From the Dean
Dear Friends,
I may have a little more than four months left as dean of the School of Arts & Sciences, but it is clear that I’ll remain busy right up until the day I walk out the door for the last time.
In one week’s time we’ll all be tuned in to as.richmond.edu/greece where both the campus community and our alumni will be able to watch the Department of Music’s Jazz Combo tour Greece. Performances will be taped and uploaded to YouTube as they’re happening, photos will be streaming via Flickr, the students will be tweeting at @URJazz, and you can follow the whole thing on the website or by indicating you “Like” UR Jazz on Facebook. If you remember, Mike Davison’s “jazzers” toured Costa Rica last summer, and we can’t wait for this encore performance. They’ll be traveling March 4-12, so I hope you’ll tune in regularly throughout the week.
The Arts & Sciences Dean’s Office is making plans for three annual events in April. Honors Convocation is set for April 12, and I’ve just confirmed that our faculty speaker will be biology professor April Hill. The School’s annual Tenure and Promotion dinner—when I congratulate those faculty members who received tenure or were promoted to being full professors this year—also takes place that month. And, of course, we’ll all be in the Modlin Center on April 15 for the 26th Annual Student Symposium, where we’ll enjoy over 250 research presentations by Arts & Sciences students.
Near or far, I hope you’ll get the chance to catch at least part of the Jazz tour, and, as always, stay in touch.
Best,

Andrew Newcomb
Dean, School of Arts & Sciences
Although senior Eric Piasecki’s two passions are seemingly quite different, he said he found that his musical experiences have made him that much better as an interpreter.
When it comes to music professor Mike Davison’s Salsa Meets Jazz living-learning program, his approach is to teach his students a lot — but without them knowing it.
Alex Vlasic, '11, became a feminist in the fifth grade, but it wasn’t until she enrolled at Richmond that she connected women’s and gender issues to inequalities based on race and class.
Experiences like snaking down the Mekong River through the mountains of Laos made Dillon Vassallo’s semester abroad a veritable tour of environmental issues and eco-friendly solutions.
Richmond Scholar Kerrissa Richards, ’11, gave up her winter break for a medical mission trip in Africa—a trip that was not only a rewarding experience but that also affirmed her belief that science is service.
The National Science Foundation has awarded C. Wade Downey, assistant professor of chemistry, a three-year, $180,000 research grant.
As a professor in the Department of Biology, Amy Treonis encourages her students to learn by doing — in the classroom, the lab, and across the world.
Thanks to encouragement from the chemistry department faculty, Beckman Scholar Sally Fisher, ’11, has discovered a love for research.
Professor of Chemistry Emeritus Dr. W. Allan Powell taught at the University of Richmond from 1952 until his retirement in 1991. Friends and colleagues established the W. Allan Powell Lectureship in Chemistry in his honor upon his retirement. Powell passed away Dec. 21 at the age of 89.
The president of the Milton Society of America named Associate English Professor Louis Schwartz the 2009 James Holly Hanford Book Award winner on Jan. 8, continuing a legacy of Milton scholars at the University of Richmond.
The Thomas F. Jeffress and Kate Miller Jeffress Memorial Trust of Richmond has made one new award and one renewal award to two University of Richmond chemistry faculty members.
The director will reprise his world-touring production of “Things Fall Apart”—a play he first produced in 1999—with an on-campus production this April at the Modlin Center for the Arts.
Rianna DiBartolo-Cordovano, '12, attended the University's Summer Scholars program in 2007. The program brought her to Richmond and is leading her on a fantastic journey of academic discovery.
The Department of Classical Studies has announced its 3rd Annual Stuart L. Wheeler Gallery Lecture will feature John Oakley, College of William and Mary classical studies chancellor professor, March 23.
The Department of History at the University of Richmond will host a pair of lectures March 3 and 22, with topics ranging from the Founding Fathers to the early crusade movement.
Scott Erwin, ’05, discusses his journey from UR to Iraq to Oxford and London — and what he learned along the way.
As a senior producer with Venables Bell & Partners Advertising in San Francisco, Emily Moore knows firsthand what it takes to bring a TV ad for the Super Bowl from concept to production.
In order to gain work experience before entering a psychology doctoral program, Maggie Place works at Caron Treatment Centers, holding individual and group therapy sessions and facilitating patient lectures and interactive activities.





