Student Scholars
University of Richmond Senior Ibrahim Alkaseer Selected as Rhodes Scholar for Fully Funded Postgraduate Study at Oxford
The highly competitive Rhodes Scholarship is one of the most prestigious in the world.
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
- Friday, November 7, 2025, register here for lunch
- Friday, January 30, 2026
- Friday, February 20, 2026
A&S Feature Stories
University of Richmond Professor Kurt Beals Awarded National Fellowship for Work in German Translation
Kurt Beals, a German studies professor and humanities fellow in literary translation at the University of Richmond, has been awarded a fellowship by the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.
UR Now: Research & Innovation
Spiders clicking with Lego Serious Play
These familiar little plastic bricks are helping UR classes explore abstract concepts and solve problems.
The conscription imperative: Making the case for compulsory service
After serving two years in the Singapore army, senior Timothy Khoh is researching the philosophical and pragmatic arguments for conscription.
A&S Faculty in the News
Coffee’s delicious journey from tiny bean to tasty brew
Chemistry professor Kristine Nolin is quoted.
Virginia's AG candidates to debate amid texting scandal. Here's what to know.
Political science professor Ernest McGowen is quoted.
Why are elements like radium dangerous? A chemist explains radioactivity and its health effects
Chemistry professor Kelling Donald authored this piece.
Trying to Eat Healthier? These 5 Everyday Cooking Mistakes Might Be Holding You Back
Chemistry professor Julie Pollock 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
Hoffman honored for for leadership in public health
Jeremy Hoffman, adjunct lecturer of health studies, was selected as a 2025 honoree for the de Beaumont Foundation’s 40 Under 40 in Public Health. The program is the first of its kind to recognize and elevate leaders changing the face of public health in creative and innovative ways.
Mayes published on Medicare Advantage
Rick Mayes, professor of health policy, chaired a research panel on "Privatization, Regulation, and Health Care Markets," and shared his research on a "Medicare at 60" panel at the 2025 American Political Science Association Conference.
Jacobsen selected as Senior Research Fellow
Kathryn Jacobsen, William E. Cooper Distinguished University Chair and professor of health studies, was selected to serve as a Senior Research Fellow with the Earth Systems Governance Project of Future Earth that is hosted by Uppsala University in Sweden.
Suglo appointed to journal editorial board
Ignatius G. D Suglo, assistant professor of rhetoric & communication studies, was appointed to the editorial board of the flagship journal Communication, Culture, & Critique.
