Through hosting public programming and a major convention, the Jepson School opened its doors to national and international scholars, thought leaders, and community members — inviting all to explore leadership in a variety of contexts and engage in meaningful conversations about the complexities of leadership.
Inaugural practitioner-in-residence
Gary L. McDowell Institute inaugural practitioner-in-residence Greg Lukianoff, president and CEO of the nonprofit Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, met with students, faculty, and administrators in February to discuss the prevalence of cancel culture on college campuses. He will return to campus in November 2025 to give a public lecture on free speech and academic freedom in higher education.
McDowell Student Fellows spotlight
As first-year students in fall 2021, Anna-Laura Houston and Shelby Campbell joined the McDowell Student Fellows Program, created the previous year to foster civil discussions across the ideological spectrum. Upon graduating in May 2025, they became the first Spiders to have participated in the program all four undergraduate years, watching it grow from a cohort of 12 to 58 fellows.
“I got to try on ideas to see if they worked and gained the confidence to think about things I was afraid to think about before.”
Jepson Leadership Forum
The Jepson Leadership Forum focused on the theme “E Pluribus Unum? The Divisions Testing American Democracy.” Harvard University political scientist and democracy advocate Danielle Allen kicked off the school’s public lecture series with a discussion on the need for more citizens to participate actively in politics. The event was co-hosted by the McDowell Institute, Bonner Center for Civic Engagement, and School of Arts and Sciences. Other forum presentations focused on the impact of artificial intelligence, the COVID-19 pandemic, class and party polarization, and public education on American democracy.
History of Economics Society Conference
In June, more than 100 scholars from 12 countries representing five continents attended the History of Economics Society Conference, hosted by the Jepson School on the University of Richmond campus. Dean Sandra Peart is a current member, past president, and Distinguished Fellow of the society.