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2016–17 Jepson School Dean’s Report

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I hope you have enjoyed warm summer evenings and you’re ready for the faster pace that comes with autumn!

In 2017–18, we will celebrate 25 years of teaching for and about leadership, developing young leaders who are good at what they do and who do what is good. We have spent much of the last few months preparing for the return of our students to campus — from planning for the Jepson Leadership Forum series, Vision and Division, and visits by our leader-in-residence, Dr. Vivian Pinn, to summer programs with newly admitted students in URISE.

In the meantime, I invite you to take a moment to review our accomplishments of the last year as we eagerly anticipate our milestone 25th anniversary year.

Enjoy!
Sandra J. Peart, Dean

A new Executive Board of Advisors will open doors for networking and outreach. Members include internationally and nationally renowned leadership scholars and practitioners from business, non-profits, the public sector, and higher education.

Inaugural EBA Members

  • Arthur S. Brown, R’81
  • Debra Campbell, P’15
  • David Cramer, P’11, P’14
  • Maurice Henderson, ’97
  • Gill Robinson Hickman
  • Alison Smith Mangiero, ’05
  • Bonnie Marcus
  • Thomas Matthews
  • Leonidas Montes
  • Richard L. Morrill
  • Kimberly Bowers Rollins, ’05
  • Dennis Whittle

Learning through practice

The Jepson School inducted 85 new students at its annual Prelude ceremony. Twelve of these students will participate in the Science and Leadership Scholars Program. Watch Online
Eight students presented honors theses at the 2017 Jepson Research Symposium & Honors Recognition Ceremony, the largest number of students to earn honors in leadership studies in the past ten years. Read More
Jepson School students served as guides to visitors from the Kenya-based Barack Obama Leadership Program, who came to the Jepson School of Leadership Studies as part of a seven-day trip to the United States. Read More
Students conducted one-on-one interviews with world renowned experts and scholars through the new Jepson Leadership Forum Take 5 video series. Discussions ranged from career advice to scholarship to politics. Watch Online
Students went outside the classroom to learn about leadership, touring the Gettysburg battlefields for Civil War Leadership and visiting the Capitol, the Supreme Court, and the Library of Congress to experience Political Leadership. Read More
Yasmine Karam, ’17, was one of two University of Richmond seniors to receive a $10,000 Projects for Peace grant for their project supporting the economic empowerment of women in Bolivia. Read More

Scholars and practitioners

The Jepson School of Leadership Studies faculty published 6 books and more than 20 articles and chapters in academic journals and edited volumes. Their commentary and research was featured in local and national publications, including Inside Higher Ed, NPR, USA Today, the Winston-Salem Journal, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Philadelphia Inquirer, NBC News, and Style Weekly.

At the 2016 International Leadership Association conference, Gill Hickman was given the ILA Leadership Legacy Lifetime Achievement Award. Read More
Crystal Hoyt assumed the role of associate dean for academic affairs. Read More
Haley Harwell joined the Jepson School faculty as assistant professor of leadership studies. Read More
Kristin Bezio was promoted to associate professor of leadership studies. Read More
In December, the Jepson School honored founding faculty member Joanne Ciulla with its Award for Leadership & Service. She was appointed professor emerita upon her retirement from the University. Read More
Thad Williamson returned to the Jepson School following a leave in which he served as the first director of the City of Richmond’s Office of Community Wealth Building. In January, he was named senior policy adviser to Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney. Read More
Jessica Flanigan received the 2017 Omicron Delta Kappa Faculty Member of the Year Award. Read More
Photo by Matt Cowan for Richmond Justice - richmondjustice.org
In November, Julian Hayter moderated the Richmond Justice mayoral debate, and in June, Mayor Stoney appointed him to the Monument Commission Work Group. Read More
Maria Esperanza Casullo, associate professor at Universidad Nacional de Río Negro in Argentina, joined the Jepson School as 2016–17 Zuzana Simoniova Cmelikova Visiting Scholar. She and Ernesto Semán taught linked courses examining populist leadership. Read More

Practice through dialogue

The Jepson Leadership Forum had another record-shattering year. The 2016–17 theme, Reconstruction and the Arc of Racial (In)Justice, hosted award-winning journalists and authors, as well as leading authorities on American history. Read More
In conjunction with the 2016–17 Jepson Colloquium, the School brought together a panel of local law enforcement officials, visiting historians, and University representatives to examine how history continues to shape tensions between law enforcement and African-American communities, how race and other dynamics illuminate systemic strains in the country’s urban centers, and what we as a country can do to recognize these problems and promote healing. Read More
Kenneth P. Ruscio, president of the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges and Washington & Lee University president emeritus, returned to the Jepson School as 2016–17 leader-in-residence. He met with students and faculty, visited classes, hosted two popular panels on topics surrounding the 2016 election and leadership in higher education, and spoke at Finale. Read More
Former CIA director Gen. Michael V. Hayden presented “Tectonic Shifts in Global Security” as part of the 2016–17 Marshall Center Lecture Series. The John Marshall International Center for the Study of Statesmanship also hosted a seminar on The Leadership and Legacy of Margaret Thatcher, with presentations by Robin Harris, Ambassador John Bolton, and Sir David Cannadine, among others.  The Thomas W. Smith Foundation, Inc. awarded the co-directors of the John Marshall International Center for the Study of Statesmanship, Gary McDowell and political science professor Daniel Palazzolo, a grant of $300,000 over three years to support the center at the Jepson School. This is the fourth term for which Dr. McDowell has received the grant. Read More
Bob Pozen, senior lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, led students in considering practical ways to increase productivity. Read More
Lifelong practice
The 2017 Jepson EDGE Institute featured a new Pre-EDGE workshop, so students were more prepared than ever to refine their elevator pitches and make...
The Jepson School hosted an alumni event in Atlanta, Ga. during the annual ILA conference. Alumni toured the Center for Civil and Human Rights and ...
The Jepson School kicked off Reunion Weekend with an alumni reception. At the reception, alumni learned more about the School's upcoming 25th anni...

Celebrating Our Practice

The vision for the Jepson School has always been to educate students for and about leadership that is not only effective but also ethical and responsible. As we celebrate our 25th anniversary, we rededicate ourselves to our founders’ vision through our curriculum, research, and programs.

Follow updates about this milestone year on our website and social media.