From crisis to resilience
Helping people get back on their feet was a common thread in seniors’ internships with human services nonprofits.
School of Arts & Sciences Dean’s Annual Report
2024-25 Now Available!
2025-2026 Tucker Boatwright Festival of Literature & the Arts
Reconstruction
Hosted by the Department of Art & Art History in partnership with The Harnett Museum.
The 2025–2026 Tucker-Boatwright festival dissects and expands the idea of Reconstruction to highlight the complex relationship to ongoing cultural movements and revolutions that we study, experience, and manifest through the visual arts. Reconstruction considers the many social, environmental, and political crises that we are experiencing today, and encourages us to look back at the histories that frame the urgent questions of our present for answers towards our future.
The Department of Art & Art History in partnership with The Harnett Museum, has invited two world renowned artists to campus, Cauleen Smith and Abigail DeVille, to interpret this theme through two new immersive installations that engage with local histories to create a space for community dialogue.
Meet the 2025-26 Beckman Scholars
A&S students Brice Di Carlo, ’27, and Eric Zhou, ’27, have each been awarded a prestigious Beckman Foundation Scholarship to support faculty-mentored student research in the sciences.
Beckman Scholars are selected among undergraduate biology and chemistry students based on commitment to research, strong academics, and potential to become scientific leaders. UR has had 28 Beckman Scholars since 2006.
Chemistry major Brice Di Carlo is studying chemical bonding using various computational methods. This work of studying chemical structures and reactions has implications in developing new medicines and improving existing ones. His faculty mentor is chemistry professor Kelling Donald. Di Carlo plans to pursue a Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry and aspires to research drug development, including treatments for cardiovascular disease.
Eric Zhou is majoring in chemistry and minoring in physics. Under the mentorship of chemistry professor Wade Downey, he is studying organic chemistry — specifically indole synthesis, which has implications in the pharmaceutical industry. Zhou aspires to become a physician-scientist at an academic institution and hopes to open a lab researching targeted drug treatments for cancer.
Faculty & Staff Research Mini Symposia
The Faculty & Staff Research Symposium brings together colleagues from multiple disciplines, programs, and all five schools to present their research, work, and creative projects. All faculty and staff are invited to present their current work as part of interdisciplinary panels, roundtables, short-format sessions, or poster presentations.
The 2025-2026 academic year will feature the Mini Symposia on the following dates:
- Friday, September 26, 2025, program
- Friday, November 7, 2025
- Friday, January 30, 2026
- Friday, February 20, 2026
Meet the Deans During Family Weekend
Saturday, September 27, 2024 | 11 a.m. to noon
Alice Haynes Room, Tyler Haynes Commons
Join the School of Arts & Sciences Dean Jennifer Cavenaugh and A&S associate deans for a discussion and Q&A about the School of Arts & Sciences. Learn about the wide range of academic programs, international and experiential learning opportunities, services, professional development, career planning, and unique experiences the School of Arts & Sciences provides our students in preparation for a meaningful life and productive career.
A&S Feature Stories
UR Now: Student Experience
Diving into Richmond’s First-Year Seminars
Small classes, passionate professors, and skill-building exercises form the premise of this foundational program.
University of Richmond Celebrates Grand Opening of New Orchard and Food Forest in Eco-Corridor
University of Richmond’s Eco-Corridor Orchard & Food Forest is now open to the public.
UR Now: Student Experience
Behind the scenes with Spiders working in the spotlight
UR students turned their passion for film and communications into internships in a highly competitive industry, gaining skills and confidence.
A&S Faculty in the News
New England Pest Management Association Hosts Rodent Symposium
Biology professor Jonathan Richardson is featured.
Research News
This centuries-old pest is thriving like never before
Biology professor Jonathan Richardson authored this piece.
How to Kick the Cycle of Comparing Yourself to Others
Psychology professor Janelle Peifer is quoted.
High consumption of processed foods revealed in CDC report, local professor weighs in
Chemistry professor Julie Pollock, who studies nutrition, is quoted.
Events
Faculty Expertise
Do you envision college as a place where your professor’s office hours are spent in deep conversation about topics beyond this week’s assignment? Where you can work side-by-side with a faculty member on cutting-edge research that is published in a professional journal?
In A&S, our faculty are experts on the cutting edge of their fields. While they could work in some of the top research institutions in the world, our faculty chose Richmond because they believe in educating tomorrow's leaders and are passionate about mentoring and sharing their knowledge with students.
A&S Faculty Highlights
Ware, Knouse, and student publish on using smartphone app for monitoring ADHD
Shweta Ware, assistant professor of computer science, and Laura Knouse, professor of psychology, along with Kritim Rijal, ‘25 pubished "SmartADHDMonitor: A Novel Approach to Automatic ADHD Monitoring Through Smartphone App Usage Data" in the proceedings of the 2025 IEEE 49th Annual Computers, Software, and Applications Conference (COMPSAC). Ware presented the paper at the conference.
Leopold and students publish on developing sensors for “date rape” drugs
Michael C. Leopold, professor and Floyd D. and Elisabeth S. Gottwald Chair of Chemistry, along with undergraduate students Charlie Sheppard, '26, Joyce Stern, '26, Arielle Vinnikov, '27, Holly Wemple, '25, and Ben Edelman, '27, published “Adsorptive Cathodic Stripping Analysis of Xylazine within Fouling-Resistant and Nanomaterial-Enhanced Modified Electrode Sensors" in the journal Sensors. This latest publication continues the group's work in developing sensors for the fast, on-site detection of common "date rape" drugs that may be found in adulterated beverages.
Olayiwola publishes on trust, success, and neoliberalism
Olubukola Olayiwola, visiting assistant professor of anthropology, published “’Having Experience of What to Do to Succeed’: Unsettling Neoliberalism Through the Lived Experiences of Microcredit Trader-Borrowers in Ibadan” in Economic Anthropology.
Jiang publishes and presents at international music conference
Yucong Jiang, assistant professor of computer science, published “Performance Precision: a Software Prototype for Computer-assisted Annotation and Analysis of Music Performance” in the proceedings of the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC). Jiang presented the paper at the conference which had the theme Curiosity, Play, Innovation – A 50th Anniversary Celebration of Creativity in Music, Science and Technology.
