UR Faculty Advance Research in the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities
University of Richmond faculty are dedicated to educating the next generation of Spiders as they pursue groundbreaking new research in their fields of study. This year, faculty from across disciplines received support for various projects focusing on a wide range of topics, including artificial intelligence, learning and memory, and disease control.
Biology professor Laura Runyen-Janecky was awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health to support her research on tsetse flies and the diseases they carry, including Human African trypanosomiasis, also known as sleeping sickness. Her research, which UR students are participating in, could inform strategies to reduce the transmission of sleeping sickness, which can be fatal.
“Tsetse flies are vectors for a disease that affects millions of people and animals in sub-Saharan Africa each year,” said Runyen-Janecky.
Also in biology, John Peters received a National Science Foundation award to support his neuroscience research on the mechanisms of learning and memory. The primary goal of this project is to better understand the molecules involved in memory formation. UR students studying biology will work alongside Peters in his lab.
“Undergraduate researchers in my lab will gain important molecular biology skills and will also have several professional development opportunities essential to early career scientists, including traveling to national conferences to present their research and collecting data at national laboratories,” Peters said.
In the Robins School of Business, accounting professor Ashley Austin received a grant from accounting firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers to support new research on the use of AI in audits.
Austin and her research partners are developing strategies to help auditors and accounting firms around the world examine AI-generated financial reports with sufficient skepticism.
“Generative AI can be used to great benefit to create detailed and accurate financial statements, forecasts, and analyses,” says Austin. “However, despite their high level of accuracy and persuasiveness, AI insights are not absolute fact. Auditors would benefit from safeguarding measures to enhance their own skepticism when evaluating insights that a client generated with AI assistance.”
Additional faculty who received grants or other external support for their research this academic year include:
- Art professor Sandy Williams IV, who was named a 2024 Joan Mitchell Fellow for their work in socially engaged sculpture and performance art.
- Biology professor Carrie Wu, who received USDA support to continue her research on the invasive spread of wavyleaf basketgrass into mid-Atlantic forests.
- History and Africana studies professor Jillean McCommons, who was awarded a fellowship to support her scholarship on gender, race, and ethnicity in Appalachia.
- Sandra Peart, dean of the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, who was named a 2024 Fulbright Specialist, and received support to travel to the Universidad del Desarrollo in Santiago, Chile, to assist in the development of a philosophy, politics, and economics undergraduate program.
University of Richmond Students Receive Highly Competitive National Honors
Chloe Goode is one of 54 award recipients of the 2025 Truman Scholarship, the premier graduate scholarship for aspiring public service leaders in the United States.
Goode, a rising senior from Henrico, Virginia, was selected out of 743 nominations for this prestigious, highly competitive scholarship. Only one student per state is selected. Goode is the University of Richmond’s ninth Truman Scholar since the program’s inception in 1977, with the most recent in 2013.
Truman Scholars demonstrate outstanding leadership potential, a commitment to a career in government or the nonprofit sector, and academic excellence. Each scholar receives funding for graduate studies, leadership training, career counseling, and special internship and fellowship opportunities within the federal government.
“I am mind-blown and beyond grateful. I am so excited to have the opportunity to join the Truman Scholar community and continue doing public service with their support,” said Goode.
Goode plans to pursue a Master of Public Administration with a specialization in Public & Nonprofit Management Policy. Driven by her personal experiences, she intends to focus her career on the U.S. education system.
“Using her own lived experience as motivation to help make the world a safer and more stable place for the next generation of children, she is ready to take the next step in her path, with the help of the Truman Scholarship,” said Dana Kuchem, director of the Office of Scholars and Fellowships, which supports UR’s Truman applicants.
In the sciences, both undergraduate students and young alums received several prestigious awards.
This year’s two Goldwater Scholars will further faculty-mentored chemistry research focusing on cancer treatment. Goldwater scholarships are one of the most sought-after and prestigious undergraduate awards in science and math.
Phoebe Rubio, a junior biochemistry & molecular biology major from Merrimac, Massachusetts, is studying organic chemistry and chemical biology related to research on peptides under the mentorship of chemistry professor Christopher Shugrue. Her work focuses on developing cleavable linkers, small molecules that enable the controlled release of drugs in specific environments. Using peptides as model biomolecules, she evaluates their functionality and biocompatibility, with applications in drug discovery and targeted therapy.
Rubio plans to pursue a Ph.D. and hopes to lead a research laboratory focused on cancer drug development and discovery in the pharmaceutical industry.
Arielle Vinnikov, a sophomore who is double majoring in chemistry and health studies and minoring in music, from Warwick, Pennsylvania, is studying chemistry related to nanomaterials under the mentorship of chemistry professor Michael Leopold. Nanomaterials can be used to build sensors that can electrochemically detect and quantify various drugs.
Vinnikov plans to attend medical school and focus her career on cancer treatment. She is the 10th Goldwater scholar Leopold has mentored in his more than 20 years of teaching at UR.
Including these awards, UR has had 43 Goldwater Scholars since the program’s inception in 1986. This year, 441 Goldwater scholars were selected based on academic merit from a field of 1,350 students nominated by 445 colleges and universities nationwide.
Also in the sciences, an accomplished young alum, Camryn Carter, was awarded a competitive National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Carter, who graduated from the University of Richmond in May 2023, is a second-year chemistry Ph.D. student at MIT where she is studying RuBisCO, an enzyme involved in photosynthesis. This research has implications in the long-term increase of crop yields.
“This award recognizes my passion and commitment to conducting research that will work towards improving food security around the world,” Carter said.
The prestigious fellowship provides three years of financial support to outstanding graduate students who have demonstrated the potential to be high-achieving scientists. Applicants must be pursuing full-time, research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in eligible STEM and social science fields.
Carter double majored in chemistry and computer science at UR. During her time at Richmond, she was selected by Cell Press for a Rising Black Scientist Award and was a Beckman Scholar.
Under the mentorship of chemistry professor Carol Parish, Carter’s research during her time at UR has focused on inhibitor design to combat COVID-19. Carter was part of a research team that performed computational simulations to study the omicron variant and how it gains entry into human cells.
Since 1955, 101 UR graduating seniors or recent graduates have been selected to receive either NSF Graduate Research Fellowships or been named an honorable mention.
UR Faculty Honored for Excellence in Teaching, Mentorship, and Research
Richmond professors are frequently recognized for their exemplary teaching, mentorship, and overall excellence as teacher-scholars. This academic year was no exception with numerous faculty recognized with teaching awards.
Jepson School of Leadership Studies professor Terry Price was named an Outstanding Faculty Award recipient by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, the highest honor for faculty at Virginia's public and private colleges and universities. This award recognizes superior accomplishments in teaching, research, and public service. Nominees are selected by their institutions, reviewed by a panel of peers, and chosen by a committee of leaders from the public and private sectors.
Price, who is Coston Family Chair in Leadership and Ethics and professor of philosophy, politics, economics, and lawspecializes in leadership ethics and moral psychology. He focuses his teaching and research on problems in applied ethics, and also teaches courses on critical thinking. Price has taught at the University of Richmond since 1998 and is the author of several books, including Leadership and the Ethics of Influence. He is co-director of the Jepson School's Gary L. McDowell Institute.
“I’ve gotten to work with truly excellent students at an institution where teaching matters just as much as producing cutting-edge research,” said Price. “I’ve presented my work in leadership ethics to bankers, doctors, dentists, engineers, politicians, police officers, as well as many others in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Working with community leaders makes my research and teaching better, and I’ve changed my views more than once based on their feedback.”
“Terry has worked tirelessly to develop and perfect original, creative teaching and scholarship in the field of leadership ethics and to mentor faculty who have followed in this area,” said Sandra Peart, dean of the Jepson School of Leadership Studies. “Students and alumni describe discussions in his leadership ethics class as riveting and fascinating, and many cite the class as the most significant of their undergraduate career.”
Sara Hanson, associate professor of marketing in the Robins School of Business and director of the Spider Business Hub, also received a top state honor this year. She was awarded the H. Hiter Harris III Excellence in Instructional Technology Award from the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges (VFIC).
The Excellence in Instructional Technology Award is presented to a faculty member who shows innovation in integrating technology into their undergraduate teaching practices. One faculty member from across VFIC’s 17 institutions receives this award, which includes financial support of their future research or professional development.
Through the Spider Business Hub, Hanson connects students with local companies to solve real-world problems relevant to their coursework. Through these projects, she incorporates technology to teach valuable career skills including project management, data collection, marketing research, and the ethical use of generative AI.
“Recognizing that today’s students, who are digital natives, will encounter numerous software programs and innovative technologies in their future careers, Hanson emphasizes hands-on learning with current and relevant technology tools,” said Joan Saab, executive vice president and provost. “Her dedication to integrating technology into her teaching practices significantly enhances the educational experience of students.”
Hanson, who joined UR’s Robins School of Business faculty in 2016, was previously a recipient of the VFIC Mednick Fellowship Award for her scholarly research on consumer psychology and marketing strategy.
“Dedication to technology is critical to teaching undergraduates,” said Hanson. “By introducing students to relevant and timely technological tools, I hope to encourage them to learn independently and prepare them for their future careers.”
At the national level, chemistry professor Miles Johnson was named a 2024 Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar — one of nine faculty across the country to receive this competitive award.
The award from the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation honors young faculty in the chemical sciences who have created an outstanding independent body of scholarship and are deeply committed to teaching and mentoring undergraduates.
Johnson’s research focuses on metal catalysts, particularly nickel. Such catalysts are routinely used in the development of new chemical compounds, which has implications in the pharmaceutical industry.
“This award will support the work of many research students over the next few years,” Johnson said. “These students will continue to study aspects of organometallic chemistry that are of value in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals.”
Johnson is a double Spider, having graduated from the University of Richmond with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry in 2009. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley, and became a faculty member at UR in 2016.
“Miles is committed to advancing the boundaries of knowledge in his field,” said Jon Dattelbaum, chair of UR’s Department of Chemistry. “He’s also a dedicated mentor, creating enriching research opportunities that help his students see themselves grow and succeed as scientists.”