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.
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.
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:
Camp Concert Hall, Booker Hall of Music
Each year, the A&S community comes together to celebrate the academic accomplishments of our students at Honors Convocation.
All A&S faculty, staff, and students are invited to attend this special celebration.
Faculty, staff, students, and guests are invited to lunch in the Heilman Dining Center following Convocation.
Modlin Center for the Arts & Campus Buildings
7:30 p.m., Nevermore – The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe, Department of Theatre & Dance performance
Each April, we celebrate our diverse community of learners at the A&S Student Symposium, a showcase of student-led research projects from nearly 30 disciplines in the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences. Student researchers share their scholarly work with the campus community and the public through oral presentations, poster sessions, performances, and art exhibits.
This year’s symposium includes the Department of Theatre & Dance’s production of Nevermore – The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe on Friday, April 17, at 7:30 p.m. Free tickets are available at modlin.richmond.edu.
President Emeritus and University Professor Ronald A. Crutcher, a national leader in higher education and a distinguished classical musician, has received the American Association of Colleges and Universities President’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Liberal Education.
This spring, the Joel and Lila Harnett Museum is showcasing three new exhibitions, including a newly commissioned installation by sculptor Abigail DeVille.
A team of researchers and students at the University of Richmond has launched a groundbreaking new digital tool that lets users explore ancient human DNA through an interactive global map.
Research by music professor Joanna Love is featured.
Psychology professor Janelle Peifer is quoted.
American studies professor Stephen Brauer, who is working on a book about sports writing, is quoted.
Behavioral neuroscience professor Kelly Lambert authored this piece about raccoon intelligence, originally published in The Conversation.
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.
Sharon G. Feldman, William Judson Gaines Chair in Modern Foreign Languages and professor of Spanish and Catalan Studies, translated Liberto, from the original Catalan Llibert, an award-winning play by Barcelona playwright Gemma Brió. The new work is premiering at Theater for the New City.
Ben Pettis, assistant professor of rhetoric and communication studies, published a book review of Move Slowly and Build Bridges: Mastodon, the Fediverse, and the Struggle for Democratic Social Media in Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies.
Jorge A. Wong Medina, assistant professor of classical studies, presented “Homeric ὑπόδρα ἰδών” at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Classical Studies.
Courtney Blondino, assistant professor of health studies, published "A Community Conversation Process to Establish Resident and Service Provider Perspectives on Needs Related to Use and Treatment of Opioids and Substances" in Frontiers in Public Health.
