Arts & Sciences Honors Convocation recognizes accomplishments of liberal arts majors
The School of Arts & Sciences faculty announced the winners of the David C. Evans Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Scholarship and the Creative Arts today at the Arts & Sciences Honors Convocation.
Emily Jenchura, a senior interdisciplinary studies major and dance minor and member of Phi Beta Kappa, was one of two recipients of the David C. Evans Award for Outstanding Achievement in Scholarship. Jenchura, who was nominated by the Department of Psychology, has participated in undergraduate research since her first year on campus when she worked in professor Matt Trawick’s physics laboratory.
As a sophomore, she worked on a project on children's friendships with psychology professor Catherine Bagwell, which ultimately led to her co-authoring a chapter of Bagwell’s upcoming book. During her junior and senior years, she conducted an empirical study on the Underdog Theory under the guidance of professor Scott Allison. She incorporated the project into her study abroad experience in South Africa.
Peter Manchev, a senior majoring in physics and economics with a minor in mathematics, was another winner of the David C. Evans Award for Outstanding Achievement in Scholarship. Manchev is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and was nominated by the Department of Physics. He conducted research under physics professor Mirela Fetea and was part of a larger collaborative project between the University of Richmond and Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory at Yale University.
While conducting research, Manchev co-authored three papers, one of which was published in Physics Review. He has twice given presentations at meetings of the American Physical Society and also gave a presentation at the American Association of Physics Teachers National Meeting in Anchorage, Alaska.
Heather Stebbins, a junior music major, was the recipient of the David C. Evans Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Creative Arts. Stebbins, a cellist, is both a talented musician and composer. She already has six original pieces to her credit. Her piece, “Confessions, Reactions” was awarded a prize by the International Alliance for Women in Music, and her cello piece “rush me to the shadows” was programmed and well received at the Third Practice Electroacoustic Music Festival. Stebbins’ most recent project, “Child of Grass,” will be premiered by the Schola Cantorum in the fall. In performance, Stebbins is an accomplished and gifted cellist and a mainstay in the University Orchestra and String Quartet.
Kathy Hoke, associate dean for research support, made the awards. Religion professor Scott Davis and senior chemistry and religion double major Katelyn Reighard made the opening remarks about the value of pursuing a liberal arts education.
Davis urged students to avoid careerism and explore what they love, and later, to look back and remember that favorite professor without regard to academic discipline. He urged students never to grow old lest they become more likely to grumble about students not being as good as they used to be. Davis also reminded the audience that asking what students should learn in college is just a bad question.
Reighard talked about learning to ask tough questions of herself in an African-American literature class and later, as a participant in the Allies Institute. She said she left the Institute realizing that asking questions wasn’t enough and that she needed to demand answers. She suggested that the answers could be found at Richmond but not in one single department. Students have to combine their studies if they are to understand the world.
“For me, the world is a lot of questions about God and a lot of questions about science. Your questions might be different ones entirely. If we can learn to ask the right questions, we can live in a world that is more beautiful and productive than the one we already know,” Reighard said.
University professor David Leary also presented the John Riling Award for Excellence in Writing to Karin Eastby, a first-year student who won for the essay, “Karl Marx Addresses M. K. Gandhi,” that she wrote this year in professor Ilka Saal’s Core course.