsistence society?” in eLife; “Coalitions and Conflict: A Longitudinal Analysis of Men’s Politics” in Evolutionary Human Sciences; “Gender differences in social networks based on prevailing kinship norms in the Mosuo of China” in Social Sciences; and “Opportunities for interaction: Natural observations of children’s social behavior in five societies” in Human Nature.
English and comparative literature, published the chapter “‘Lies like truth’: ‘Macbeth’ and the American Dream” in William Shakespeare and 21st-Century Culture, Politics, and Leadership (Edward Elgar Publishing), which he co-edited with Kristin Bezio, associate professor of leadership studies. NICOLE SACKLEY, associate professor of history
and American studies, received a $6,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities for her book project Co-op Capitalism: Cooperatives, International Development, and American Visions of Capitalism in the Twentieth Century. JENNIFER SEVIN, visiting
lecturer of biology, received a $3,074 incubator grant from the National Science Foundation for a project focused on undergraduate research exploring the wildlife trade. The funding is part of a larger $71,000 Research Cooperative Network Incubator grant led by the University of Rhode Island with additional collaborators from the University of Florida and the University of Maryland. VESSELA STEFANOVA, administrative assistant in
University Facilities, received University Facilities’ CHEERS (Co-workers Honoring Excellent Employees with Rewards) Award. Winners are selected from a pool of peer-submitted nominees. RANIA SWEIS, associate
professor of anthropology, published Paradoxes of Care: Children and Global Medical Aid in Egypt (Stanford University Press).
JOANNA WARES, associate professor of math-
ematics, was appointed editor-in-chief of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Undergraduate Research Online, a web-based publication devoted to undergraduate research in applied and computational mathematics. Wares co-published “SIAM Undergraduate Research Online Prepares Students for Career Publishing Endeavors” in SIAM News.
PEOPLE
ANTHONY RUSSELL, associate professor of
PEGGY WATSON, director of the Osher Lifelong
Learning Institute, contributed a recap of the Osher community reading and discussion of Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste: The Origins of our Discontents in the April issue of the Osher Network Newsletter. JONATHAN WIGHT, pro-
fessor of economics, was ranked among the Journal of Economic Education’s top 20 publishers as examined by The American Economist.
JAMELLE WILSON, dean of the School of Pro-
fessional and Continuing Studies, received the Women Education Leaders in Virginia 2021 Mentor Award, presented annually to an educational leader who served or serves as an inspirational mentor to women leaders and has consistently supported women for advancement. Wilson was reappointed by Gov. Ralph Northam to the Virginia Board of Education for a second four-year term. TOM ZYLKIN, assistant professor of economics,
received a $72,877 grant from the Economic and Social Research Council in the United Kingdom to support his project “Machine Learning in International Trade Research — Evaluating the Impact of Trade Agreements.”
LINDA FISHER THORNTON, adjunct associate
professor of human resource management, was named among women entrepreneurs, leaders, and influencers who contribute to Ebsco’s Accel5, a microlearning tool that helps users develop skills such as communication, leadership, and teamwork, in celebration of Women’s History Month. LAUREN TILTON, assistant professor of digital
humanities, was selected as a researcher to work with the Library of Congress on three inaugural Computing Cultural Heritage in the Cloud projects.
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NEW HIRES STAFF
We offer a warm welcome to our new colleagues and congratulations to colleagues taking their next steps. The following includes employment status changes for full- and part-time faculty and staff from Feb. 1 to June 30, 2021.
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES Mahad Bhatti Post Baccalaureate Research Assistant, Math and Computer Science Sara Connon Post Baccalaureate Research Assistant, Biology Ulrick Gaillard Berroa Post Baccalaureate Research Assistant, Chemistry SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL & CONTINUING STUDIES Catherine Taylor Osher Program Coordinator PROVOST Tracee Haupt Digital Archive Coordinator, American Studies Somiah Lattimore Director of Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Joellyn McGlamery Library Access Services Specialist, Boatwright Memorial Library Chase Monroe Library Access Services Specialist, Boatwright Memorial Library ADVANCEMENT Brandy Ewell Assistant Director, Career Services ATHLETICS Trey Caso Assistant Football Coach Sam Daniels Assistant Football Coach Ross Douglas Assistant Football Coach Jeff Hanson Assistant Football Coach Kevin Hovde Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach Maurice Joseph Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach Alex Ng Assistant Women’s Soccer Coach Jason Nichols Assistant Football Coach BUSINESS AFFAIRS CAMPUS SERVICES Andy Boyd Cook II, Heilman Dining Center
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Jacob Moore Cook I, Heilman Dining Center Beth Mundy Café Associate, 8:15 at Boatwright Jermaine Watson Utility Associate, Heilman Dining Center Chris White Cook II, Heilman Dining Center FACILITIES Evan Arrighi Groundskeeper
SCHOOL OF LAW Allie Carter Assistant Dean for Development and Alumni Relations SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL AND CONTINUING STUDIES Danica Rios Acting Manager, Administrative and Technical Services PROVOST George Flanagin Data Analytics and Computational Support Specialist
John Beebe Food Service Mechanic — HVAC
ADVANCEMENT Sarah Kuhn Associate Director for Employer Relations, Alumni and Career Services
Justin Howe Carpenter
Emily White Major Gift Officer
Ed Hunt Custodial Floor Technician
BUSINESS AFFAIRS CAMPUS SERVICES Tiffany Defreitas Line Service Associate, Heilman Dining Center
Gabriel Arrighi Athletic Field Technician
Spaska Spasova Custodian Luke Wojahn Custodian SECURITY Deborah Hutchison Temporary Communication Officer ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT Tyler Payne Operations Assistant, Financial Aid Office Michael Pina Director of Admission for Diversity Outreach and Partnerships INFORMATION SERVICES Micah Watson Technical Support Consultant, User Services Specialists SPIDER MANAGEMENT Michael Loughran Investment Analyst STUDENT DEVELOPMENT Hunter Buchbinder Facility Supervisor, University Recreation Marieka Turner Health Educator, Health Promotion
MOVES STAFF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES Sarah Orr Budget and Operations Manager
Lily Evenstar Cook II, Passport Café Karen Hensley Senior Registered Dietitian, Heilman Dining Center Joshua Murray Cook I, Tyler’s Grill FACILITIES Stephen Birch Boiler Plant Operator — REACT Andy Lafoon Locksmith II, Carpentry
RETIREMENTS 42 YEARS CINDY STEARNS Dining Services Administration 36 YEARS PAT JOHNSON University Facilities — Custodial 35 YEARS SUSAN BREEDEN Registrar Office JULIAN MORGAN University Facilities — Control Systems 33 YEARS LEIGH MCDONALD Boatwright Memorial Library 31 YEARS BETH SIMONDS Campus Safety 29 YEARS DEBBIE GOVORUHK History MIRANDA SHAW Arts & Sciences faculty (Religious Studies) 26 YEARS SUSAN OPDYCKE Boatwright Memorial Library 22 YEARS LORENZA MARCIN Arts & Sciences faculty (Languages, Literatures, and Cultures) 21 YEARS MARK BROOKING University Facilities — Carpentry
Sean McBride Groundskeeper
20 YEARS HENLEY GUILD University Museums
Mila Stamenova Team Leader, Custodial
DEBORAH HUTCHISON Campus Safety
HUMAN RESOURCES Janee Bolling Human Resources Representative
17 YEARS MELVIN BURLEIGH University Facilities — Custodial
SECURITY Nicholas Myers Communications Center Supervisor, Campus Safety
AMY CHAN Human Resources
PLANNING AND POLICY Kristen Ball University Registrar UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS Nicole Hansen Digital Content Specialist
12 YEARS ROBERT HODIERNE Arts & Sciences faculty (Journalism) 10 YEARS RICHARD DAGGER Arts & Sciences faculty (Political Science) 3 YEARS JULIET KIRK Heilman Dining Center
PEOPLE
This Spider is teaching rats to drive.
Kelly Lambert School of Arts & Sciences Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience
THIS RESEARCH CAN RESHAPE THE FIELD OF BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE as we know it. By assessing the effects of training on the rats’ brains, Kelly Lambert is deepening our understanding of environment and upbringing on human cognitive development. This paves the way for more effective treatment of mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. Life may be a rat race, but Richmond Spiders improve how we interact with it. See what’s within us and the impact we make. richmond.edu
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410 Westhampton Way University of Richmond, VA 23173
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
NOV. 1–12 OPEN ENROLLMENT The one time during the year to make changes to your benefit elections without a qualifying event.
OCTOBER Oct. 1–3 Family Weekend Oct. 3–4 Access Richmond Overnight introduction to UR for underrepresented prospective students Oct. 15 Preview Richmond Open house for prospective students and their families NOVEMBER Nov. 5–7 Homecoming Nov. 24–26 Thanksgiving Break
DECEMBER Dec. 3 Last Day of Undergraduate Fall Classes Dec. 10, 2–3:30 p.m. Winter Celebration THC, Alice Haynes Room (Green stage only) Dec. 24–31 Winter Break JANUARY Jan. 3 New Year’s Day (observed) Jan. 10 First Day of Spring Classes Jan. 17 Martin Luther King Jr. Day
USAC The University Staff Advisory Council represents the needs of staff to senior administration and works proactively to make the University of Richmond an employer of choice. Meetings* Oct. 12 Nov. 9 Dec. 14 Jan. 11 1–3 p.m. Visit usac.richmond. edu for meeting l ocations.
*Unless otherwise noted, meetings are open to all faculty and staff.
FACULTY SENATE The University of Richmond Faculty Senate is the body authorized by both the University faculty and the board of trustees to represent the faculty in the University’s governance process on matters that impact the University or affect more than one school. Meetings* Oct. 22 Nov. 19 Dec. 17 Jan. 14 3–4:30 p.m. Visit facultysenate. richmond.edu for meeting locations.
