Spider Insider: Winter 2021

Spider Insider

For faculty & staff at the UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND Winter 2021

Step inside the

NEW FACULTY HUB

SMOKIN’ THE COMPETITION Eight faculty and staff teams from across the University competed in the inaugural “Laid Back Smokers” barbecue cook-off in December. The contest was held in memory of Jerry Robinson, purchasing agent in the Office of Procurement and Strategic Sourcing, who died unexpectedly in March 2020. Robinson enjoyed barbecuing and had his own line of sauces and rubs.

A total of 225 racks of ribs were prepared by competitors and dining services for employees attending “A Taste of UR.”

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Winter 2021

Vice president for University Communications John M. Barry Associate vice president for communications and digital engagement Phillip Gravely Editor Cheryl Spain

Spider Insider

Director of creative services Samantha Tannich Graphic designer, publications Gordon Schmidt

Taking Flight

Photographer Jamie Betts Staff contributors: Ashley Bentley, Sunni Brown, Sam Campbell, Catherine Amos Cribbs, Chad Devers, Matthew Dewald, Mike Domina, Joedy Felts, Pryor Green, Lindsey Grow, Paul Heltzel, Kevin Heraldo, Josie Holland, ’23, Alicia Hubbard, Brian Ivasauskas, Pamela Lee, Katie McBride, Joe Minick, 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: Linda Boland, director of the Faculty Hub and professor of biology; Andrew Bell, technology consultant; and the other members of the Hub team look forward to welcoming faculty into the newly designed space on the third floor of Boatwright Memorial Library.

We welcome your input.

Send your story ideas or comments to spiderinsider @richmond.edu.

The Richmond Spiders men’s basketball team entered the national spotlight after beating No. 10 Kentucky at Rupp Arena on Nov. 29.

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Underwriting Innovation

Grant funding propels faculty research, student experience, staff service, and academic excellence

Life on the Road, but Nowhere to Go What’s a road warrior to do when a pandemic closes the road?

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Building Momentum 2020 brand and image replication study shows UR’s reputation is growing stronger across all audiences Social Buzz

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The Place Where It Happens Faculty Hub’s new location provides the perfect setting for learning and crossdisciplinary collaboration

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A Semester Like No Other UR celebrates a successful in-person fall semester while preparing to do it all again

A Personal Connection Concrete, real-world examples provide meaningful ways for students to engage with course content

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Statement Formalizes UR’S Commitment to Free Expression Media Mentions

7 Photograph by Jamie Betts

The Conversation: What Is an Algorithm?

8 Pivoting Pro Bono Outreach Law faculty and students adapt community service efforts during the pandemic

Accolades The ‘Right Stuff’ IFX collects, analyzes, and reports data to improve systems and keep others informed

15 Adapting to a COVID Campus A behind-the-scenes look at the semester that almost wasn’t

PEOPLE 16 Spider Talks Returns 18 Our Accomplishments 19 Recent Appointment: William McLean 20 Omicron Delta Kappa Epsilon Circle Inductees 21 Engage for Change! Award Winners 22 Strange’s COVID-19 Superheroes 24 New Hires, Moves, and Retirements 25 In Memoriam

Julia Vidlak, ’22,  pictured pre-pandemic with chemistry professor Miles Johnson, is one of more than 300 students who have benefited from grant-funded undergraduate student research opportunities during the past five academic years.

GRANT SUPPORT The Office of Foundation, Corporate, and Government Relations (FCGR) assists faculty and staff with finding, applying for, and securing grant funding for their research plans, campus initiatives, new projects, equipment, and more.

FCGR offers guidance on every step of the process from finding the right funding opportunities to accepting the award. All proposals, applications, and requests for external support, including fellowships and sabbatical funding, must be routed through the FCGR office for review and approval in partnership with the Grants Accounting and Controller’s offices to ensure that the University is able to comply with the terms and conditions associated with any potential funding.

To learn more, visit grants.richmond.edu.

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Underwriting Innovation Grant funding propels faculty research, student experience, staff service, and academic excellence Faculty and staff at the University of Richmond are leaders in advancing innovation and research in their fields of study and areas of expertise. In the past five academic years, nearly 300 University of Richmond faculty and staff have received federal, state, and private grants totaling more than $21 million to support their research and professional work in a variety of areas. And that number reflects only those named as principal investigators on grant-funded projects. Countless other faculty, staff, and students have benefited as collaborators.

Examples of UR faculty and staff who have received grant funding in the 2020–21 academic year include biology professor Linda Boland, who was awarded a National Institutes of Health grant to support the creation of a tool to amplify electrical activity in cells to make them easier to measure. Biology professors Kristine Grayson and Dan Pierce, computer science professor Joonsuk Park, and chemistry professor Michael Norris received Thomas F. and Kate Miller Jeffress Memorial Trust grants to support their research in chemical, medical, or other scientific fields. And the University of Richmond Police Department received funding from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services to support the University’s efforts related to COVID-19 preparation, response, and protection.

Grants can fund summer stipends for faculty, needed equipment, research materials, travel, and more. One other area of support, which helps propel the undergraduate experience — a hallmark of a Richmond education — is funding positions for UR students to participate in grant-funded research.

“Participating in a grant-funded research project as an undergraduate student can be a key

factor in the competitive process of getting into a graduate program,” said Brenda Thomas, director of grant support. “It’s exciting to see grants at the award stage, but seeing the outcomes of the grants, including innovative research and student involvement, is especially rewarding.”

Junior Julia Vidlak is one of the more than 300 students who have directly benefited from UR faculty’s grant funding. Under the mentorship of Miles Johnson, assistant professor of chemistry, Vidlak is researching organometallics, which have important applications in the pharmaceutical industry. Johnson has received grant support for his research through both the Jeffress Memorial Trust and the American Chemical Society, with awards that have included support for undergraduate research students.

Johnson is not only an advocate for funded student research; he’s also a beneficiary of such research funding. A UR alum, Johnson benefited as a student researcher in the lab of his former chemistry professor Wade Downey, now his colleague. Downey’s organic chemistry research has been funded by numerous organizations including the National Science Foundation and the Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation.

“Wade has been an exceptional mentor to me since I was a UR student,” Johnson said. “I got to work in his lab as an undergraduate, and now my own grant funding allows me to pay that forward to the next generation of scientists.”

In contributing to their fields of research and helping UR students reap the benefits of grant-supported work on campus, Richmond faculty and staff advance the academic excellence of the University and influence research across the globe.

A roundup of reactions to posts on @urichmond: Big shoes to fill! We are grateful our son will finish UR under his stellar leadership! Thank you, President Crutcher!

—Jackie Yost Limongelli via Facebook Referring to President Crutcher’s announcement that he’s stepping down from his role as president at the end of the 2021–22 academic year Thank you so much to the UR administration and staff for working tirelessly to plan and implement safety procedures. Getting the buy-in and cooperation of the students is a crucial part, and it’s clearly working. Thank you for keeping the entire UR community safe and healthy.

—Bliss Freytag Smith via Facebook

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SOCIAL BUZZ

Building Momentum

2020 brand and image replication study shows UR’s reputation is growing stronger across all audiences Newly gathered data benchmarked against a branding study conducted four years ago shows that UR’s image and reputation are further strengthening. The progress comes following the introduction of the “Within Us” strategic branding campaign and the creation of a host of other targeted communication initiatives aimed at prospective students, alumni, and national thought-leaders after the completion of the original study in 2016.

In September, the higher education research and marketing agency SimpsonScarborough surveyed faculty, staff, students, and alumni, receiving more than 3,900 responses. The results showed statistical increases across 25 baseline metrics, while no baseline metrics were lower.

Majorities of all audience populations surveyed — and particularly current undergrads — believe UR’s academic reputation among national liberal arts colleges has improved over the last three years, and every population surveyed is more likely this year than they were in 2016 to say UR ranks among the top private universities in the country.

The 2020 study showed that while prospective students heavily rely on the University’s website and admission communications for information about UR, alumni primarily depend on social media, University of Richmond Magazine, communications from President Ronald A. Crutcher, and Spider Pride emails.

“It’s gratifying for us to see that the comprehensive and multifaceted communications effort we have implemented as a division following the initial branding study seems to be contributing to rises in the University’s image and reputation among all audiences,” said John Barry, vice president for communications.

In 2016, the University of Richmond embarked on an image study with SimpsonScarborough to help identify the distinct characteristics of a UR education so that a University brand identity could be built around those attributes. The survey also provided the baseline for measuring awareness and opinion of the University over time.

“When compared to the 2016 study, the results of this most recent survey show us how far we’ve come in advancing the University’s image and better telling our story,” Barry said. “We look forward to using the results of the most recent study to build on that momentum.”

Majorities of all audience populations surveyed believe UR’s academic reputation among national liberal arts colleges has improved over the last three years.

♥ the UR Symphony Orchestra! Wonderful job,

Alexander Kordzaia! Keep inspiring your students and making music!

—Michele Shaffer Lemmon via Facebook

Supporting mental health and providing positive experiences for students (and hopefully staff) to seek support and information is always a great idea [in my opinion]. Proud of you, University of Richmond.

—Rachel MacNeilly via Facebook Referring to the opening of the |Well-Being Center Thank you to our fantastic custodial team for everything they are doing to keep us safe.

—Karla Connelly via Facebook I’m curious if other universities have reached out to UR for guidance since UR’s management of campus activity under COVID has been a success. Does UR plan to create an emergency management major or course of study?

—Melanie Salsa via Facebook Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @urichmond 3

“I guess this semes-  ter is a perfect time to teach a course on adaptive behavior,” said Kelly Lambert, professor of behavioral neuroscience, who taught portions of her psychology seminar in a tent in the Queally Center courtyard.

A Semester Like No Other

UR celebrates a successful in-person fall semester while preparing to do it all again

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After 117 days of face coverings, physical distancing, Zoom trivia tournaments, tent gatherings, and classes in spaces that have never held classes, the University completed an in-person fall 2020 semester on campus — against all odds.

Despite a spike in cases in November, students largely followed guidelines, said Steve Bisese, vice president for student development.

“The students deserve so much credit,” Bisese said. “This experience is not what they thought college was going to be like.”

An enormous amount of planning went into making the fall semester a success (see story, Page 15). It included the creation of the University’s physical distancing framework, staged guidelines that allow protocols to be relaxed or tightened based on current COVID-19 data.

Shannon Sinclair, vice president and general counsel, said the framework is intended to be “a living document” that will evolve as conditions and guidance change. The framework set the stage for campus — from building modifications and student housing to meetings and events.

Among other successes, Sinclair noted the initial COVID-19 testing of students arriving on campus, which established a baseline from which to measure future positivity rates and cases through prevalence testing; and the modular

housing units for isolation and quarantine. The addition of those units better positioned the University to manage an outbreak, should one happen, compared to other schools of similar size or even larger.

“It was not an easy feat to get them to campus,” Sinclair said. “but it was nice to know we’ve got that capacity.”

And students were happy to be here, despite the restrictions and testing. In a recent student survey, they expressed appreciation for the care and concern shown for them throughout the semester.

But protocols and facilities alone don’t create a safe environment — there’s a huge education component that will continue into the spring.

Brittany Schaal, director of emergency management, credits the holistic approach UR took to adapt to COVID-19, from training to ongoing communications and virtual forums.

“We didn’t just invest in one particular thing,” Schaal said. “I really think it’s because we did all those things that set us up to be successful. Not only was the University willing to invest, but the campus community was invested as well.”

That investment from the campus community was vital, she said, and played out among students in ways she didn’t expect, like the creation

“We’ve got to do a little bit extra to connect,” he said. “Check in, reach out, and connect. The remote world separates us.”

But Legro also went on to say that “we’ve proven since last March that the ‘stodgy’ academic institution can be pretty nimble, flexible, creative, innovative, and fast-moving” when it comes to adapting to a global pandemic. The careful planning, shared responsibility, and community mantra — “Six feet.

Mask up. Protect our web.” — worked.

Thoughtful prevention strategies such as deep cleaning and reconfigured learning spaces implemented by faculty and staff and adherence to the face coverings and physical distancing policies by the entire campus community resulted in no evidence of transmission in classrooms or other facilities.

“We’ve proven that we’re resilient,” Legro said.

“It has been really hard at times, but everyone has come together and made a difference in several thousand lives — and those are the lives of our students during one of the most important experiences they will have in their lifetime.”

“I really think it’s because we did all those things that set us up to be successful.

Not only was the University willing to invest, but the campus community was invested as well.”

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of an Instagram account, @URWebWarriors.

The educational account is run by students and aimed at their peers, to communicate important messages and promote safe events.

“The students have really shown up in a way that we aren’t seeing across the country necessarily,” Schaal said. “We are a small campus, and we’re holding everyone accountable.”

Both Schaal and Bisese marveled at the ingenuity of students, staff, and faculty in making the semester possible. But strict limits on in-person gatherings make it hard to make friends, especially when you’re new to campus.

“The most difficult thing to solve is very basic,” Bisese said.

“You can have all the creativity in the world, and it’s still hard to not feel a sense of isolation.”

Looking ahead to the spring semester, concerns about mental health and student isolation are top of mind for University officials. Simply scheduling more activities isn’t necessarily the way people want to interact, Bisese said. Instead, the team is finding more ways to promote organic, natural interactions in a safe way.

In an October virtual forum with staff, Provost Jeff Legro highlighted this concern — not just among students, but faculty and staff as well.

KEEPING THE AIR FRESH Among the changes to campus spaces were engineering controls for air systems in campus buildings. These changes included modifying air handling systems to increase outside air input into buildings through existing systems and adding UV-C filtration and/or bipolar ionization to existing air handling systems to neutralize viral particles.

“There was a lot of debate [early on] in the science community about whether this was just respiratory droplets or whether it could be aerosolized,” Sinclair said, “and our planning was built on the assumption that it could be aerosolized.

I’m really glad we implemented those changes. It’s hard to prove, but I believe it’s contributing to how well things are going.”

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STATEMENT FORMALIZES UR’S COMMITMENT TO FREE EXPRESSION During the fall term, the University held three virtual community events at which more than 150 students, faculty, and staff offered feedback on UR’s recommended Statement on Free Expression. The events represented the culmination of a multi-year process to formalize the commitment to campus free expression.

“The University’s free expression statement is not a policy,” President Ronald A. Crutcher said.

“Rather, it is a living document inviting community members to engage in an ongoing conversation about our free expression values and aspirations.”

Free expression has been a topic of discussion on college campuses for decades but in recent years has garnered specific attention, with many institutions adopting statements.

After a 2018 Richmond College Student Government Association resolution called for a

“The time students spend on our campus may be their last and best opportunity to learn how to have conversations across racial, cultural, and ideological differences ...”

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University statement on free expression, the administration initiated an iterative process of seeking input and working with experts to encourage learning and dialogue on the subject. During the 2018–19 academic year, Crutcher hosted a free expression speaker series, while the Faculty Senate sponsored a panel discussion on the topic.

In spring 2019, Crutcher convened the campus Task Force on Free Expression. After carefully studying the issue over seven months and listening to feedback from students, faculty, and staff, the task force determined the University would benefit from having a statement rooted in UR’s educational mission and institutional values.

Discussions of the task force’s recommended statement underscored the community’s eagerness to engage the topic. While Crutcher acknowledged that he did not have an answer for every question, he welcomed the lively discussions and believed they served as models for how open inquiry sharpens one’s skills to engage a variety of perspectives.

“The time students spend on our campus may be their last and best opportunity to learn how to have conversations across racial, cultural, and ideological differences,” Crutcher said. “If we can continue to model and teach students how to navigate differences with patience, empathy, and intellect, I am confident we will meet our mission and launch them into the world better equipped to participate in our pluralistic democracy.”

MEDIA MENTIONS “Is Halloween canceled? Costumers, candy makers, theme parks face scary realities” “If retailers suffer heavy losses during the Halloween season, many may launch Christmas promotions early to try to compensate,” said TOM ARNOLD, professor of finance, in a piece exploring COVID-19’s impact on the retail industry.

“Mapping Migration In Asia Through Ancient Genomes” MELINDA YANG, assistant professor of biology, was interviewed on this podcast about her research on the genetic makeup of ancient human fossils from East Asia. “I really became interested in archaeology because I was interested in all the different ways we can study humans. It’s like a giant mystery, where you can ask these questions about how they live, what were they eating?” she told host Alex Lim. “My Dream Was Being Used Against Me In Court” Associate Professor of Liberal Arts ERIK NIELSON’s expertise on the use of rap lyrics in court is highlighted in this NPR music feature. “This is not a First Amendment issue with racial implications. It is a racial issue with First Amendment implications,” he said in an interview.

“How To Get Your Family and Friends to Vote In This Election” “Humans are social beings, and having someone ask you to do something is a powerful way of motivating action,” explained JENNIFER ERKULWATER, professor of political science, in this piece about how people could encourage their friends and family to vote in the 2020 election.

“Commentary: COVID Upended the Traditional College Search. But Higher Ed Can Partner With Community Groups to Open Doors for Low-Income Students of Color” “Even as colleges navigate an unprecedented admissions cycle, they can partner with [community-based organizations] and enlist school and community leaders in a collective effort to ensure that the full range of extraordinary students do not slip through the cracks,” advised STEPHANIE DUPAUL, vice president for enrollment management, in this piece she co-authored.

“Wendy Collins Perdue column: Reflecting on 150 years of Richmond Law” “The world needs great lawyers to assure the health and social order of our democracy,” wrote WENDY COLLINS PERDUE, dean of the University of Richmond School of Law, as she reflected on the school’s history. “Richmond Law lawyers have risen to meet that need for the past 150 years.

Here’s to the next 150.”

“How Will America’s Universities Safely Feed Students During the Pandemic?”

TYLER BETZHOLD, executive chef, explained the precautionary measures taken by UR Dining to keep the campus community safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’ve always had very strict cleaning and sanitation procedures, but those procedures have increased, taking place between every single shift,” he said.

Visit news.richmond.edu to view additional media mentions or connect with University Communications’ Media and Public Relations team, Cynthia Price, Sunni Brown, and Lindsey Grow.

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The Conversation

What Is an Algorithm?

By Jory Denny, assistant professor of computer science The world of computing is full of buzzwords: AI, supercomputers, machine learning, and more.

One word in particular is used throughout computing — algorithm.

An algorithm is a series of instructions telling a computer how to transform a set of facts into useful information. To get a feel for the concept of algorithms, think about getting dressed in the morning. Few people give it a second thought.

But how would you write down your process or tell a 5-year-old your approach? Answering these questions in a detailed way yields an algorithm.

INPUT To a computer, input is the information needed to make decisions.

There are many variables to consider when choosing what to wear. What clothes are in your closet? What is the weather forecast? What are your personal preferences?

All this information can be represented in data, which is essentially simple collections of numbers or words.

TRANSFORMATION Next comes the heart of an algorithm — computation. Computations involve arithmetic, decision-making, and repetition.

So, how does this apply to getting dressed?

Whether you put on a jacket might depend on the temperature, and which jacket you choose might depend on the forecast. To a computer, part of a getting-dressed algorithm would look like “if it is below 50 degrees and it is raining, then pick the rain jacket and a long-sleeved shirt to wear underneath it.”

OUTPUT The last step of an algorithm is presenting the output or expressing the answer. To a computer, output is usually more data, just like input. It allows computers to string algorithms together in complex fashions to produce more algorithms.

Output can also involve presenting information, for example putting words on a screen or some other form of communication.

Translated to getting dressed, output could include people noticing your outfit or taking a selfie you post on Instagram.

MACHINE LEARNING Sometimes it’s too complicated to spell out a decision-making process. A special category of algorithms — machine learning algorithms — try to “learn” based on a set of past decision-making examples. Machine learning is commonplace for things like recommendations, predictions, and looking up information.

For our getting-dressed example, a machine learning algorithm would be the equivalent of remembering past decisions about what to wear or knowing how comfortable you feel wearing each item and then using that information to make choices.

An algorithm is a simple concept, and yet every piece of technology you touch involves many algorithms. Next time you use your phone, ponder what sort of complex set of algorithms are working behind the scenes.

This article was adapted with permission from the author and is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

BY THE NUMBERS The Conversation is an independent news source that specializes in articles written by academics for a general audience. The articles are distributed via The Associated Press wire service and made available to hundreds of media outlets across the world.

• In 2020, 22 faculty members, representing all five schools, published 26 articles with The Conversation.

• For 11 of the authors, it was their first major national media opportunity.

• Article topics included COVID-19, the 2020 presidential election, ancient DNA, and more.

• The 26 articles were picked up nearly 900 times for a potential readership of 2 billion.

• Top pickups by circulation included MarketWatch, U.S. News & World Report, Business Insider, and Fast Company.

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POTENTIAL READERSHIP

All UR facultyauthored The Conversation articles are available to read at news.richmond.edu/ placements/conversation. To learn more about writing for The Conversation, faculty are encouraged to contact Cynthia Price, associate vice president for media and public relations, at cprice2@richmond. edu.

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‘LOOK FOR THE HELPERS’ Professor Julie McConnell — along with professors Tara Casey, Josh Kubicki, and Roger Skalbeck — were recognized by Style Weekly for their work with the RVA Legal Collaborative to defend protestors.

The article “Look for the Helpers” featured different Richmonders helping make “a better place for us all” in 2020. “Until there is a real conversation and a reckoning about how people of color have been treated, people will continue to protest,” McConnell said. “And they should.”

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Pivoting Pro Bono Outreach Law faculty and students adapt community service efforts during the pandemic Pro bono work and community outreach are core components of a legal education at the University of Richmond School of Law. In addition to connecting with the community and providing valuable legal expertise to those in need, pro bono service develops students’ legal skills by having them support real clients.

The events of 2020, then, posed a unique set of obstacles. The pandemic presented both logistical challenges — such as not being able to meet face to face with clients — as well as new legal issues for vulnerable populations. Meanwhile, as the country looked with fresh eyes on issues related to racial justice, a different type of challenge arose for law students: “One of the hardest emotions to wrestle with right now is helplessness because we see what is sickening our society, but we don’t know how to effectuate its healing,” Tara Casey, director of the law school’s Carrico Center for Pro Bono and Public Service, said. “I think many students were feeling called to action. For a lot of students, this is why they came to law school, because they wanted to be of service.”

Casey worked with local agencies to facilitate that action in several ways. In partnership with the Virginia Poverty Law Center, she connected Richmond Law students with the Eviction Helpline to field calls from individuals facing eviction.

And in partnership with the Legal Aid Justice Center, law students trained to provide case support for the Virginia Redemption Project, aimed at accelerating the conditional pardon process for incarcerated individuals during the pandemic.

One of the larger pro bono partnerships came in the form of the RVA Legal Collaborative, whose organizers include several law alumni.

This group focuses on providing legal support to those arrested during the protests for racial justice in the wake of the killing of George Floyd.

“For some of these charges, the commonwealth’s attorney is not seeking jail time,” Casey said. “That means a public defender is not available. That was one of the driving forces for the creation of this group.”

One of the attorneys volunteering to represent protestors is Julie E. McConnell, director of the Children’s Defense Clinic at Richmond Law.

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She and Casey helped identify legal issues for the students to research and trained students to review police-worn body camera footage of arrests to identify legal issues for the pro bono attorneys working through the RVA Legal Collaborative. Richmond Law professors Josh Kubicki and Roger Skalbeck also helped by forging a partnership with iCONECT, an e-discovery platform for pro bono software for the project.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for students to help improve access to justice for the citizens of Virginia who are working to help our community evolve,” McConnell said.

“The students are learning firsthand what a difference thorough research and motions practice can make in effective [client] representation. Additionally, they are developing a marketable skill in terms of how to efficiently review discovery and provide important feedback to the attorneys with whom they are working.”

When students returned to classes in August,

they ramped up their outreach efforts even more. Amid the challenges of delivering legal services safely, Casey and the students at Richmond Law are continuing existing programs, like housing law, wills for seniors, and immigration programs, and are looking for new opportunities to help. Students participated in a virtual version of the Name and Gender Marker Change Pro Bono Clinic in October, in partnership with the Virginia Equality Bar Association and Equality Virginia. And the Carrico Center relaunched its long-standing partnership with the nonpartisan Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law to offer virtual election protection services during the November elections.

When it comes to pro bono service and community outreach, Richmond Law shows no signs of slowing down. As Casey said, “Students are still showing up for service, and I’m just heartened by that.”

“One of the hardest emotions to wrestle with right now is helplessness because we see what is sickening our society, but we don’t know how to effectuate its healing.”

PRO BONO PARTNERSHIPS • Assistance to Disabled Veterans • Estate Planning • Eviction Helpline • Housing Law Program • Immigration Assistance Project • Law Over Lunch • No-Fault Divorce Program • Pro Bono Legislative/Policy Program • Pro Se Mediation Project • Public Schools Projects • Racial Justice Criminal Defense Project • Richmond Global Health Alliance • Street Law • Trans Law Collaborative

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Staff whose work  usually involves travel have pivoted how they do their jobs. One example is more robust virtual programming offered by Alumni and Career Services, including cooking lessons, fitness classes, musical performances, and more.

READY TO GO Jim Merritt, regional development officer, typically travels twice a month in the New York City region. He is making do with the limitations, but, like his travel-heavy colleagues, he is eager to get back on the road.

“The people I work with have really interesting stories about how the University played a part in helping them become successful, which has put them in a position to give,” he said. “It’s fun to go to alumni events or dinner or whatever with them. I definitely miss it.”

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Life on the Road, but Nowhere to Go

What’s a road warrior to do when a pandemic closes the road?

In the before times — those pre-pandemic days when the ills of travel were rarely literal — Jose Garcia spent 12 to 14 weeks a year on the road.

An assistant director of admission, he sometimes visited seven high schools in a day to introduce prospective students to Richmond.

“Sometimes I came home on the weekends, and sometimes I didn’t,” he said. “There are times when it just makes more sense to stay out there.”

He turned out to be one of the last staff members on the road when the University suspended travel in March 2020.

Garcia is one of the University’s road warriors, a group that thoroughly reimagined how they do their jobs because of the pandemic. The creative solutions they came up with, they say, are often innovations that are likely to continue once the current circumstances ease.

Mary Alice Wallmeyer, an associate director of regional initiatives with Alumni and Career Services, is part of a team that supports more than 50 regional alumni chapters. Her job took her to events around the country, where she helped host gatherings and networked with volunteers.

When safety concerns canceled not only her travel but all in-person events, the team was quick to launch an ambitious schedule of virtual offerings, often showcasing alumni talents and expertise as Spiders reached out to one another.

“I remember that, before we left, we did a practice Zoom call from our own offices,” she said. “At that point, we thought we were going to be home for, like, two weeks.”

Expanding virtual programming was something they had previously considered, but it had never risen to a top-tier priority. COVID-19 changed that. She and her team found that while some things were lost without in-person events, virtual events offered new benefits, such as better reach to underserved alumni.

“People who live in areas where we don’t have regional groups have been able to participate in the virtual programming,” she said, citing the example of two alumni in Alaska. “A place like that, where we just don’t have a concentration of alumni, wouldn’t warrant a regional group under our old way of operating, but they can tune in for a virtual event connected to their alma mater, and that’s been pretty neat to see.”

Women’s lacrosse head coach Allison Kwolek had a similar experience. When prospective student-athletes could no longer visit campus, she, other coaches, and Athletics administration worked to create 3D scans of athletics facilities and launch a virtual visit site. The goal was to give recruits the best campus experience possible under the conditions. The bonus was that they could introduce more students to campus earlier in the recruitment process.

“I thought, ‘Huh, this is actually an upgrade in how we can showcase our facilities,’” she said.

“Things like that make sense for us to continue doing once everything opens back up again.”

space provides an ideal location for collaboration and chance interaction among faculty.

The Place Where It Happens Faculty Hub’s new location provides the perfect setting for learning and cross-disciplinary collaboration On the third floor of Boatwright Memorial Library, the newly designed Faculty Hub beckons for faculty to enter, take a seat, and strike up a conversation. And that was the plan, says Linda Boland, director of the Hub and professor of biology.

The Hub was started in the 2019–20 academic year to foster excellence in teaching, cultivating cross-disciplinary interactions for scholarly exchange and promoting professional development for faculty at all career stages. The new space is a physical expression of that goal.

“The space has been designed in a way to promote faculty interaction and collaboration,” said Boland, who took an active role in designing the space. “We want faculty to come in as often as they want and use it the way they need to advance their own goals for their academic teaching, scholarship, or creative works.”

That means having areas that are designated for different — and sometimes specific — needs.

It includes space for conversation, consultation, workshops, and other gatherings; studio space for high-quality audio and video recording; and an experimental classroom.

The office is staffed by a dedicated team that includes Boland; Jane Bise, administrative coordinator; technology consultants Andrew Bell and Ryan Brazell; educational developer Kylie Korsnack; and three Faculty Hub associates — currently Kristine Grayson, Elisabeth Gruner, and Kristine Nolin — who dedicate time within the Hub for projects that support the development of other faculty. Currently, the associates’ projects focus on data literacy and alternative methods of assessment.

“We are here to serve the faculty and to help them in any way possible,” Boland said. “In everything that we do, we strive for the highest quality and relevance so faculty can make the most effective use of their time.”

That sentiment rings especially true in the COVID-19 era. While the pandemic has halted in-person development opportunities, it hasn’t prevented Boland and her team from connecting with faculty virtually. Beginning in March 2020, the Hub led faculty professional development in blended and remote teaching. In fall 2020, the Hub added new programs such as Morning Blend, a virtual discussion session on topics that have included strategies for designing effective open-book exams and managing challenging discussions around the 2020 election. In January, the Hub launched its first “institute,” a multisession community-building experience for faculty to learn and apply skills to advance their teaching and scholarship; it focused on data visualization.

While the Faculty Hub hasn’t had events onsite since its completion in September 2020 due to the pandemic, Boland hopes to welcome faculty in the near future.

“We want the faculty to know that we’re here as a resource for them, that we are advocates for their work and want to help them continue to grow in their profession,” Boland said. “Ultimately, it all cycles back to the student. We want students to have the best learning experiences and outcomes, and faculty who are scholars and bring their passion for their scholarship into the classroom are going to help drive that.”

AROUND THE LAKE

 The open “touchdown”

LEARN MORE For more information on the Faculty Hub’s services, programs, and events, visit facultyhub. richmond.edu.

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Faculty use current  events such as political protests and national and global crises to promote discussion in the classroom and help students make meaningful connections to their own lives.

A Personal Connection

Concrete, real-world examples provide meaningful ways for students to engage with course content Rick Mayes, head of the Healthcare Studies Program, has been teaching about infectious diseases, pandemics, and racism in medicine in his Endeavor first-year seminar and Sophomore Scholars in Residence class since 2009. This academic year, things have felt a little different.

“If there’s ever been a year in my teaching career where students are more interested in current events, it’s this year,” Mayes said. “I think COVID, COVID’s impact on people of color, and Black Lives Matter — all at the same time — has made those things, for the first time in my teaching career, not feel historical.”

Current local, national, and global events provide faculty a way to engage students through concrete, relevant topics that are meaningful and applicable to their lives. Hearing the perspectives of those who are living these realities can promote meaningful discussion in the classroom and challenge students’ thinking.

Mayes began his Endeavor class investigating health care and public policy in the U.S. Students traced the coronavirus and its effects from its 12

origin in Wuhan, China, around the world to present day. His SSIR class built an interactive Storymap focusing on the impact and differentiated response to the virus in various regions of the world, including Italy, Vietnam, Spain, and South America.

“Our classes focused on this one viral pathogen that disrupts all of our lives, but not all of our lives equally,” Mayes said.

By integrating COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement — which are intricately related, according to Mayes — into his courses, he hopes to show that health care is so much more than doctors, hospitals, and vaccines. “Health care is housing. It’s economic support for mortgages. It’s transportation. It’s education,” Mayes said. “This pandemic has shown them that we all need to be working on these underlying disparities because when you don’t address them and a pandemic comes along, it’s much worse.”

While Mayes’ class was discussing the scientific and socioeconomic sides of COVID-19, students in theatre professor Chuck Mike’s Theatre for

ed to the two social issues. The production will premiere during the Department of Theatre and Dance’s 2021–22 season.

“Its sole purpose is to enlighten, to inform, to educate with a view toward specifically serving as a catalyst for change,” Mike said. It’s something he feels the theatre is structured to do well. “For those who tell their stories, I’m hoping that some measure of healing takes place — some reaffirmation and rekindling of the spirit, given what we’ve gone through. I wish the same for those who witness it.

Through the shared experience, we’ll all acquire and retain a better sense of humanity. I believe that alone would enable the world to be a better place.”

For Mayes and Mike — and many other faculty who are using real-world issues and events to help students take an active role in their education and make meaningful connections to their own lives — that’s really what it’s all about.

“Without engagement, there can be no concerted reflection, “Mike said. “And without reflection, there can be no real change.”

“If there’s ever been a year in my teaching career where students are more interested in current events, it’s this year.”

AROUND THE LAKE

Social Change class were taking a more personal approach to current events. In the course, students created and performed original theatre to prompt reflection and help foster change around urgent social issues.

It’s the first time his students have addressed two issues at once.

“Usually from the outset of the course, we do research about what’s the most pressing issue,” Mike said. “But between COVID-19 and the wave of police brutality and racial injustice, that wasn’t even necessary.”

In November, students in Mike’s class virtually presented What Matters, a short play created around the themes of COVID-19 and BLM. The centerpiece was a debate between students on campus over the words “Black Lives Matter.”

Material from Mike’s course will also culminate in the production of Standing Together 6 Ft Apart, a series of original monologues collected from the community about experiences relat-

VOTING SECURITY The 2020 presidential election during a worldwide pandemic brought its own set of questions for students, one of which was voting security.

Although he didn’t teach his computer security course during the fall 2020 semester, computer science professor Doug Szajda has incorporated lessons on voting security in prior election years. Students in his class learn about security requirements for voting systems and, in particular, about the importance of verifiability through paper audit trails.

“I bring this into the class because it’s one of those instances where you can sit down and say, ‘There are some good solutions to this,’” Szajda said. “We’ve been hearing a lot of ‘vote by mail is really poor.’ Actually, voting by mail can be done really well. It takes a little time, and you have to get the right infrastructure in place, but it can be done very well.”

Photo by Brian Palmer

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ACCOLADES These awards and rankings are a testament to the University’s overall commitment to excellence.

The Princeton Review recognized UR’s commitment to environmentally conscious practices and programs in its “GUIDE TO GREEN COLLEGES,” marking the 11th consecutive year Richmond has been named one of the nation’s most environmentally responsible colleges.

The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services awarded the University of Richmond Police Department state GRANT FUNDING to support the project UR COVID — Preparation, Response, Protection. The funds will provide PPE for first responders and support overtime hours for officers staffing the University’s student testing site.

The Community Foundation for a Greater Richmond’s Central Virginia COVID-19 Response Fund awarded the University of Richmond School of Law’s Medical-Legal Partnership a $14,500 GRANT to support community work, technology needs, and medical and legal services for low-income seniors.

UR received the CAMPUS PREVENTION NETWORK SEAL OF PREVENTION in recognition of the University’s exemplary efforts to foster student safety, well-being, and inclusion through online prevention programs. Fewer than 15% of U.S. institutions earned this distinction.

Associated Colleges of the South awarded the University of Richmond a $5,000 GRANT to develop courses that emphasize women’s roles in higher education throughout history as part of the project “#MeToo: How Women Historically Navigated Higher Education at the ACS Schools.”

The American Heart Association awarded UR GOLD RECOGNITION in its 2020 Workplace Health Achievement Index for the second consecutive year for implementation of quality workplace health programs and a culture of health best practices.

Cigna selected UR as a recipient of its 2020 CIGNA WELL-BEING AWARD for Honorable Culture of Well-being in the Mid-Atlantic region.

The award recognizes workplaces that are making a difference in the health and well-being of their employees.

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Photo by Kim Schmidt

Inside Higher Ed recognized UR and University Communications as an exemplar for UR’s COVID-19 DIGITAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY in “COVID-19 Info on Your Website: A Few Best Practices.”

The ‘Right Stuff’

IFX collects, analyzes, and reports data to improve systems and keep others informed The Office of Institutional Effectiveness, or IFX, may be best known for its role in the University’s accreditation process. Every 10 years, it reports the data that demonstrates that the University continues to meet strict educational quality standards. That important task, however, is just one piece of the full scope of its responsibilities and the support the team provides to faculty and staff.

“We’re really a customer service-based unit,” said Melanie Jenkins, director of Institutional Effectiveness (pictured above). “Our work encompasses everything about the University so we can continue to thrive as an institution.”

That work includes not only accreditation, but also academic program assessment, administrative planning and evaluation, institutional research and reporting, strategic planning analysis, survey administration, and more.

The information gathered for these efforts is vast and used in everything from grant proposals to salary benchmarks to identifying ways to improve existing processes.

“The University doesn’t want to be functioning in a cycle where we aren’t constantly improving,” Jenkins said. “Change is imperative. If something is inefficient — either in terms of time or money — we need a new system. We evaluate whether we are reaching our goals and then evaluate our plans.”

Information collected is also used in the creation of the University’s Fact Book and Common Data Set. The fact book and CDS provide institutional profiles of the University that include data points on the number of faculty, staff, and enrolled students; demographics; athletics offerings; and the University’s finances — all of which become reports for the public.

The annual fact book also provides stakeholders across campus the data they need and allows the University to track its progress over time. IFX also reports the Common Data Set to federal agencies that ensure universities are reporting the same data the same way.

According to Jenkins, consistency and integrity are essential in the world of institutional effectiveness, which is why IFX seeks to assist faculty and staff in their data collection and reporting needs.

“The institution is most effective when we work together for the best outcomes for our students,” Jenkins said. “IFX is here to provide support for all areas of UR seeking these outcomes.”

For more information, visit ifx.richmond.edu.

Here are just a few of the preparation efforts and the staff who led them:

Adapting to a COVID Campus A behind-the-scenes look at the semester that almost wasn’t Planning for a normal fall semester takes a lot of coordination and thoughtful preparation. But planning for a year during a global pandemic?

That complicates things considerably.

The fall semester posed a unique set of challenges for those who coordinate the living and learning spaces for students. But the careful planning, cross-division collaboration, and behind-the-scenes dedication of the staff in the Office of Residence Life and Housing and the Registrar’s Office helped make the semester a success.

One of the University’s highest priorities was ensuring that, once students returned to campus, their living situations offered the space necessary to maintain as much social distance as possible. That meant reducing the numbers of students per living area.

Rooms that would normally accommodate three students were converted to rooms for two, and some doubles were converted to singles. Some lounge spaces were even transformed into rooms to ensure housing for all students who wanted to live on campus.

“We are a highly populated residential campus,” Patrick Benner, director of residence life and housing, said. “A lot of focus went to ensuring that student residential spaces were safe and healthy. Our partners in Facilities and Campus Services helped us prepare our buildings in extraordinary ways, and we couldn’t have done it without them.”

Living spaces were only one piece of the puzzle. The classroom planning process was equally nuanced, challenging staff to reconfigure classrooms and redefine campus.

“We had to create a new campus of ‘safely distanced’ classrooms, moving more than 1,500

classes to new rooms and times,” said Susan Breeden, University registrar. “A room that used to hold 100 students could now only safely hold 20.”

The process necessitated creative thinking across divisions. “We were familiar with the normal spaces, like classrooms, auditoriums, and the like,” Breeden said. “But we had to pull in lots of other spaces — like basketball courts and workout rooms.”

Representatives from Facilities and Information Services/ Telecom, along with Breeden and her team, surveyed these less conventional spaces to identify new classrooms, ensuring that all new spaces could promote effective and safe student-professor interactions.

Once classrooms were identified, the Registrar’s Office began the massive job of updating Banner. The team created paper schedules for each room, filling in all the course information by hand to ensure there was no overlap of classes. The changes were then coded in Banner.

“We created a whole new campus with new buildings and rooms in the system,” Breeden said.

All the diligence and hard work paid off.

Students and faculty successfully navigated the fall semester safely, productively, and largely without incident.

When asked about the most rewarding part of this effort, Benner said, “Seeing the faces of our students when they returned. This campus has life with students. When they returned safely in August, I felt like we were breathing once again.”

“A room that used to hold 100 students could now only safely hold 20.”

• Diagrammed classroom space with 6.5 feet between students — Facilities

AROUND THE LAKE

Classrooms: Reimagined How were we able to create so many new, safe classrooms for students? As Patrick Benner said, “It takes a village.”

• Identified potential new spaces for classrooms — Facilities; Information Services/ Telecom; Registrar’s Office • Created new classrooms in Boatwright Memorial Library, Robins Center, and Sarah Brunet Hall — Facilities • Inventoried, stored, and supplied furniture — Facilities; Events, Conferences and Support Services • Installed multimedia capabilities for new classrooms — Information Services/Telecom • Rescheduled fall classes for new registration process — Registrar’s Office • Drafted plans to safely traffic students through buildings — Emergency Management; Facilities • Created campus signage to ensure a safe flow of traffic throughout buildings — University Communications

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SPIDER TALKS RETURNS After a semester-long hiatus due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Spider Talks, the video series featuring President Ronald A. Crutcher interviewing UR faculty about their research, is set to resume.

The following episodes will air this semester: “The History of Mathematics and the Language of Change” DELLA DUMBAUGH, Professor of Mathematics “Landscape Ecology and Protecting our National Parks” TODD LOOKINGBILL, Associate Professor of Geography and the Environment and Biology “The Integral Nature of Music and the Arts” JOANNE KONG, Director of Accompaniment (pictured right with President Crutcher) “The Intersection of Rap Lyrics and the Law” ERIK NIELSON, Associate Professor of Liberal Arts “Chemistry and the Power of Mentorship” CAROL PARISH, Floyd D. and Elisabeth S. Gottwald Professor of Chemistry and Associate Provost for Academic Integration “I appreciate the opportunity to speak with faculty on an individual basis and for them to share with alumni more about their scholarship, creativity, and research, and Spider Talks provides just that,” said President Ronald A. Crutcher. “I’ve also heard from colleagues at other institutions, as well as job candidates, that the conversations are a great resource to learn about the University’s level of academic excellence.”

Spider Talks episodes will premiere on UR Now, and all episodes are archived at president. richmond.edu/spidertalks.

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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.

SCOTT ALLISON, professor

the Middle East region from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for her efforts to make books and reading accessible to children in refugee camps.

of psychology; Crystal Hoyt, Colonel Leo K. & Gaylee Thorsness Endowed Chair in Ethical Leadership; and colleagues co-published “Lay Theories of Heroism and Leadership: The Role of Gender, Communion, and Agency” in Social Psychology.

RAFAEL DE SÁ, Clarence E. Denoon Jr. Chair in

TIMOTHY BARNEY, associate professor of rheto-

buted “Entre Puerto Rico y Richmond: Bridging Stories of Resistance,” a mixed-media installation that includes a dance film, altars, and an image board contextualizing the colonial relationship between Puerto Rico and the U.S., at the Institute for Contemporary Art.

ric and communication studies, published “Colonial Vestiges on the Map: A Rhetorical History of Development Cartography at the United Nations During Post-War Decolonization” in the Journal for the History of Rhetoric and co-published “Envisioning a Remembered Future: The Rhetorical Life and Times of The Manchurian Candidate” in the Journal of Popular Film and Television.

CHAZ BARRACKS, Consortium for Faculty

Diversity dissertation fellow in rhetoric and communication studies, was named one of Style Weekly’s “Top 40 Under 40” for 2020. His film Everyday Black Matter premiered at the Afrikana Independent Film Festival.

CINDY BUKACH, associate professor of psychol-

ogy, and colleagues’ Preparing Undergraduates for Research in STEM-related Fields Using Electrophysiology (PURSUE) teaching materials were featured in Psychophysiology and on the Society for Psychophysiological Research website.

SHELLEY BURNS, director

of career programs in business, was named to the Wiley Business Education and Careers Product Advisory Board.

Natural Sciences, published “Analysis of ultraconserved elements supports African origins of narrow-mouthed frogs” in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution and “Tadpole of the Amazonian frog Edalorhina perezi (Anura: Leptodactylidae) with description of oral internal and chondrocranial morphology” in the Journal of Morphology.

ALICIA DÍAZ, associate professor of dance, de-

MIGUEL DÍAZ-BARRIGA,

professor of anthropology, and Margaret Dorsey, associate professor of anthropology, received the Association of Latina/ Latino Anthropologists Book Award for Fencing in Democracy: Border Walls, Necrocitizenship, and the Security State.

KELLING DONALD, associate dean and professor

of chemistry, and a postbaccalaureate researcher published “Structural and Energetic Properties of RMX3–NH3 Complexes” in the International Journal of Quantum Chemistry.

MARGARET DORSEY, associate professor of

anthropology, and Miguel Díaz-Barriga, professor of anthropology, received the Association of Latina/Latino Anthropologists Book Award for Fencing in Democracy: Border Walls, Necrocitizenship, and the Security State.

MATTHEW J. EDINGER, adjunct professor of

DAN CHEN, assistant professor of political sci-

ence, published Convenient Criticism: Local Media and Governance in Urban China (SUNY Press).

CHRISTINE CHMURA, adjunct assistant professor

of human resource management, and Xiaobing Shuai, adjunct professor of human resource management, received the 2020 Contributed Paper Award from the National Association for Business Economics for “COVID-19, Labor Demand, and Government Responses: Evidence from Job Posting Data.”

BOBBY FAITHFUL, brewing education program

RONALD A. CRUTCHER, president, has been

ALI FANNON, assistant professor of legal practice,

named to Virginia Business’s “The Virginia 500 — The 2020 Power List” in the education category.

RANA DAJANI, Zuzana Simoniova Cmelikova Vis-

iting Scholar at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, received the Nansen Refugee Award for 18

education, published “What’s in Your Gifted Education Online Teacher Professional Development? Incorporating Theory- and Practice-Based Elements of Instructional Learning Design” in Gifted Child Quarterly.

manager in the School of Professional & Continuing Studies, was named head brewer at Three Notch’d RVA Collab House, providing opportunities for small groups of brewing education students to have safe, physically distanced, hands-on brewing experiences.

received the 2020 George H. Hettrick Leadership Award from the Greater Richmond Bar Foundation in recognition of outstanding efforts, innovative thinking, and the development of pro bono programs designed to reach unmet legal needs.

Thorsness Endowed Chair in Ethical Leadership, published “Group-level resistance to health mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic: A groupthink approach” in Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice.

RECENT APPOINTMENT

PEOPLE

DON FORSYTH, Colonel Leo K. & Gaylee

DAVID GIANCASPRO, assis-

tant professor of Spanish, published “The late(r) bird gets the verb? Effects of age of acquisition of English on adult heritage speakers’ knowledge of subjunctive mood in Spanish” in Languages; “Over, under, and around: Spanish heritage speakers’ production (and avoidance) of subjunctive mood” in the Heritage Language Journal, and the chapter “Not in the mood: Frequency effects in heritage speakers’ knowledge of subjunctive mood” in Lost in Transmission: The Role of Attrition and Input in Heritage Language Development (John Benjamins Publishing Co.).

KRISTINE GRAYSON, asso-

ciate professor of biology, received a $104,500 grant from the Thomas F. and Kate Miller Jeffress Memorial Trust for her research project “Forecasting the Spread of an Invasive Forest Pest”; a $97,272 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fund a second year of her project “Research and Development on a Rearing System for Emerald Ash Borer”; and $28,660 in supplemental funding from the National Science Foundation for “Collaborative Research: RUI: Linking thermal tolerance to invasion dynamics: Climate and physiological capacity as regulators of geographical spread.”

ERIC GROLLMAN, associate

professor of sociology, co-published Black Lives and Bathrooms: Racial and Gendered Reactions to Minority Rights Movements (Rowman & Littlefield).

EMILY HELFT, director of disability services, mod-

erated the panel “Low Tech to No Tech Access Solutions” at the fall 2020 virtual conference of the Association on Higher Education and Disability in Virginia.

JAVIER HIDALGO, associate professor of leader-

ship studies, published “Buddhist Error Theory” in the Journal of Value Inquiry; “Why Practice Philosophy as a Way of Life?” in Metaphilosophy; and “A Dilemma for Buddhist Reductionism” in Philosophy East and West.

WILLIAM MCLEAN

President and Chief Investment Officer, Spider Management Co. William H. McLean became president and chief investment officer of Spider Management Co., which oversees the University of Richmond’s endowment, on Jan. 1.

Prior to joining UR, McLean served as vice president and chief investment officer of Northwestern University’s $11 billion endowment. He previously held investment management roles at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Duke Endowment.

One of the most respected university chief investment officers in the country, McLean has a deep understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing nonprofit institutions. He has served on many nonprofit boards, including most recently the TIFF Charitable Foundation, the Sherman Fairchild Foundation, and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

McLean has served on UR’s board of trustees, the University’s investment committee, and Spider Management’s board of managers in various capacities since 2012. Two of his three children graduated from UR. “As a long-standing member of our board of trustees and the parent of two Richmond graduates, Will believes strongly in the wise stewardship of the resources that have been entrusted to us,” President Ronald. A. Crutcher said. “He is also committed to Spider Management’s longterm investment strategy, our talented team, and our institutional mission.”

McLean said he is excited to be joining the investment team.

“In my role on the board of trustees, I have had the opportunity to see the quality of the organization firsthand,” he said. “I look forward to supporting the fine partners of Spider Management as they strive to fulfill their individual missions. I have a great deal of respect for President Crutcher and his leadership team and am eager to contribute to the continued advancement of the University.”

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CRYSTAL HOYT, Colonel

Leo K. & Gaylee Thorsness Endowed Chair in Ethical Leadership, was named a 2020 SPSP Fellow by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology in recognition of her extraordinary, distinctive, and long-standing contributions to the science of personality and social psychology. She co-published “How Social-Class Background Influences Perceptions of Political Leaders” in Political Psychology and “Growth Mindset Messaging in Stigma-Relevant Contexts: Harnessing Benefits without Costs” in Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

Hoyt; Scott Allison, professor of psychology; and colleagues co-published “Lay Theories of Heroism and Leadership: The Role of Gender, Communion, and Agency” in Social Psychology.

OMICRON DELTA KAPPA Fall 2020 Epsilon Circle Inductees

These national leadership honor society inductions recognize individuals who have demonstrated exemplary character and leadership achievements in one of five phases of campus life: scholarship, athletics, service, communications, and arts.

MILES JOHNSON, assistant

professor of chemistry, with students published “Study and Modular Synthesis of Unsymmetrical Bis(phosphino)pyrrole Ligands” in Dalton Transactions.

PETER KAUFMAN, George Matthews & Virginia

Brinkley Modlin Chair in Leadership Studies, published On Agamben, Donatism, Pelagianism, and the Missing Links (Bloomsbury).

JOANNE KONG, director of accompaniment, gave

2020’s Last Lecture, hosted yearly by Omicron Delta Kappa’s Epsilon Circle.

CHRIS LEE, adjunct associate professor of human

JONATHAN WHITAKER

Associate Professor of Management Robins School of Business

resource management, published Performance Conversations: Using Questions to Coach Employees, Improve Productivity and Boost Confidence (Without Appraisals) (Society for Human Resource Management).

LINDA LIN, assistant profes-

sor of law, was appointed

by Gov. Ralph Northam to serve on the Virginia Asian Advisory Board, established to serve as a formal liaison between the administration and the diverse and rapidly growing Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in the commonwealth.

MAURICIO LOPEZ, recycling and custodial

MELODY WILSON

Assistant to the Vice President Information Services

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support associate, received University Facilities’ CHEERS (Co-workers Honoring Excellent Employees with Rewards) Award. Winners are selected from a pool of peer-submitted nominees.

MATTHEW LOWDER, assistant professor of

cognitive psychology, with students and alumni published “Effects of contrastive focus on lexical predictability during sentence reading: The case of not only … but also constructions” in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology.

PEOPLE

KEITH “MAC” MCINTOSH, vice president and

chief information officer, was named a 2020 Capital CIO of the Year ORBIE Awards finalist in the nonprofit category.

MARIELA MÉNDEZ, associate professor of Latin

American, Latino, and Iberian studies and women, gender, and sexuality studies, published El Affair Moreno (Buenos Aires: Editorial Mansalva).

MARI LEE MIFSUD, professor of rhetoric, published

the chapter “A Feminist Praxis of Comparative Rhetoric” in The Routledge Handbook of Comparative World Rhetorics: Studies in the History, Application, and Teaching of Rhetoric Beyond Traditional Greco-Roman Contexts (Routledge).

ERIK NIELSON, associate

professor of liberal arts, and his co-author received the 2020 Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award in Book Publishing for Rap on Trial: Race, Lyrics, and Guilt in America. They were named finalists for the Library of Virginia 2020 Literary Awards.

MICHAEL NORRIS, assistant professor of chemis-

2020 Engage for Change!

Award Winners

These awards, given annually by the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement, celebrate and acknowledge students, faculty, staff, and area leaders working together to make an impact in our communities.

FACULTY AND STAFF AWARD RECIPIENTS

try, received a $104,500 grant from the Thomas F. and Kate Miller Jeffress Memorial Trust for his research project “Understanding the Reduction of CO2 to Methanol Catalyzed by Simple Amines with a Combined Computational and Experimental Approach.” Norris published “Strategy for Functionalization of Electrodes with Discrete, Unmodified Small Molecules Exhibiting Aqueous Stability” in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A. ELIZABETH OUTKA, professor of English, re-

ceived the South Atlantic Modern Language Association’s 2020 Book Award (monograph category) for Viral Modernism: The Influenza Pandemic and Interwar Literature.

CAROL PARISH, Floyd D.

and Elisabeth S. Gottwald Professor of Chemistry and associate provost for academic integration, was named to the international advisory board for WIREs Computational Molecular Science.

JON PARK, assistant professor of computer sci-

ence, received a $104,500 grant from the Thomas F. and Kate Miller Jeffress Memorial Trust for his research project “Understanding the Impact of Argumentative Structures on Helpfulness of Online Product Reviews.”

SANDRA PEART, dean of the Jepson School of

Leadership Studies and Dean and E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professor in Leadership Studies, published “Adam Smith, F.A. Hayek, and the Continentalists: Dehomogenizing the Liberal Tradition” in History of Economic Ideas and “The Underutilized Power of ‘Externalities’ — An Econ-

COLLABORATION FOR CHANGE AWARD Honors a collaborative community-based partnership between campus and community stakeholders The East End Cemetery Collaboratory ELIZABETH BAUGHAN,

associate professor of classics and archaeology

KRISTINE GRAYSON,

associate professor of biology

JEANNINE KEEFER,

visual resources librarian

COMMUNITY-ENGAGED TEACHING AWARD Recognizes a faculty member who has consistently demonstrated excellence in community-engaged teaching at the University of Richmond GEORGE HILLER, lecturer of international

business

COMMUNITY-ENGAGED SCHOLARSHIP AWARD Recognizes a faculty member — or members — whose scholarly and/or other creative activity emerges from a mutually beneficial partnership with a community and creates new knowledge that contributes to positive social change ALICIA DÍAZ, associate professor of dance

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omist’s Take on Persuasive COVID-19 Communication” in CommPro. B. DANIEL PIERCE, assis-

tant professor of biology, received a $104,500 grant from the Thomas F. and Kate Miller Jeffress Memorial Trust for his research project “Determining the Precise Molecular Interactions Between Plant Phenols and the Agrobacterium Receptor VirA.” JEPPE VON PLATZ, assistant professor of phi-

losophy, published “Democratic Equality and the Justification of Welfare-State Capitalism” in Ethics.

OMAR QUINTERO, associate professor of biology,

was named one of “100 Inspiring Hispanic/Latinx Scientists in America” by Cell Mentor.

Strange’s COVID-19 Superheroes These peer-nominated awards recognize faculty and staff who went beyond their normal call of duty to ensure the campus community remained healthy and safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PATRICK BENNER

Director of Residence Life and Housing, Residence Life and Undergraduate Housing

WENDY SHEPPARD

Assistant Director, Sports and Risk Management, University Recreation SHANNON SINCLAIR

TISHELLE COSBY

Line Service Associate, Heilman Dining Center, Dining Services LAUREN FOLIGNO

Assistant Director of Programming Center for Student Involvement MAURICIO LOPEZ

Recycling and Custodial Support Associate, University Facilities/ Recycling JON MYKICH

Lead Stores Associate, Heilman Dining Center, Dining Services

Vice President and General Counsel Office of the President VESSELA STEFANOVA

(pictured above with WebstUR) Administrative Assistant University Facilities/Support Services ROBIN WALINSKI

Administrative Assistant, Health and Well-being Operations, Student Health Center Bouquets provided by Richmond Athletics Corporate Partner Strange’s Florist

DAN ROBERTS, professor of liberal arts, pub-

lished Master Presidential History in 1 Minute a Day (Familius).

XIAOBING SHUAI, adjunct professor of human

resource management, and Christine Chmura, adjunct assistant professor of human resource management, received the 2020 Contributed Paper Award from the National Association for Business Economics for “COVID-19, Labor Demand, and Government Responses: Evidence from Job Posting Data.”

Associate professor of English and women, gender, and sexuality studies JULIETTA SINGH’s forthcoming book, The Breaks, was acquired by Daunt Books Publishing.

TANJA SOFTIC, professor of art, published the

essay “Artists Quarantine with their Art Collections” in Hyperallergic. Softic’s work was featured in “Dis/placements: Revisitations of Home,” presented by Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at College of Charleston.

Adjunct associate professor of human resource management LINDA FISHER THORNTON’s book 7 Lenses: Learning the Principles and Practices of Ethical Leadership was Skillsoft’s Off-the-Shelf Book Club selection for October 2020. The content aggregator Feedspot listed her blog, Leading in Context, among the Top 20 Ethical Leadership Blogs and Websites to Follow in 2020.

MARCELLA TORRES, director of mathematical

studies, was honored by Lathisms, an organization that showcases the contributions of Latinx and Hispanic mathematicians during Hispanic Heritage Month.

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ARMOND TOWNS, assistant professor of rhetoric

and communication studies, published “Toward a Black Media Philosophy” in Cultural Studies and authored “Black studies for everyone” for OUPblog.

KEESHA TRIM, director of risk management and

insurance, was elected to a three-year term on the University Risk Management and Insurance Association board of directors. Trim was also selected for Leadership Metro Richmond’s Leadership Quest Program. Leadership Quest is a 10-month program that provides participants a deeper understanding of the region along with ways to be better engaged in the community.

KARINA VAZQUEZ, director

of community-based learning, and students published “Vulnerable Bodies: Domestic Violence in The Hispanic/ Latinx Community During A Pandemic” in Latinx Talk.

Staff and faculty, please stay home if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms:

JOANNA WARES, associate professor of math-

ematics, served as a panelist on “Impact on Education and Pedagogical Practices,” webinar series IV of Battling Emerging & Re-emerging Epidemics & Designing Mitigating Strategies.

DAVID WILKINS, E. Claiborne Robins Distin-

guished Professor in Leadership Studies, published “McGirt v. Oklahoma (2020)” in Federalism in America: An Encyclopedia and co-published “Breaching Barriers: The Fight for Indigenous Participation in Water Governance” in Water.

THAD WILLIAMSON, associate professor of

leadership studies and philosophy, politics, economics, and law, co-edited Community Wealth Building and the Reconstruction of American Democracy: Can We Make American Democracy Work? (Edward Elgar). Williamson published “Dramatic Change Will Require Leadership: A Message to the Next Generation of Leaders” in Diverse Issues in Higher Education and “Voices: The New Richmond Busy Being Born” in The Cheats Movement blog.

JAMELLE WILSON, dean of the School of Pro-

fessional & Continuing Studies, was elected vice president of Virginia’s Board of Education. Wilson was also elected to the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation (VECF) board of directors.

CARRIE WU, associate

professor of biology, co-published “Evolution of multiple postzygotic barriers between species of the Mimulus tiligii complex” in Evolution.

Staff and faculty may return to work when they are free of fever and have not had any other symptoms for at least 72 hours without the use of fever-reducing or other symptom-altering medicines (e.g., cough suppressants).

Staff and faculty are required to monitor their health status daily by completing the COVID-19 symptom screening emailed to them every morning by Human Resources. richmond.edu/coronavirus 23

We offer a warm welcome to our new colleagues and congratulations to colleagues taking their next steps.

The following highlights employment status changes for fulland part-time faculty and staff — including temporary to full- or part-time positions — from July 1 to Oct. 31, 2020.

NEW HIRES FACULTY SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES ART AND ART HISTORY Megan Driscoll Assistant Professor of Art History Anne Williams Visiting Assistant Professor of Art and Art History GEOGRAPHY Guoping Huang Visiting Geographic Information Systems Lecturer Yunuen Reygadas Langarica Postdoctoral Research Associate HISTORY Pippa Holloway Douglas Southall Freeman Distinguished Professor of History JOURNALISM Karen Masterson Assistant Professor of Journalism MATH AND COMPUTER SCIENCE Yucong Jiang Assistant Professor of Computer Science Shweta Ware Assistant Professor of Computer Science PHILOSOPHY Edward Ferrier Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy PHYSICS Haw Cheng Visiting Lecturer in Physics POLITICAL SCIENCE Chris Miller Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY Deborwah Faulk Consortium for Faculty Diversity Postdoctoral Fellow Matthew Oware Irving May Professor of Human Relations ROBINS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS John Failla Founder-in-Residence, Dean’s Office Monique Johnson Executive-in-Residence, Dean’s Office ECONOMICS Julien Isnard Visiting Instructor

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Binish Rijal Assistant Professor of Economics FINANCE Joseph Farizo Assistant Professor of Finance MANAGEMENT Deniz Besik Assistant Professor of Management Aslan Lotfi Assistant Professor of Management SCHOOL OF LAW Ali Fannon Assistant Professor and Director of Externships JEPSON SCHOOL OF LEADERSHIP STUDIES Volha Chykina Assistant Professor of Leadership Studies Lauren Henley Assistant Professor of Leadership Studies SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL AND CONTINUING STUDIES Dana Jackson Assistant Professor and Director of Clinical Placements Tracy Nicholson Assistant Professor and Program Chair of Human Resource Management STAFF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES Ross Abrash Post Baccalaureate Research Assistant, Psychology Justin Airas Post Baccalaureate Research Assistant, Chemistry Shira Greer Undergraduate Research Assistant, Sociology and Anthropology Randy Hilleary Post Baccalaureate Research Assistant, Biology Destiny Pacella Post Baccalaureate Fellow, Biology Zach Perkins Post Baccalaureate Research Assistant, Biology Patrick Williamson Set Builder, Theatre and Dance ROBINS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS Rich Boulger Associate Dean of Graduate and Executive Education Programs

SCHOOL OF LAW Fiona McCormick Associate Director of Admission, International and Strategic Initiatives SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL AND CONTINUING STUDIES George Chieffo Senior Program Manager, Professional Development PROVOST Kylie Korsnack Educational Developer, Teaching and Scholarship Hub ADVANCEMENT Maggie Brown Chesebro Director of Principal Gifts, Vice President of Advancement Office ATHLETICS Jaide Hinds-Clarke Leadership Intern, Academics Jasmine Pinder Intern Assistant Athletic Trainer, Sports Medicine Hannah Stapleford Intern Assistant Athletic Trainer, Sports Medicine BUSINESS AFFAIRS CAMPUS SERVICES Autumn Anderson Cashier, Heilman Dining Center Susan Dunstan Cook I, Passport Café Hawa Haines Cook II, Heilman Dining Center Joshua Jackson Line Service Associate, Heilman Dining Center Daryl Johnson Cook I, Heilman Dining Center Andrew Kotsch Cook II, Heilman Dining Center Gray Nance Café/Stores Associate, Passport Café Julian Ritzik Stores Associate, Heilman Dining Center Lex Sachinskaya Cook II, Heilman Dining Center Tarnisha Saunders Line Service Associate, Heilman Dining Center Magy Sayd Cashier, Heilman Dining Center Kevin Spoth Cook, The Cellar

Adrienne Thurston Cook I, Heilman Dining Center Joseph Woodford Line Service Associate, Heilman Dining Center Hannah Yates Baker II, Heilman Dining Center FACILITIES Joseph Farag Custodian Cory Holsomback HVAC Mechanic I Eman Thompson Groundskeeper ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT Ivania Diaz Campos Financial Aid Advisor Brian Wiora Admission Counselor, Undergraduate Admission SPIDER MANAGEMENT Megan DeMars Senior Operations Analyst DaJon Johnson Investor Relations Analyst Bill Spetrino Investment Manager STUDENT DEVELOPMENT Megan Hollomon Registered Nurse, Student Health Center Lexie Johnson Area Coordinator, Residence Life and Undergraduate Student Housing Kristin Joostema Facility Supervisor, University Recreation Ashley Owens Area Coordinator, Residence Life and Undergraduate Student Housing UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS Cindy Smith Assistant to the Vice President for Communications

MOVES FACULTY SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES ART AND ART HISTORY Dana Ollestad Visiting Lecturer of Art and Art History BIOLOGY Kristine Grayson Associate Professor of Biology

CHEMISTRY Julie Pollock Associate Professor of Chemistry ENGLISH Elisabeth Gruner Professor of English and Women Studies Elizabeth Outka Professor of English David Stevens Professor of English and Creative Writing HISTORY Yucel Yanikdag Professor of History and International Studies MATH AND COMPUTER SCIENCE Lester Caudill Professor of Mathematics LANGUAGES, LITERATURES, AND CULTURES Sonja Bertucci Assistant Professor of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (Film Studies) Hilary Raymond Visiting Lecturer of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures LATIN AMERICAN, LATINO, AND IBERIAN STUDIES Elizabeth Kissling Associate Professor of Spanish and Applied Linguistics Emmy Ready Visiting Lecturer of Latin American, Latino, and Iberian Studies PHILOSOPHY Miriam McCormick Professor of Philosophy and Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and Law Brannon McDaniel Associate Professor of Philosophy PHYSICS Christine Helms Associate Professor of Physics PSYCHOLOGY Karen Kochel Associate Professor of Psychology THEATRE AND DANCE Melissa Freilich Visiting Instructor of Theatre and Dance

ROBINS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS ACCOUNTING Ivan Feldman Visiting Lecturer ECONOMICS Andrew Alwood Visiting Lecturer MANAGEMENT Tom Mattson Associate Professor of Management Steve Thompson Professor of Management MARKETING Jeff Carlson Associate Professor of Marketing

Sharon Dickerson-Reed Line Service Associate, Heilman Dining Center Virginia Harrison Café Associate, Tyler’s Grill Matt Lee Floater Manager, Campus Krush Ricardo Louis Concessions Associate Seylar Pring Café Associate/Barista, 8:15 at Boatwright Charmene Ricks Café Associate, Lou’s Café

MBA PROGRAMS Ardavan Mobasheri Visiting Instructor

Ethan Riddle Café Associate, Tyler’s Grill

SCHOOL OF LAW Tara Casey Clinical Professor of Law

Sheldon Williams Cook I, Heilman Dining Center

Hayes Holderness Associate Professor of Law

FACILITIES Cody Arbaugh Gardener

Allison Tait Professor of Law

Scott Atkins Turf Specialist

SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL AND CONTINUING STUDIES Bob Spires Associate Professor of Graduate Education

HUMAN RESOURCES Sarah Levine Human Resource Information System Analyst

STAFF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS SCHOOL OF LAW Liz Jones Director of Professional Development Programs, Career Development Molly Lentz-Meyer Director, Bibliographic Services, Law Library Carole Yeatts Director of Employer Outreach, Career Development PROVOST Sylvia Gale Executive Director of the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement Amy Howard Senior Administrative Officer, Equity and Community

PEOPLE

Kathy Zoghby Visiting Instructor of Biology

STUDENT DEVELOPMENT Kristen Day Assistant Director of Clinical Services, Counseling and Psychological Services Slade Gormus Nursing Supervisor, Student Health Center Kathy Harvel Health Promotion Registered Nurse, Student Health Center Sarah Lee Fitness and Facilities Manager, University Recreation Charlynn Small Assistant Director of Health Promotion, Counseling and Psychological Services

BUSINESS AFFAIRS CAMPUS SERVICES Orlando Bacotes Utility Associate, Heilman Dining Center

RETIREMENTS

Roshad Black Utility Associate, Heilman Dining Center

Heilman Dining Center

In Memoriam Remembering those we lost in 2020 PAUL M. CLIKEMAN November 19, 2020 Associate Professor of Accounting, Robins School of Business 25 YEARS OF SERVICE SHARON P. DICKERSON-REED August 24, 2020 Line Service Associate, Heilman Dining Center 8 YEARS OF SERVICE FRANK E. EAKIN January 26, 2020 Weinstein-Rosenthal Professor of Jewish and Christian Studies emeritus, School of Arts & Sciences 53 YEARS OF SERVICE JAY W. JORGENSEN May 7, 2020 Director of Admissions, Richmond School of Law 7 YEARS OF SERVICE M. GLENN PRUDEN July 16, 2020 Director of Residential Dining, Campus Services 41 YEARS OF SERVICE JERRY A. ROBINSON March 23, 2020 Purchasing Agent, Office of Procurement and Strategic Sourcing 14 YEARS OF SERVICE

32 YEARS

JAMES TAYLOR

Daniel Boyd Cook II, Heilman Dining Center

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410 Westhampton Way University of Richmond, VA 23173

How to Use a Face Covering C o r re c t l y !

Wash your hands before putting a face covering on or taking it off.

Before reuse, inspect your face covering. If it is wet or dirty, put on a clean face covering. If it is torn or damaged, throw it away.

Put your face covering on so that it covers your nose, mouth, and chin. Pinch around your nose to ensure a secure fit.

Don’t pull your face covering down below your nose or mouth.

Carefully remove your face covering by the straps for breaks or meals.

If your face covering is undamaged, fold it in half so the outside surfaces are touching and place in a clean bag or container. If the bag is paper, seal it. If plastic, leave it open.

!

Cloth face coverings should be washed daily.

When reusing your face covering after a break or meal, make sure you put it on properly. Always wash your hands before putting a face covering on or removing it.

Source: Centers for Disease Control

Learn more at richmond.edu/coronavirus.