Cramer Family Faculty Fellowship created
In August 2025, the Jepson School announced the launch of the Cramer Family Faculty Fellowship, made possible by the generosity of parents David and Laura Cramer. The fellowship offers a course release to a deserving faculty member, giving them more time to pursue research. Dr. Christopher von Rueden is the inaugural fellowship recipient.
Faculty Spotlights
Terry Price
Dr. Terry Price, Coston Family Chair in Leadership and Ethics, appeared on the Virginia Business list of Top 100 People to Meet in 2026: Educators. In selecting him for the list, Virginia Business cited his class “You Can’t Think That! Or Can You?” which fosters students’ ability to discuss controversial issues civilly and disagree productively. Price discussed this class and his students’ appetite for intellectual freedom in his Wall Street Journal op-ed.
Thad Williamson
When not teaching and researching leadership, Dr. Thad Williamson practices it. He is the senior policy strategist for Richmond Mayor Danny Avula and served in various roles in the two previous mayoral administrations, including as the inaugural director of the city’s Office of Community Wealth Building under former Mayor Dwight Jones.
Visiting international scholar Kazi A S M Nurul Huda
Dr. Kazi A S M Nurul Huda, an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh, is the school’s 2025–27 Zuzana Simoniova Cmelikova Visiting International Scholar in Leadership and Ethics. He researches the ethics of open-mindedness in political leadership in polarized societies. His commentaries appear regularly in The Daily Star, the largest circulating English-language newspaper in Bangladesh.
Faculty books explore leadership topics
Four faculty books published during the 2025–26 academic year reflect the interdisciplinary scholarship Jepson faculty bring to the study of leadership.
In Shakespeare and Identity in a Divided World, Dr. Kristin M.S. Bezio uses the Bard’s plays as a lens through which to examine issues of identity and identity politics in the highly polarized 21st century.
Dr. Jessica Flanigan, Richard L. Morrill Chair in Ethics and Democratic Values, co-authored Libertarianism: The Basics. The book offers an up-to-date, accessible introduction to libertarianism.
Inquisition for Blood: The Making of a Black Female Serial Killer in the Jim Crow South, by Dr. Lauren Henley, explores the case of an ax-wielding serial murderer in the early 20th-century American South. Henley’s debut book received LSU Press’ annual award for the most outstanding achievement in the field of Southern studies.
Dr. David Wilkins, E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professor in Leadership Studies, is the lead author in the fifth edition of The Navajo Nation Political Experience. The book provides a comprehensive analysis of Diné governance structures, leaders, and political participation.