From the Dean

Oct. 16, 2024

Greetings from the Jepson School of Leadership Studies!

Now that fall break is upon us, it is a good time to look back on the successes of the past months. For starters, I enjoyed seeing many of you in early June at Reunion Weekend when we celebrated two accomplished alumni, attorney Jessica Bigby, ’04, recipient of our Alumni Award, and pediatric nurse practitioner Lindsay Flanagan, ’14, recipient of our Tenth-Year Reunion Recognition Award.

Many of our students applied leadership principles during their credit-bearing summer internships. They worked in federal and state government, health care, a start-up business, and more. Meanwhile, our faculty crisscrossed the globe this summer, conducting research and giving talks.

As I write this, I am on my way home from Santiago, Chile, where I spent two weeks as a Fulbright specialist, helping the Universidad del Desarrollo develop a philosophy, politics, and economics undergraduate program. At a meeting last week with Vice Rector Ernesto Silva Mendéz, we agreed that the Jepson School curriculum serves as a model for general education requirements in a liberal arts setting.

In August, we welcomed our newest faculty member, Dr. Sam Director. A philosopher, he researches the ethics of informed consent, artificial intelligence, and public health policy. Dr. Director joins three other faculty philosophers who teach ethical leadership principles.

The school’s longstanding commitment to civic engagement remains strong. This was apparent at the University of Richmond Bonner Center for Civic Engagement’s September awards ceremony, which recognized three individuals and one nonprofit organization with ties to our school. Similarly, our Jepson Leadership Forum and McDowell Institute lecture series continue to engage the broader community in discussions about some of society’s most pressing issues. I invite you to join us in person or via livestream for these lectures.

I also invite you to join us on campus Nov. 1–2 for Spider Day and Homecoming. It is always a pleasure to see you! Indeed, the school would not be #LeadingTheWay were it not for the support of our alumni and friends. Please stay in touch, and enjoy reading all this news and more in this issue of the Jepson Update.

Best wishes,

Sandra J. Peart
Dean and E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professor in Leadership Studies
President, Jepson Scholars Foundation