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History of the Jepson School of Leadership Studies

1987-1989

  • Business leader Robert S. Jepson, Jr., a 1964 graduate of the University, and his wife, Alice, announce their intent to provide the University of Richmond with a $20 million challenge gift to develop a leadership studies program.
  • Chancellor Dr. E. Bruce Heilman, acting chief executive officer of the University, begins the planning process. He becomes the director of the School during its formative period.
  • In 1988, Dr. Richard L. Morrill becomes the seventh president of the University. Under his leadership, along with that of many others, notably Provost Zeddie Bowen, the vision for a singular institution takes shape. The school will be the only one of its kind in the nation and will offer a rigorous curriculum built on the liberal arts. The multidisciplinary faculty will teach within their disciplines around the single topic of leadership studies.

1990-1992

  • Dr. Howard T. Prince, who developed leadership programs for the U.S. Army and the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, becomes the first dean of the Jepson School of Leadership Studies. Later, Dr. Stephanie Micas is named associate dean.
  • James McGregor Burns, one of the nation’s preeminent scholars in leadership studies, is named senior fellow.
  • Drs. Joanne Ciulla, Richard Couto, Karin Klenke and William Howe begin designing the curriculum.
  • Dr. Richard Couto publishes Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Round and Beyond Distress.

1992-1993

  • First class enters.
  • Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev is among the year’s keynote speakers.
  • Dr. Richard Couto founds the Learning in Community Settings Program, a symbol of Jepson’s commitment to service and a forerunner of the Campus Community Partnership.
  • Dr. Joanne Ciulla and the school help organize the 1992 Bush-Clinton presidential debate on campus.
  • Jepson aligns with the Pew Partnership for Civic Change.
  • General Norman Schwarzkopf is among the luminaries at the dedication of Jepson Hall, and other celebratory and scholarly events Sept. 8-9, 1992.
  • Jepson School inaugurates the Police Executive Leadership Program, a program that continues today through the School of Continuing Studies.
  • Dr. Gill Hickman and Dr. J. Thomas Wren join the faculty.
  • Virginia gubernatorial candidate and former Attorney General Mary Sue Terry serves as leader-in-residence.

1993-1994

  • W. K. Kellogg Foundation grant supports the first Leadership Education Conference.
  • The school receives a $90,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education under the Eisenhower Leadership Development Program. Dr. Gill Hickman becomes principal investigator for the grant component titled “Teaching Leadership for a Diverse Society” for 1993-1994 and 1994-1995.
  • Dr. Richard Couto publishes An American Challenge.
  • Dr. Marc Swatez joins the faculty.
  • Cadmus communications chief Wallace Stettinius, civic leader Mary Tyler Cheek McClenahan, General Norman Schwarzkopf, and Mary Sue Terry serve as leaders-in-residence.
  • Amy Todd is the first recipient of the James MacGregor Burns Outstanding Student Award. She becomes the first Jepson student to serve as president of Westhampton College, obtain an internship in the White House, and win the University Mace Award, the University’s highest honor awarded to a graduating senior.
  • The first graduates are awarded the Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in leadership studies at commencement, while receiving a standing ovation from the Jepson faculty.

1994-1995

  • Students develop a two-week summer program for emerging high school leaders that continues today.
  • Dr. Anne Perkins becomes associate dean.
  • Dr. Fredric Jablin joins the faculty.
  • Dr. Jablin is the recipient of the Outstanding Member Award in the Organizational Communication Division presented by the International Communication Association.
  • Dr. Gill Hickman presents on “Transforming Leaders in Transformistic Organizations” at the prestigious Salzburg International Leadership Seminar in Salzburg, Austria.
  • Richmond city manager Calvin D. Jamison serves as leader-in-residence.
  • Elizabeth Harris receives the James MacGregor Burns Outstanding Student Award.

1995-1996

  • Undergraduate research grants expand.
  • Dr. Thomas Wren publishes The Leader’s Companion: Insights on Leadership Through the Ages.
  • The Jepson School faculty embarks on a strategic planning process.
  • Dr. Thomas Wren receives the University of Richmond Distinguished Educator Award.
  • Dr. Richard Couto publishes Teaching Democracy by Being Democratic with co-author Theodore Lewis Becker.
  • Juvenile court Judge Kimberly O’Donnell is leader-in-residence.
  • The Jepson Student Government Association, which had not previously elected officers, is led by Vanessa Helsing, president; Chris Yurchuck, vice president for academic affairs; Jennifer Dunlap, vice president for public relations; and Gretchen Wherry, vice president for student affairs.
  • Vanessa Helsing receives the James MacGregor Burns Outstanding Student Award.

1996-1997

  • Dr. John Rosenblum, dean of the Darden Graduate School of Business Education at the University of Virginia, becomes Jepson’s new dean.
  • The Jepson Leadership Forum is established as a formal lecture series. The inaugural season, Leadership in the Arts, marks the opening of the Modlin Center for the Arts. Speakers include filmmaker Spike Lee (pictured to the right signing a book) and opera superstar Beverly Sills.
  • A K-12 leadership education program is initiated in collaboration with the School of Continuing Studies and educators from metro Richmond public and private schools. This is the first of many short-term projects and consulting relationships in which Jepson assists high school curriculum development in surrounding counties and beyond.
  • Dr. Gill Hickman conducts training for 51 directors in the new South African government on “Transforming Leadership: Capacity Building in 21st Century Organizations" at the University of the Western Cape.
  • Stoner Winslett, Richmond Ballet artistic director, is leader-in-residence.
  • The Jepson Student Government Association is led by Jennifer Henry, president; Jay Carroll, vice president for academic affairs; Stefanie Mathew, vice president for public relations; and Anna Johnson, vice president for student affairs.
  • Anna Johnson receives the James MacGregor Burns Outstanding Student Award.

1997-1998

  • The Leadership at 20 Conference brings together scholars to reflect on the field of study 20 years after the publication of Dr. James MacGregor Burns’s seminal work, Leadership.
  • The Jepson Student Government Association is led by Tiffany Morris, president; Kelly Clark, vice president for academic affairs; Michelle Carter, vice president for publicity/alumni relations; Kelly Pearce, vice president for student affairs; and Patrick Oliver, secretary/historian.
  • Maia Carter and Kelly Pearce are co-recipients of the James MacGregor Burns Outstanding Student Award.

1998-1999

  • The Jepson Forum, Leadership in a Democratic Society, features Nobel laureate Oscar Arias and author and philosopher Dr. Cornel West.
  • Dr. Terry Price and Dr. Douglas Hicks join the faculty.
  • Sue Murphy joins the staff as assistant to the dean. 
  • Sue Robinson joins the staff to coordinate the Jepson Forum and other outreach programs.
  • Dr. Douglas Hicks helps launch the inaugural Ethics Bowl, a program of the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges. That same year, the University of Richmond ethics team, comprised of four University of Richmond students—including two Jepson students—and coached by Dr. Terry Price, advances to the semi-finals in a field of 24 at the fifth Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl in Washington.
  • Dr. Thomas Wren is the recipient of the Richmond College Student Government Faculty Recognition Award.
  • Five Jepson School students help develop and teach at the Virginia High School League’s Leadership Conference, attended by 1,000 high school students.
  • Dr. Richard Couto publishes Making Democracy Work Better with co-author Catherine Guthrie.
  • Dr. Joanne Ciulla publishes Ethics, the Heart of Leadership.
  • Richmond mayor Tim Kaine (elected Virginia’s lieutenant governor in 2000 and governor in 2005) serves as leader-in-residence.
  • Dr. Gill Hickman publishes Leading Organizations: Perspectives for a New Era.
  • The Jepson Student Government Association is led by Ben Wallerstein, president; Amanda Howland, vice president for academic affairs; Kerry McGonigle, vice president for student affairs; Jennifer Campbell, vice president for publicity/alumni relations; and Dan Beeman, secretary/treasurer.
  • Amanda Howland receives the James MacGregor Burns Outstanding Student Award.

1999-2000

  • The Jepson Forum, Values, Religion and Leadership, brings in Bill Moyers, Marian Wright Edelman, Sister Helen Prejean, Elie Wiesel (pictured, right) and other prominent voices on religion and civic life.
  • Dr. Elizabeth Faier joins the faculty.
  • Dr. Joanne Ciulla is named the first UNESCO Chair in Leadership Studies at the United Nations International Leadership Academy, Amman, Jordan.
  • Six faculty and staff from the Jepson School facilitate a course for K-12 teachers in Cape Town, South Africa, July 15-20, 1999.
  • Jepson faculty and staff plan and implement the third annual summer enrichment program for K-12 teachers.
  • Jepson School faculty lead a team-building session for members of the Richmond City School Board and the Superintendent’s Cabinet at the board’s retreat.
  • Dr. Joanne Ciulla is named to the American Board of Directors of the Desmond Tutu Peace Trust.
  • Dr. Richard Couto receives the Ernest A. Lynton Award for Faculty Professional Service and Academic Outreach, a national award of the New England Resource Center for Higher Education.
  • The master’s degree program is approved as part of the University’s strategic plan, endorsed by the Jepson Academic Council, the University Senate and the Board of Trustees. The Program Opportunity Fund and President William Cooper approve start-up funding.
  • Learning in Community Settings (now the Campus Community Partnership), an informal consortium among the area’s four universities, sponsors participatory research projects. Faculty-student teams work with the Black History Museum, Homeward, Youth Matters, East District Families First, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Richmond Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts, and a state health insurance program for low-income families.
  • Summit on Youth Leadership brings together approximately 100 community, university, civic, church and school leaders who discuss how the community can provide better opportunities for youth. Leadership Metro Richmond and the Children’s Museum of Richmond are partners. Sue Robinson is the organizer.
  • Dr. Joanne Ciulla’s latest book, The Working Life: The Promise and Betrayal of Modern Work, is reviewed by major media publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Boston Globe.
  • Dr. Elizabeth Faier and Jepson students are honored at a U.S. State Department dinner, hosted by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, for their work in the “Adopt a Minefield” program.
  • Dr. Gill Hickman receives the Most Outstanding Member of the Faculty Award from black students at the University of Richmond.
  • Nancy Stutts joins the staff as a director of Learning in Community Settings (now the Campus Community Partnership).
  • Dr. Douglas Hicks is part of a 12-member team overseeing a national, four-year, $3.5 million Duke University Divinity School/Lilly Endowment Pastoral Leadership Project.
  • Dr. Richard Couto, Nancy Stutts and associates publish Mending Broken Promises.
  • The Rev. Dr. John Kinney, dean of the Samuel Dewitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University, serves as leader-in-residence.
  • The Jepson Student Government Association is led by officers Darden Copeland, president; Kirsten Cavallo, vice president for academic affairs; Lesley Stiles, vice president for student affairs; Dave Lynn, vice president for publicity/alumni relations; and Jeff Thompson, secretary/treasurer.
  • Kirsten Cavallo receives the James MacGregor Burns Outstanding Student Award.

2000-2001

  • The Jepson Leadership Forum, Views and Voices on the City, brings Jonathan Kozol, Ambassador Andrew Young , Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (pictured below with students), Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown and others to campus.
  • The Jepson School’s Program Committee revises the curriculum and adds an honors track.
  • The Jepson Dissertation Awards Colloquium debuts. Dr. Terry Price heads this inaugural project.
  • Dr. Richard Couto is awarded the Independent Sector’s Virginia Hodgkinson Research Prize for his book Making Democracy Work Better.
  • Dr. Joanne Ciulla publishes The Ethics of Leadership.
  • Dr. Douglas Hicks publishes Inequality and Christian Ethics.
  • Dr. Fredric Jablin and co-author Nongluck Sriussadaporn-Charoenngam receive the Outstanding Article of the Year Award in the Journal of Business Communication and the Distinguished Publication on Business Communication Award from the Association of Business Communication.
  • Faculty members facilitate a training session for the United Way Loaned Leaders Program.
  • Jepson students host a retreat for 20 Richmond Technical Center students.
  • The school hosts action forums on youth leadership with the Children’s Museum of Richmond and Leadership Metro Richmond.
  • The Community Programs Office hosts the 20th anniversary event for Leadership Metro Richmond, beginning a more productive partnership with the 1,100-member community leadership development organization.
  • Chesterfield County turns to Jepson to develop a new leadership program in the public schools.
  • The World Affairs Council and Jepson School co-sponsor a dinner and a program, “To Walk the Earth Safely,” with Ambassador Donald Steinberg, U.S. presidential representative for global humanitarian demining; Minister Usko S. Shivute from Namibia; and Minister Branko Baricevic from Croatia.
  • Dr. Douglas Hicks is the recipient of a NEH summer stipend award to conduct a research project entitled “Religious Pluralism and Leadership.”
  • Professor Ciulla’s The Working Life is ranked No. 2 on Amazon.com’s “10 Best Business Books of 2000” list (pictured, right, with her book).
  • Dr. Gill Hickman publishes Managing Human Resources in the Public Sector: A Shared Responsibility with Dr. Dalton Lee.
  • Dr. Tiffany Keller, a faculty member since 1997, is named director of the David Brain Leadership Program at Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio.
  • Dr. Anne Perkins, associate dean and interim dean, becomes associate provost at Christopher Newport University.
  • The Jepson Student Government Association is led by officers Billy O’Brien, president; Ginger Doyel, vice president for academic affairs; Leigh Ann Shaffner, vice president for student affairs; Jamie Schmidt, vice president for public relations; and Cristin Witcher, vice president for finance.
  • Ginger Doyel receives the James MacGregor Burns Outstanding Student Award.

2001-2002

  • The Jepson Forum, Sports, Society and Leadership, hosts Frank Deford, former NFL great Alan Page, Olympian John Naber, women athletes and others.
  • Dr. Fredric Jablin serves as interim dean and submits the Program Opportunity Grant on behalf of the Jepson School for the Executive Master’s Program in Leadership Studies, which was subsequently funded by the University.
  • Pulitzer Prize-winning scholar James MacGregor Burns rejoins the faculty. Burns and national leadership scholars begin a series of dialogues about integrative theories of leadership.
  • The Jepson School hosts a meeting of the “City University” Planning Committee, appointed by the city manager to develop a program for employees.
  • Jepson students teach middle school students in YouthLead, administered by Sue Robinson and Rebecca Horner, at Binford Model Middle School, the North Side YMCA and the Boys & Girls Club as part of a Verizon grant-funded pilot program.
  • Dr. Georgia Sorenson co-edits a four-volume Encyclopedia of Leadership to be published in 2004. Many Jepson faculty members serve as writers and editors. Dr. James MacGregor Burns is a senior editor.
  • YouthLead conference brings some 100 young people to Jepson Hall.
  • Connect Richmond begins. The nonprofit community embraces this web-based information clearinghouse and list-serv.
  • Carmen Foster joins the staff as executive director of the master’s program.
  • Dr. Teresa Williams becomes associate dean.
  • Dr. Thomas Wren serves as a panel chair at the ILA Conference.
  • Gregory Wingfield, CEO of the Greater Richmond Partnership, serves as Cadmus leader-in-residence for the 2001-02 academic year.
  • Dr. Fredric Jablin publishes the New Handbook of Organizational Communication: Advances in Theory, Research and Methods (co-edited with Linda Putnam).
  • Dr. Richard Couto, a member of the early faculty, announces he will become a member of the founding faculty of Antioch University’s new Ph.D. in Leadership and Change.
  • The Jepson Student Government Association is led by officers Jonathan Carlson, president; Laura Hogan, vice president for academic affairs; Josh Ilgen, vice president for student affairs; Lance DiFrancesco, vice president for public relations; and Kate Materna, vice president for finance.
  • Bethany Smocer and Laura Hogan are co-recipients of the James MacGregor Burns Outstanding Student Award.
  • Dr. Richard Couto receives the first annual Servant Leader Award, presented by the Jepson Student Government Association.
  • Jepson major Timothy Sullivan was selected as the Student Speaker for the University’s Commencement Exercises on Sunday, May 5, 2002.
  • Jepson major Kelly Gribbin received the E. Bruce Heilman Leadership Award, awarded to a graduating senior who has demonstrated outstanding character and leadership in service to the University.
  • Jepson minor Janice Baab was one of three winners of the Clarence J. Gray Achievement Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Leadership, awarded to a graduating senior who is a member of both Phi Beta Kappa (or Beta Gamma Sigma) and Omicron Delta Kappa (or Mortar Board), and who is judged to have the outstanding four-year record in scholarship and leadership in his or her division.
  • Jepson minor Danielle Lewis received the Epps Award, a cash prize awarded annually to the senior with the outstanding four-year academic record at Westhampton College.
  • Laura Hogan and Bethany Smocer received James MacGregor Burns Awards this year at the Jepson School’s Senior Awards Ceremony. The award is given to a graduating senior in recognition of his/her accomplishments as a student in the Jepson School of Leadership Studies.

2002-2003

  • Dr. Kenneth P. Ruscio, professor of politics at Washington & Lee University, is named dean.
  • The Jepson Forum expands its theme, Leadership for Our Changing World, in celebration of the school’s 10th anniversary.
  • Jepson Student Government Association revamps constitution and bylaws.
  • The Community Programs Office launches the Jepson Community Project to mark the school’s 10th anniversary. Students and faculty, led by Associate Dean Williams, work with Homeward, an agency devoted to eliminating homelessness in metro Richmond.
  • Dean Ruscio serves as national president of Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society, for a term running from March 2002 to March 2004.
  • Drs. Wren, Price and Hicks collaborate on a three-volume collection of readings encompassing the whole Western tradition of leadership.
  • Dr. Elizabeth Faier receives the 2002 Award for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Technology presented by University of Richmond.
  • Dr. Thomas Wren serves as a session chair at the ILA Conference.
  • Dr. Joanne Ciulla receives the 2003 Outstanding Faculty Award presented by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.
  • Dr. Elizabeth Faier creates the Jepson Film Festival to celebrate the anniversary year. The festival is staged in collaboration with the University’s International Film Festival, the Media Resource Center and the English and history departments.
  • Dr. Terry Price is convener-elect at the International Leadership Association Conference.
  • Dr. James MacGregor Burns publishes Transforming Leadership: The Pursuit of Happiness.
  • Dr. Georgia Sorenson joins Jepson as a visiting scholar.
  • Jepson students attend President Bill Clinton’s Youth Summit hosted at Georgetown. Dr. Sorenson is a speaker at the conference.
  • Jepson assists in the formation of the Virginia Leadership Association, a consortium of directors of community leadership programs across the Commonwealth.
  • Students present research at the March 2003 Summit on Homelessness, which features national experts from Washington and New York (panel pictured, right).
  • Eva Teig Hardy, executive with Dominion Resources and a former high-ranking state government official, serves as leader-in-residence.
  • The Jepson Student Government Association is led by officers Jonathan Zur, president; Michael Watrous, vice president for academic affairs; Evan Baum, vice president for student affairs; Katie Sloan, vice president for public relations; and Trevor MacDougall, vice president for administration/finance.
  • Jonathan Zur receives the 2003 Servant Leader Award.
  • Joshua Walker was awarded a Fulbright student grant to study in Turkey for the 2003-04 academic year.
  • Jepson senior Janelle Hubert was the student recipient of the 11th annual Story Award. She was honored for her work with National Student Partnerships. Jepson junior Neil Singh was one of the first recipients of the Special Partnership Award for his work with the Habitat for Humanity Merriewood Miracle.
  • Jepson major Joshua Walker and Jepson minor Marianne Kinney were two of three students selected to speak at graduation weekend events. Josh spoke at the University’s Candlelight Ceremony on Saturday, May 3, and Marianne was the baccalaureate speaker on graduation morning.
  • Jepson major Joshua Walker and Jepson minor Marianne Kinney were two of three students selected to speak at graduation weekend events. Josh spoke at the University’s Candlelight Ceremony on Saturday, May 3, and Marianne was the baccalaureate speaker on graduation morning.
  • Jepson major Evan Baum was one of three winners of the Clarence J. Gray Achievement Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Leadership.
  • Jonathan Zur and Joshua Walker received James MacGregor Burns Awards this year at the Jepson School's Senior Awards Ceremony.
  • Jepson juniors Ryan Babiuch and Colette Conner were awarded the Class of 1964 Scholarship.
  • Jepson junior Annie Williamson was recognized for her Quest III entry, “Shall we dance?”

2003-2004

  • School celebrates its 10th year anniversary.
  • Eugene W. Hickok, U.S. under secretary of education and architect of the Leave No Child Behind educational policy, serves as leader in residence.
  • Gro Harlem Brundtland, Norway's first woman prime minister and former director-general of the World Health Organization, speaks on world health threats at the Jepson Forum.
  • Jepson School partners with Jack and Jill of America on national pilot program for teen leaders.
  • Gary L. McDowell joins faculty.
  • Joanne B. Ciulla participates in the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and is panelist for two forums: "The Use and Abuse of Power" and on "What is Good Leadership?"
  • David W. Blight, professor of history at Yale University and author of Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory, William J. Cooper Jr., professor of history at Louisiana State University and author of Jefferson Davis, American; and Harold Holzer, vice president for communications and marketing at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and author or editor of 20 books on Lincoln form panel to discuss Civil War leadership as part of the Jepson Leadership Forum.
  • Douglas A. Hicks, assistant professor of leadership studies and religion, selected as the director of the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement.
  • Alan Ehrenhalt, executive editor of Governing magazine, teaches a spring semester course, "Community and Political and Social Order," as Distinguished Visiting Professor of Leadership Studies and Political Science at the University of Richmond.
  • A student field trip to the Supreme Court arranged by Dr. Gary McDowell includes private session with Justice Scalia (pictured, right).
  • Jepson School co-sponsors The 14th annual Kravis-de Roulet Conference at Claremont McKenna College.
  • James MacGregor Burns, senior scholar at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond, receives the lifetime achievement award from Omicron Delta Kappa at its national convention.
  • Jepson School screens Oscar-winning documentary Fog of War.
  • Five-time Emmy Award-winner Roger Mudd moderates discussion on "Leadership in Times of Crisis."
  • The faculty contributes to two major reference works: The Encyclopedia of Leadership and an anthology called The International Library of Leadership.
  • Colette T. Connor receives the James MacGregor Burns Award.

2004-2005

  • Public Relations Society of America-Richmond and Jepson School offer local non-profit leaders a free media relations workshop.
  • Frank Newport, editor-in-chief of the Gallup Poll, opens the Jepson Leadership Forum for 2004-05.
  • Scholars A.E. Dick Howard, David Blight, J. Thomas Wren and Perry M. Smith explore the topic “Leadership under Extraordinary Circumstances” through historical analysis and their own assessments and insights at an event honoring Leo K. Thorsness.
  • Leadership students create Project Strive to help homeless people find jobs and homes.
  • The Jepson School family mourns the death of Dr. Fredric M. Jablin, professor and E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Chair of Leadership Studies.
  • Best-selling biographer Sally Bedell Smith discusses the Kennedy White House in a special edition of the Jepson Forum for students and alumni and their guests.
  • Dr. Sidney Drell, an arms control specialist with deep practical and theoretical knowledge, speaks on “The Gravest Danger—Nuclear Weapons and Their Proliferation.”
  • A $250,000 grant from Dominion, matched by university trustee Robert S. Jepson Jr., helps endow scholarships for students in the University of Richmond’s Jepson School of Leadership Studies.
  • The three winners of the 2005 First Freedom Awards, presented by the Council for America’s First Freedom, speak at a symposium on “The Rights and Responsibilities of Religious Freedom: Views from the Front Lines.”
  • W.M. Keck Foundation Awards University of Richmond $400,000 grant for national leadership project, the “Keck Initiative.”
  • The Jessie Ball duPont Fund awards a $220,000 grant to the school to create a web-based resource center to serve nonprofit organizations in the Northern Neck of Virginia, Connect Rappahannock.
  • Associate Professor Douglas Hicks advises winning Quest student and receives $5,000 faculty development grant.
  • Jacquelyn Knupp, a leadership/biology double-major from Raleigh, N.C., named a 2005 Truman Scholar, one of an elite group of 75 college juniors committed to making a difference through public service.
  • Meredith L. Schalick, (pictured right), '95, receives the 2005 Jepson Alumni Achievement Award for her work in child welfare advocacy.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Jillian Fasching was selected as the Jepson School recipient of the Clarence J. Gray Achievement Award.
  • Jillian Fasching and Alison Smith were named co-recipients of the James McGregor Burns Award.
  • All four recipients of the Class of 1964 Scholarship this year are leadership studies majors: Ethan McWilliams (Richmond College), Jacquelyn Knupp (Westhampton College), Braxton Bragg (Business School), and Theodore Straub (Jepson School).
  • 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.

2005-2006

  • The Donchian Foundation pledges $125,000 over three years to support student and faculty research and to convene a national symposium on professional and applied ethics in 2008.
  • The Jepson School announces plans for a new journal and organizes a related colloqium on presidential leadership.
  • E. J. Dionne, a member of the Washington Post Writers Group and author of Why Americans Hate Politics, and William Kristol, founding editor of The Weekly Standard, kick off the Jepson Forum—“The State of Public Debate.”
  • Thad M. Williamson, assistant professor of leadership studies at the University of Richmond, receives the 2005 Harold D. Lasswell Award from the American Political Science Association. The award recognizes the best dissertation in the field of public policy studies completed in 2004.
  • Leadership Studies Professor Dr. Donelson R. Forsyth launches a Web site focused on the social psychological implications of the Katrina Hurricane tragedy.
  • The State Council of Higher Education awards the university a $102,653 grant to help implement the Next Generation Leadership Academy, which includes partnerships between the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, School of Continuing Studies and four local school divisions. The project involves 40 aspiring principals and 20 mentors from public schools in the City of Richmond and Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico counties.
  • Gary McDowell receives Distinguished Educator.
  • Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Taylor Branch discusses Martin Luther King Jr. and “Non-violent Leadership: The Essence of Democracy” as part of Burns Lectureship.
  • Bob Dole (pictured, right) and George McGovern speak on political civility as part of the Jepson Forum.
  • Dr. Terry L. Price publishes Understanding Ethical Failures in Leadership.
  • Harry Frankfurt, author of the New York Times list bestseller On Bullshit and professor of philosophy at Princeton University speaks on “Truth, Lies and Other Forms of Corruption in Civic Communication” for Jepson Forum.
  • Dr. George Goethals and Dr. J. Donelson Forsyth join the Jepson faculty.
  • Richmond Memorial Health Foundation has awards a three-year, $75,000 grant to the Jepson School’s Connect Richmond project.
  • Senior Jacquelyn Knupp presents her thesis "How Should Physicians Be Motivated to Fulfill Social Obligations?" at the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics conference in Florida.
  • U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton speaks at a Jepson school event on U.N. reform.
  • Elleni Ghebremicael and Ashley Weathersbee, both leadership studies minors, and fellow University of Richmond student Alicia Surdyk co-found a campus chapter of Americans for Informed Democracy.
  • Joanne Ciulla and Terry L. Price co-edit The Quest for Moral Leaders: Essays on Leadership Ethics, published by Edward Elgar in December 2005.
  • The Jepson School dedicates Fredric Jablin Library in the Jepson Faculty Lounge.
  • Kenneth P. Ruscio, dean of the University of Richmond’s Jepson School of Leadership Studies, is named president of Washington and Lee University in Lexington. J. Thomas Wren becomes interim dean.
  • Elizabeth MacKenzie Biedell (pictured, right) is recognized for her achievements in international relations as a foreign service officer and as an intelligence analyst with an alumni achievement award.
  • Connect Network celebrates its five-year anniversary with massive site re-launch. www.connectnetwork.org
  • Jepson School launches new web site for Keck Initiative.
  • The Claude Moore Charitable Foundation makes an $80,000 grant to Jepson School and pre-health director to prepare students for leadership roles in health care.
  • Major Jacquelyn Knupp gives the student address at the Baccalaureate service and leadership minor Kevin M. Panicker gives the invocation at Commencement.

  • The 2005-06 JSGA executive board is: Michelle Swartz, president; Ethan McWilliams, Vice President for Administration/Finance; Sam Beese, Vice President for Academic Affairs; Robin Hace, Vice President for Student Affairs; Jesse Kedy, Vice President of Public Relations.

  • The Clarence J. Gray Achievement Award goes to Jacquelyn Knupp.
  • The James McGregor Burns Award recipients are Jacquelyn Knupp and Michelle Swartz.

2006-2007

  • Guy Peterson, Class of 2007, is the 2006 Jablin Research Fellow. The double major in leadership studies and political science studied  environmental policy, specifically renewable energy and conservation techniques, while working as a congressional aide.
  • The Science Museum of Virginia partners with the Jepson School to present the 2006-2007 Jepson Forum topic, "Science, Society and Leadership." Famed science writer Dava Sobel opened the series with her talk, "Leaders and Leadership and the Dawn of Discovery."
  • The 2006-07 JSGA president is Sara E. McGanity. Other seniors serving as officers are: Drake V. Bushnell, Vice President for Administration/Finance; Tara L. Sulzen, Vice President for Academic Affairs; Rachel A. Brushett, Vice President for Student Affairs; and Sara E. FitzPatrick, Vice President for Public Relations.
  • Dr. D. Michael Lindsay wins the 2006 Jablin Dissertation Award for "Faith in the Corridors of Power: Religious Identity and Public Leadership."
  • Douglas A. Hicks wins the inaugural In Character Prize with Jonathan B. Wright for "Disaster Relief: What Would Adam Smith Do?"
  • Former Dean Kenneth P. Ruscio is honored with a portrait unveiling and a program on the challenges of college presidential leadership. Ruscio is now president of Washington & Lee University.
  • Area leaders drawn from Style Weekly's annual "Power List" of the most influential leaders in the community gather to talk about the concept of power and its implications. The event grew from a class research project conducted by the students of Colonel Leo K. and Gaylee Thorsness Chair in Ethical Leadership Dr. J. Donelson R. Forsyth.
  • At the end of his first year in office, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine came to Jepson  and discussed his views on the governor’s job and what he hopes to accomplish in office.
  • Sandra J. Peart becomes the fourth Dean of the School effective August 2007. Peart’s newest book The Vanity of the Philosopher: From Equality to Hierarchy in Postclassical Economics received recognition on the list of the Outstanding Academic Titles of the year by the American Library Association’s Choice magazine. She coauthored this book with David M. Levy.
  • Andrew J. Bacevich, a military expert, professor and author of books and articles on U.S. diplomacy and militarism, speaks on "Leaders and Followers, Soldiers and Citizens: Why Americans Are Seduced by War,"
    • sponsored by the Jepson School and the Richmond Quest.
  • Gary McDowell, Tyler Haynes Interdisciplinary Professor of Leadership, Political Science and Law received a $40,000 fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities. He received the funding for his project, "The Most Sacred Rule of Interpretation: The Language of Law and the Moral Foundations of Originalism." 
  • Class of 2008 majors Erica Coleman, Allison DuVal, Corrie Mixon and Eric Van Der Hyde are among the University students who travel to the Gulf Coast in 2006 after the Hurricane Katrina disaster. They also create a student group, Collegiate Disaster Relief Team.
  • Howard Gardner, a multiple-intelligence theorist and Harvard psychologist, is the keynote speaker at a research symposium on social psychology and leadership presented by the Jepson School. His lecture, “Leading Minds, and How Leaders Change Minds” wraps up an afternoon of presentations including two by Jepson’s own social psychologists, Donelson R. Forsyth and George R. Goethals.
  • Walter K. Graham, the executive director, president and CEO of the Richmond-based United Network for Organ Sharing Foundation, explored questions of medicine and morality as part of a Jepson Leadership Forum.
  • Charles Wilbur, a leading scholar in the field of ethics and economics, discussed “Beyond Self-Interest: Embodied Moral Codes and Economic Justice” at the University of Richmond and also lead a discussion on development ethics. Joanna B. Ciulla, a  Jepson School ethicist, joined him in this discussion.
  • J. Thomas Wren of the Jepson School gave a keynote speech at a conference on “Leadership Across the Liberal Arts Curriculum.” The Jepson School of Leadership Studies collaborated on the initiative, funded by the Keck Foundation, which included a 2006 summer workshop, fellowships for undergraduate students and faculty, and new interdisciplinary courses developed in the arts, sciences and social sciences that focus on leadership themes and examine the best practices in teaching leadership studies. 
  • J. Thomas Wren publishes Inventing Leadership: The Challenge of Democracy.
  • Interim Dean J. Thomas Wren appoints the Jepson School Alumni Networking committee, appoints Sue Robinson Alumni Relations Director and ramps up outreach to Jepson's growing and maturing some 800 alumni.
  • Jepson major Jessica Scrimale is chosen as the baccalaureate speaker at the 2007commencement, and Jepson major Nicole Harris gives the benediction.
  • Three Class of 2006 majors—Alyson Emrick, Whitney McComis, and Theodore Straub—and one 2006 minor, Elleni Ghebremicael, are selected for Teach for America's two-year teaching program.
  • Four Jepson students participate in the Jepson summer study abroad program in England, studying at Emmanuel College at Cambridge.
  • Class of 2009 major Adrian Bitton earns a $25,000 cash prize for writing the winning Richmond Quest competition with the question, “How is it connected?”
  • The Keck Initiative continues to thrive and two Jepson students, Ryan Kefer and Stefanie Simon, are named 2006 Keck Fellows.
  • The ConnectRichmond program moves to the Community Foundation Serving Metro Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University.
  • Class profile for the class of 2007.

2007-2008

  • The Jepson Leadership Forum and the annual WILL Speaker Series merge for the 2007 - 2008 season to produce a speaker series Rhetoric & Reality/Race & Gender, Power & Politics. More than a dozen speakers are in the lineup, including Susan Estrich, Rich Lowry, Juan Williams, Lani Guinier, Marshall Ganz, and Chuck D.
  • Leo K. Thorsness, retired United States Air Force Colonel, Medal of Honor recipient and POW, serves as leader-in-residence for the 2007-08 academic year at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies.  
  • The 2007-08 JSGA president is Eric Van Der Hyde. Other seniors serving as officers are: Leah Render, vice president for administration/finance; Xenia Schneider, vice president for academic affairs; Mary Gardiner, vice president for student Aafairs; and Lisa Sinkovitz, vice president for public relations.
  • Jepson professor, Joanne B. Cuilla, receives the university’s Distinguished Educator Award for 2007-2008. The award recognizes “a consistent record of outstanding contributions to excellence in education” and includes a $3,000 gift for professional development.
  • Dorothy Hamill, 1976 world and Olympic women’s figure skating champion, headlined a free leadership training program for high school athletic captains and team leaders at the University of Richmond.
  • The School's founding benefactors, Robert and Alice Jepson are among some 175 guests at the Sept. 9, 2007 dinner event marking the 15th anniversary of the inauguration of the school. For photos, go to Jepson Photos
  • University of Richmond’s new president, Dr. Edward Ayers, who assumed office in the summer, and Mr. Jepson are speakers at the anniversary event. Dean Sandra Peart welcomed a record number--nearly 70--alumni to the event.
  • Jepson students in Professor Charles Metzgar’s Leadership in Organizations class receive rave reviews after externing with Capitol One Services, Inc., Play, and Mercer Human Resources Consulting. At the end of the fall semester the students presented their ideas for their own organizations and also offered their insight and recommendations to representatives of their host companies, Metzgar, and UR faculty and staff.
  • Terry L. Price is appointed Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
  • Fox News commentators Richard Lowry, editor of National Review and author of “Legacy: Paying the Price for the Clinton Years,” and Susan Estrich, attorney, political operative and author of "Sex & Power” and “The Case for Hillary Clinton” open the series on “Rhetoric & Reality: Race & Gender/Power & Politics.”
  • Juan Williams, NPR "Morning Edition" senior correspondent, spoke about race and politics in "Beyond Black and White/All About Barack and Much More," as part of the Rhetoric & Reality: Race & Gender/Power & Politics speaker series.
  • Gary McDowell, a professor at the University of Richmond's Jepson School of Leadership Studies, published the lead op-ed in the Oct. 23 edition of The Wall Street Journal on “The War for the Constitution.” McDowell's guest column looks back 20 years on Robert Bork's confirmation hearings for a seat on the Supreme Court of the United States.
  • The Values of Presidential Leadership, edited by Terry L. Price and J. Thomas Wren, was published as the inaugural book in the Jepson Studies in Leadership book series, published by Palgrave MacMillan. The series is envisioned as being the home for the best scholarly work on leadership in both the humanities and the social sciences.
  • Roberta Oster Sachs, associate dean for external affairs at the University of Richmond School of Law, moderates a discussion between Lisa Green, senior producer of NBC Weekend Today, Glenn Proctor, executive editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Keith Woods, dean of faculty at the Poynter Institute. This event, part of the Jepson/WILL Rhetoric and Reality Series, focuses on leadership challenges within the media and the news gatherer's responsibility to society.
  • Bioethics expert, Edmund D. Pellegrino, M.D., chairman of The President’s Council on Bioethics, discussed the balance between ethics, science, medicine and technology in “Bioethics and Human Happiness: Problem, Promise and Illusion” at the Jepson Alumni Center.
  • Jepson School professor, Douglas Hicks, is named in Style Weekly magazine's “Top 40 Under 40” list of young men and women who are transforming Richmond.
  • Ronald Takaki, professor emeritus, Asian American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, speaks on "Americans in a Different Mirror: How We Are Connected to Each Other and What Our Future Holds," as part of the Jepson/WILL Speaker Series.
  • Jepson School Professor Crystal Hoyt is featured in U.S. News and World Report for her study in the peer-reviewed Leadership Quarterly. Her study presents evidence that thoughts of death can bias subjects in favor of male candidates, even if the female candidate displays masculine traits.
  • Alice Eagly, a researcher and author on psychology and gender, discusses “Through the Labyrinth: The Advantages and Disadvantages of Women as Leaders” at the Rhetoric & Reality: Race & Gender/Power & Politics speaker series.
  • Douglas Hicks, associate professor of leadership studies and religion, and Thad Williamson, associate professor of leadership studies were featured in Richmond’s Style Weekly magazine article, “Is Jesus a Democrat?” which discussed the role of religion in politics and religion in politics during an election season.
  • EduLead, a partnership program between University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University to improve K-12 school leadership, instruction and student achievement, is awarded a $273,486 contract from the Louisiana Department of Education. The funds will be used to lead the design and development of a leadership program for the Louisiana School Turnaround Specialist Program (LSTS).
  • Jepson school Dean Sandra J. Peart compiled a three-article symposium on ethics and leadership along with David Levy, professor of economics at George Mason University. The symposium was published in the Winter 2008 edition of the Eastern Economic Journal.
  • A new study by Crystal Hoyt, associate professor of leadership studies at the Jepson School, finds that during times of war or terror, people of both genders are more likely to support leaders with masculine traits though it also points out that female leaders who don't mix masculine traits with a display of feminine attributes are not particularly well received. She relates these findings specifically with the current presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton.
  • Alan Ehrenhalt, editor of Governing magazine and visiting scholar at the Jepson School, leads a panel discussion about the presidential primaries and a variety of election topics at the Jepson Alumni Center. The panel reviews the individual candidates, fundraising, primary results and predictions, polls and rhetoric as part of the Jepson/WILL speaker series on Rhetoric & Reality: Race & Gender/Power & Politics.
  • Donna Brazile, manager of Al Gore's 2000 campaign for president, spoke on “Presidential Politics: What Happened to ‘We the People’?” at the University of Richmond. The event is sponsored by the University of Richmond Young Democrats and co-sponsored by the university's Booker Chair in Religion and Ethics, Richmond Quest program and the Jepson School of Leadership Studies.
  • Leadership, business and legal scholars from the country's top universities discuss key leadership and ethical issues at the University of Richmond's Donchian Symposium on the Ethical Challenges of Leadership. Speakers included Neal Katyal, a Georgetown University law professor, Juliette N. Kayyem, Massachusetts’ undersecratary for homeland security, Ray C. Anderson, chairman and CEO of Interface Corp., Joanne B. Ciulla, Jepson School professor, Thomas Donaldson of the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Jerry M. Evensky of the Maxwell School, Syracuse University, Jonathan Haidt, University of Virginia, Kristine Huskey, from the National Security and Human Rights Clinic, University of Texas at Austin, and Joshua D. Margolis, Harvard Business School.
  • Chancellor Richard L. Morill, who has served as chief executive at three universities, speaks at the University of Richmond about his new book Strategic Leadership: Integrating Strategy and Leadership in Colleges and Universities, which makes the case that strategy can be a discipline and process of leadership.
  • Cynthia Enloe, a leading researcher and author on feminism, militarization and globalization, discusses “Leading with a Feminist Curiosity: How to Explore Our Militarized Culture” at the University of Richmond as part of the Rhetoric & Reality: Race & Gender/Power & Politics series.
  • The Leadership Honor Society Omicron Delta Kappa awards Jepson Founder Robert S. Jepson, Jr. the 2008 Laurel Crowned Circle Award for his accomplishments in the business world and for his philanthropic support and continued dedication to leadership and higher education.
  • The Jepson School receives $10,000 seed money from the Atlas Foundation to explore the establishment of the Adam Smith Center for Leadership Ethics.
  • The University of Richmond joins with 14 other Virginia colleges and the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges in launching Career 15, an initiative matching Virginia companies with Virginia college students looking for jobs and internships. Career 15 will gather students from several small, private Virginia colleges and universities at Career15 to interact with participating recruiters.
  • Chuck D., an American rapper, composer, author, radio personality and producer, as well as the founder of the influential group Public Enemy, speaks about the hip-hop movement and the culture of rap. He illuminates the complexity of humanity and how we communicate with each other as part of the Jepson/WILL speaker series on Rhetoric and Reality.
  • Dean Sandra Peart is a leadership expert interviewed on Fox News Radio affiliate WRVA and gives her response to a nationwide survey conducted by the Girl Scout Research Institute (GSRI) that found only 39 percent of girls want to be leaders in a traditional sense. Dean Peart supports and concurs with data that indicates that while many girls find command-and-control style of leadership unappealing the majority of them aspire to leadership more focused on personal principles, ethical behavior and the ability to affect social change. "Leadership at its best is a process among people that requires fairness, honesty, clarity and a vision for change," Peart explained.
  • Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine names University of Richmond 22nd out of 50 on their list of the nation’s “Best Values in Private Universities.”
  • Marshall Ganz, a civil rights organizer and professor at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and Lani Guinier, the first African-American woman to be tenured at Harvard’s law school spoke in the final two programs in the Jepson/WILL Forum on Rhetoric and Reality. Marshall Ganz spoke on “Leading Social Change: Relationships, Story and Strategy” and Lana Guinier discussed “The Next Vanguard in Civil Rights—Abandoning the Myth of Meritocracy”.
  • Lisa Sinkovitz, vice president of public relations for the Jepson Student Government Association, organizes and hosts a Student Leadership Conference that coincides with Marshall Ganz' "Leading Social Change: Relationships, Story and Strategy" workshop and lecture as part of the Rhetoric and Reality speaker series.
  • Maia Carter Hallward, a 1998 Jepson alumni and an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science and International Affairs at Kennesaw State University, receives the 2008 Alumni Achievement Award during Reunion Weekend.
  • Jepson Initiative on Leadership and the Liberal Arts brings scholars from around the world to campus May 19-21.

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