Two UR students receive Beckman awards to further faculty-mentored student research on anti-cancer drugs and ancient DNA.
School of Arts & Sciences 2022-23 Dean’s Report
Going Boldly: Purposeful Engagement, Critical Thinking, & Success in College
School of Arts & Sciences Associate Dean Kelling Donald, professor of chemistry, Clarence E. Denoon Jr. Chair in the Natural Sciences, is the author of How to Solve A Problem: Insights for Critical Thinking, Problem-Solving, and Success in College. Donald offers a few simple steps that can lower barriers to college success in this opinion piece in Diverse: Issues In Higher Education.
Meet the 2024-25 Beckman Scholars
A&S students Marcos Hendler, of Rye, New York, and Aine MacDermott, of Lexington, Virginia, 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 26 Beckman Scholars since 2006.
Hendler, a chemistry major, is studying computational chemistry focused on molecules related to anticancer, which has implications in possible treatments. Hendler’s faculty mentor is chemistry professor Carol Parish. MacDermott, a biochemistry & molecular biology major, is researching ancient DNA under the mentorship of biology professor Melinda Yang. MacDermott is focused on the evolution of the alcohol metabolism gene ADH1B in present-day and ancient East Asian humans.
A&S Student Symposium Poster & Program Cover Artwork
Each year, the A&S Student Symposium program booklet and event poster feature artwork curated from that year’s research presentations.
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
Stephen Ferguson, visiting assistant professor of biology published “Among-population variation in telomere regulatory proteins and their potential role as hidden drivers of intraspecific variation in life history” in the Journal of Animal Ecology.
View BioAngela Leeper, Education Studio director, was appointed by the American Library Association to serve on the 2025 Caldecott Committee, which awards the Caldecott Medal to the illustrator of the most distinguished American picture book.
View BioPatrick Martin, assistant professor of computer science, directed robotics in the live human-robot performance, Together//Apart, demonstrating new human-robot teaming technologies to support dynamic interactions among humans and robots.
View BioCarrie Wu, associate professor of biology, was recognized as one of “25 Inspiring Women in Plant Biology” by the American Society of Plant Biologist’s (ASPB’s) Women in Plant Biology Committee.
View BioJeremy Drummond, associate professor of art, presented his film “Dark Holler” as part of the exhibition What Does the Land Know?
View BioJillean McCommons, assistant professor of history and Africana studies, was awarded the 2024-2025 Wilma Dykeman "Faces of Appalachia" Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from the Appalachian Studies Association to support her book manuscript on Black Appalachian activism in the 1960s and 1970s.
View BioEric S. Yellin, associate professor of history, published, "Bringing the Constituents Back In: The Politics of Social Security in the 1950s," in the Journal of Policy History.
View BioDavid Lefkowitz, professor of philosophy and PPEL, published "Political Feasibility and a Global Climate Treaty" in Ethics, Policy and Environment.
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