The Fredric M. Jablin Award for Undergraduate Research

Dr. Fredric Jablin, beloved professor and scholar at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, had a passion for research and delighted in working with young scholars to foster this enthusiasm in them. His greatest legacy was the many students he supported and mentored who achieved prominence in their fields because they were inspired by his infectious enthusiasm for scholarship.

In his honor, an annual award is given to a rising Jepson senior conducting research in a wide variety of fields under the tutelage of either a professor at the University of Richmond or a qualified mentor elsewhere. 

Alumna Adrienne Capps Smith, '98, established the fellowship to honor the memory of Jablin, who taught courses in organizational communications and research methodology from 1994-2004.

To Apply:

Submit an application. Students submit an application to the associate dean for student and external  affairs by the last day of classes in the fall semester of the senior year. The application requires a written proposal as well as a letter of support from the sponsoring faculty mentor. Students must also submit a Faculty Support Form signed by their sponsoring faculty and two other faculty verifying that the research is progressing in a satisfactory way to be considered for this award.

Part 1: Aims

As concisely as you can, state the aims of your project. What are the specific questions you seek to answer?

Part 2: Background and Significance

Why do you want to answer this question? What is known and not known in this area of inquiry? (Please provide citations from the relevant literature.) What literature will your project engage? Is there a controversial idea you propose to address or missing information you propose to provide?

Part 3: Project Design and Methods

Describe the design of your project and explain how the methods and design of your project will answer the questions you pose. If your work requires human subjects, do you have approval from the IRB? If your work requires animal subjects, do you have approval from IACUC? If not, please explain what steps you will take to receive the required approval.

Part 4: Literature Cited

Provide a full literature review and bibliography of works cited.

Past Recipients

Academic Year	Student Recipient	Research Topic/Title	Faculty Advisor
2024-25	Craig Caudill	Beyond the Factory Walls: Black Tobacco Labor, Civil Rights, and Public Health in 20th-Century Virginia	Lauren Henley
2023-24	Eve Ridenhour	"A Closer Look at the Female Disadvantage and Advantage in Leadership"	Crystal Hoyt
2022-23	Emma Kennedy	"Effect of Youth Sports Participation on Health Outcomes for Immigrants in the United States"	Volha Chykina
2021-22	Ally Osterberg	"Does Civic Engagement Predict Moral Behaviors? A Test of Moral Theories"	Crystal Hoyt
2020-21	Rong Bao	"Exposure to Air Pollution and Community Resilience to COVID-19: A Case Study in Richmond"	Todd Lookingbill
2019-20	Eliana Fleischer	“A License to Kill: The Institutional Failure of the Legal System to Hold Police Accountable"	Julian Hayter
2018-19	Jamie Katz	“Draw Some Awesome: The Effect of Art and Awe on Grief and Giving”	Crystal Hoyt
2017-18	Dana Rafferty	“The Role of Growth Mindset on Interracial Interactions on College Campuses”	Crystal Hoyt
2016-17	Annette Schieffelin	“The Effect of Implicit Person Theories and Gender on Academic Engagement"	Crystal Hoyt
2015-16	Amelia Mitrotz	"I'm a Feminist, but Not Online: The Complications of Declaring a Feminist Digital Identity"	Kristin Bezio
2014-15	Emmy Morse	“The Dark Side of Volunteering: When Helping Might Hurt"	Crystal Hoyt
2013-14	Michelle Holland	"The Forces of Value: Structure and Content of Self-Reported Values by Civilian and Military Science Students"	Don Forsyth
2012-13	Julie Yermack	"Tweed and a Bow Tie: What Makes a Professor?"	Don Forsyth
2011-12	Natasha Levanti	“Rødgrød Med Fløde: The Relationship between Danish Parliamentarians and Danish Citizens Concerning Equality from a Danish Leadership Perspective"	Joanne Ciulla
2009-10	Prasant Dubey	"Understanding Rejection across Ingroups and Outgroups"	Crystal Hoyt
2008-09	Xenia Schneider	“Treating Animals Right: Introducing a New Fairness Approach”	Terry Price
2007-08	Garrett Schlein	“Individual and Collective Environmentalism: An Application to Watershed Conservation” during summer 2007	Don Forsyth
2006-07	Guy Peterson	Environmental policy with a focus on renewable energy sources as an intern for U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., on Capitol Hill during summer 2006.	Unknown