Jepson Faculty Recognized at Colloquy
Jepson School of Leadership Studies faculty shone at Wednesday’s Colloquy, the University of Richmond’s annual celebratory event marking the beginning of the academic year.
Dr. Javier Hidalgo, associate professor of leadership studies, received the University’s Distinguished Educator Award. A political theorist, his teaching and research interests center on ethics and international affairs.
“No one among the Jepson faculty takes teaching more seriously or has worked harder at it than he has,” wrote three prior Distinguished Educator Award winners in their letter nominating Hidalgo. “He relies on cutting-edge research so that he can apply what others have discovered works best in the classroom. He is certainly one of the most challenging professors in the Jepson School, but he does everything he can to make sure students are prepared to meet the challenges.”
Three Jepson School faculty members received appointments to endowed positions.
Dr. Jessica Flanigan, associate professor of leadership studies and philosophy, politics, economics, and law, was appointed Richard L. Morrill Chair in Ethics and Democratic Values. A political philosopher and ethicist, Flanigan served as the University’s inaugural ethics fellow in 2018-19, received ODK’s Faculty Member of the Year Award in 2017, and presented a Last Lecture at Richmond in 2017. She is the author of two books: “Pharmaceutical Freedom: Why Patients Have the Right to Self-Medicate” (Oxford, 2017) and “Debating Sex Work” (forthcoming, Oxford). She is working on a third book on the ethics of linguistic prescriptivism.
Dr. Crystal Hoyt, professor of leadership studies and psychology and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Jepson School, was recognized as the new Colonel Leo K. and Gaylee Thorsness Endowed Chair in Ethical Leadership. Hoyt’s social psychology research resides at the intersection of human belief systems and social justice. It contributes to a better understanding of challenging social issues, so that relevant social policies and interventions can be both informed and intentional. A recipient of the University’s Distinguished Educator Award in 2009, she has mentored nearly 100 undergraduate students in their research and co-authored numerous articles and chapters with current and former students. In 2018, the Association of Psychological Science named her an APS Fellow for her outstanding contributions to the science of psychology.
Dr. David Wilkins was named an E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professor in Leadership Studies when he joined the Jepson School faculty Aug. 1. A citizen of the Lumbee Nation of North Carolina, he held the McKnight Presidential Professorship in American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota before coming to Richmond. He is the author and editor of numerous books, including “Documents of Native American Political Development: 1933-Present (Oxford, 2019) and “Red Prophet: The Punishing Intellectualism of Vine Deloria, Jr.” (Fulcrum, 2018). His articles have appeared in political science, law, history, Native studies, and ethnic studies journals. The concepts of Native sovereignty, self-determination, and diplomacy are at the heart of Wilkins’ research and teaching.
Photo, left to right: Dr. Jessica Flanigan, Dr. Javier Hidalgo, Dr. Crystal Hoyt, and Dr. David Wilkins are congratulated by Dean Sandra Peart at Colloquy.