Class of 2005

Honors, Accomplishments and Activities

Truman Scholar. Jepson student Jacquelyn Knupp was named a 2005 Truman Scholar, one of an elite group of 75 college juniors committed to making a difference through public service.

Story Award. Jepson senior Sandie Walker was the student recipient of the Story Award, given annually by the Bonners Scholar Office and the Office of the Chaplaincy to recognize service and leadership.

Graduation Weekend Speakers. Two Jepson students had speaking roles during graduation weekend. Leadership studies Brian Schatz gave the student address at the annual Candlelight Ceremony and Zachariah Dorey-Stein gave the invocation at Commencement.

The E. Bruce Heilman Leadership Award. Jepson major Jillian Fasching received the E. Bruce Heilman Leadership Award, given to a graduating senior who has demonstrated outstanding character and leadership in service to the University.

The Clarence J. Gray Achievement Award. Jillian Fasching was selected as the Jepson School recipient of the Clarence J. Gray Achievement Award.  The C.J. Gray Awards are given to one graduating senior in each of the four schools who is a member of both Phi Beta Kappa or Beta Gamma Sigma and Omicron Delta Kappa or Mortar Board and has an outstanding 4-year record in scholastic achievement and leadership. 

The James McGregor Burns Award. Jillian Fasching and Alison Smith were named co-recipients of the James McGregor Burns Award.  The Burns award is presented to a graduating senior in recognition of his/her accomplishments as a student in the Jepson School of Leadership Studies. The winner of the award has demonstrated an outstanding grasp of the body of knowledge associated with leadership studies; excelled in his/her studies at the university in general; been actively involved in service to the school, university, and community; shown an ability to generalize and apply leadership theory and research in unique and imaginative ways; and displayed the capacity both to lead others and help others lead themselves.

Phi Beta Kappa Academic Honor Society. Leadership studies majors Jillian Fasching, Lauren Johanson, Ariel Rothstein, and Sarah Vinson are members of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s most prestigious academic honor society. 

Omicron Delta Kappa Society. Kimberly Bowers, Benjamin Dietrich, Jillian Fasching, Carlisle Greaves, Lauren Johanson, Allison Kirk, Brian Neidig, McLean Turner, and Jennifer Wade are members of the Omicron Delta Kappa Society. ODK is a national leadership honor society that recognizes and encourages superior scholarship, leadership, and exemplary character.

Mortar Board National Leadership Honor Society. Jillian Fasching and Lauren Johanson are members of Mortar Board National Leadership Honor Society.  Mortar Board is the nation’s oldest national leadership honors society, recognizing leadership, service, and academic achievement.

Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities. Kimberly Bowers, Jillian Fasching, Carlisle Greaves, Lauren Johanson, Alison Kirk, and Ariel Rothstein were named to Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities, a national honors program which recognizes students who demonstrate consistent excellence and who enhance the positives image of American youth through their contribution to their community and school. 

Leadership Studies Honor Society. Jillian Fasching, Lauren Johanson, Ariel Rothstein, and Sarah Vinson were inducted to the Leadership Studies Honor Society.  The Leadership Studies Honors Society recognizes outstanding academic achievement in the discipline of leadership studies.  To be eligible for membership, a student must be a major in the top 10 percent of the class, with a leadership studies GPA of 3.5 or higher and a cumulative overall GPA of at least 3.2.

Class of 1964 Scholarship. The Class of 1964 Scholarship is awarded to one student in each of the four undergraduate schools.  Students are selected on the basis of character, leadership, and scholarship.  This year, all four recipients are leadership studies majors: Ethan McWilliams (Richmond College), Jacquelyn Knupp (Westhampton College), Braxton Bragg (Business School), and Theodore Straub (Jepson School).

Richard S. Reynolds Jr. Scholarship and the Cleveland and Kathryn Kern Scholarship. Juniors Theodore Straub, Jacquelyn Knupp, Michelle Swartz, Andrew Wasuwongse, and Lauren Bifulco and sophomores David Roberts, Emily Aicklen, Adrienne Supino, Tara Sulzen, and Nan Silkunas were nominated to share the Richard S. Reynolds Jr. Scholarship.  Junior Alexandria Daddario was awarded the Cleveland and Kathryn Kern Scholarship.  Scholarship recipients were selected on the basis of academic achievement, contribution to the Jepson School and the University of Richmond community, and financial need.

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Reasearch and Travel

Gettysburg Trip. Thirteen Jepson students traveled to Gettysburg Sept. 30-October 1. The trip was sponsored by Board of Trustees member Mr. Van Scoy and led by civil war scholar and retired general Mr. Mountcastle.  The theme of the all-day tour was leadership lessons from the battlefield.

United States Naval Academy Leadership Conference. Leadership studies majors Michelle Swartz, Jennifer Wade, Ryan Kefer, and Lauren Bifulco participated in the USNA Leadership Conference in Annapolis, Md. on Jan. 26-28.  The conference brought together students and faculty from both military and civilian institutions.  Participants enjoyed an interesting exchange of ideas around a central theme, "Leadership in the Information Age: New Perspectives on a Rapidly Changing Future."

Student Leadership Conference at the University of Texas at Austin. Jepson students Adrienne Benson, Dane DeCiero, Zachariah Dorey-Stein, and Kathryn Farley attended the Student Leadership Conference at the University of Texas at Austin, Jan. 27-30.  The conference was sponsored by the Center for Ethical Leadership and the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs.

Global Women's Leadership Conference. Senior Ariel Rothstein and junior Alison Emrick traveled to the United Arab Emirate to attend the Global Women’s Leadership Conference in Dubai and had the opportunity to meet with students and scholars from around the world.  Ariel presented portions of her senior thesis, "Rethinking Charismatic Leadership: Exposing Assumptions in Theory and Charisma as Practice That Disregard African American Leaders' Difference," at the conference.

Ethics Bowl. Seniors Jen Wade, Brian Schatz, Brian Neidig, and Sarah Vinson represented the Jepson School at the Eleventh Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl, hosted by the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics. Terry Price and Colette Connor led the students through practice sessions and accompanied the team to the competition in San Antonio, TX.

Senior Theses. Students writing a senior thesis complete a year-long independent research project under supervision of a faculty advisor. The following students successfully completed a senior thesis:

• Zachariah Dorey-Stein: Church Politics: Comprehending the Political Nature of Desmond Tutu's Ecclesiology
• Lauren Johnanson: Film as a Vehicle for Moral Change: Schindler's List and the New Global Ethic

Senior Honors Thesis. The honors track provides students the opportunity to develop a research project in a particular area of leadership studies and to spend a full academic year working on this project with a Jepson faculty member.  Students are expected to engage in rigorous and original research that will enrich and complement their previous study of leadership and contribute to the academic community of the Jepson School.  The following students successfully completed a senior honors thesis:

• Jillian Fasching: Famine as a Failure in Leadership
• Alison Smith: I Respectfully Dissent: Intellectual Leadership in the Nation's Highest Court
• Sarah Vinson: The Politics of Judicial Restraint and the New Federalism

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