Jepson School of Leadership Studies

Jepson student JJ Schultzel, '28, sits down with Jepson Leadership Forum speaker Theresa Runstedtler prior to her Jepson Leadership Forum presentation "When the NBA Became Black: Race and Labor in Professional Basketball." A scholar of African American history and professor and department chair at American University, Theresa Runstedtler researches Black popular culture, with a particular focus on...

Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious by Jepson School of Leadership Studies

The 2025-26 Jepson Leadership Forum presents Dr. Theresa Runstedtler, author and scholar of African American history, and professor and department chair at American University, for a discussion on "When the NBA Became Black: Race and Labor in Professional Basketball." Professor Runstedtler researches Black popular culture, with a particular focus on the intersection of race, gender, labor, and spo...

Jepson student Michael Walz, ’26, sits down with Jepson Leadership Forum speaker Dean Oliver prior to his Jepson Leadership Forum presentation "The Push for Data-Driven Decisions in Sports." Oliver, currently a data scientist at ESPN, pioneered the basketball analytics movement and is the author of "Basketball on Paper" and "Basketball Beyond Paper." He incorporated analytics in his roles in the N...

The Gary L. McDowell Institute at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies presents Greg Lukianoff, President and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), for his discussion on "Free Speech & Academic Freedom in Higher Ed." November 18, 2025

The 2025-26 Jepson Leadership Forum presents author and analyst Dean Oliver for his presentation on "The Push for Data-Driven Decisions in Sports." Currently a data scientist at ESPN, Dean pioneered the basketball analytics movement and is the author of Basketball on Paper and Basketball Beyond Paper. He incorporated analytics in his roles in the NBA front offices and as an assistant coach and hel...

The Gary L. McDowell Institute at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies presents Diana Schaub, professor emerita in the Department of Political Science at Loyola University, for a discussion on "The Second Inaugural: Lincoln’s Rhetoric of Reconciliation." September 30, 2025.

The Jepson Leadership Forum presents education writer Natalie Wexler for her presentation "Curriculum Wars: Why K-12 Education Reflects Our Divisions and How It Can Help Us Overcome Them." Wexler is author of "The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America's Broken Education System - And How to Fix It." April 15, 2025 The 2024-25 Jepson Leadership Forum invites scholars and experts to discuss how...

The Gary L. McDowell Institute at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies presents Brad Wilcox, professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, for a discussion on "Mammon or Marriage? How to Maximize Happiness in Life and Love." March 27, 2025

The Jepson Leadership Forum presents Peter Bearman, founding director of the interdisciplinary institute Incite at Columbia University and Jonathan R. Cole Professor of Social Science at Columbia University, for a discussion on "Class, Status, and Party: Polarization Dynamics and Our Fragile Democratic Experiment." March 4, 2025 The 2024-25 Jepson Leadership Forum invites scholars and experts to d...

Jepson student Mariana Panariello, ’27, sits down with Jepson Leadership Forum speaker Eric Klinenberg, author and Helen Gould Shepard Professor of Social Science and director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University, prior to his Jepson Leadership Forum presentation "How 2020 Shaped 2024." The 2024-25 Jepson Leadership Forum invites scholars and experts to discuss how division...

The Jepson Leadership Forum presents Eric Klinenberg, author and Helen Gould Shepard Professor of Social Science and director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University, for a discussion on "How 2020 Shaped 2024." The 2024-25 Jepson Leadership Forum invites scholars and experts to discuss how division and polarization affect American democracy. We will explore how and why divisio...

The Gary L. McDowell Institute at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies presents Barton Swaim, editorial page writer at The Wall Street Journal, for a discussion on "The Zero-Risk Society." November 13, 2024

Jepson student Kate Chasin, ’26, sits down with Jepson Leadership Forum speaker Christopher Bail, professor of sociology, political science, and public policy at Duke University; associate of the Duke Initiative for Science and Society; and founding director of the Polarization Lab at Duke University, prior to his Jepson Leadership Forum presentation "Bridging Divides with Generative AI." The 2024...

The Jepson Leadership Forum presents Christopher Bail, professor of sociology, political science, and public policy at Duke University; associate of the Duke Initiative for Science and Society; and founding director of the Polarization Lab at Duke University, for a discussion on "Bridging Divides with Generative AI." Oct. 1, 2024

The Gary L. McDowell Institute welcomes Danielle Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University and director of the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation at Harvard Kennedy School's Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, to the Jepson Leadership Forum for her presentation "Justice by Means of Democracy.” The 2024-25 Jepson Leadership Forum invites scholars and exp...

University of Richmond student Alafair Cutler, ’24, sits down with Jepson Leadership Forum speaker Alice Evans, senior lecturer at King’s College London and author of the forthcoming book "The Great Gender Divergence," prior to her Jepson Leadership Forum presentation "Ten Thousand Years of Patriarchy." The 2023-24 Jepson Leadership Forum focuses on "Masculinity in a Changing World." The last few...

The Jepson School of Leadership Studies Gary L. McDowell Institute presents Zena Hitz, tutor at St. John’s College and the author of "Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life," for a discussion of the same name. March 21, 2024 The Gary L. McDowell Institute is dedicated to its namesake's values and principles: free inquiry, thoughtful deliberation, and rigorous discussion of c...

University of Richmond student Mark Johnson, ’24, sits down with Jepson Leadership Forum speaker Charles Blow, New York Times columnist, MSNBC political analyst, anchor of PRIME with Charles Blow on the Black News Channel, and author of "Fire Shut Up in My Bones" and "The Devil You Know," prior to his Jepson Leadership Forum presentation "Black Masculinity." The 2023-24 Jepson Leadership Forum foc...

The Jepson Leadership Forum presents Alice Evans for a discussion on " Ten Thousand Years of Patriarchy" on the University of Richmond campus. Evans is senior lecturer at King’s College London and author of the forthcoming book The Great Gender Divergence The last few decades have seen rapid changes in gender relations and norms -- in the household, in the workforce, and in government. The 2023-24...

The Jepson Leadership Forum presents Charles Blow for a discussion on "Black Masculinity," on the University of Richmond campus. Blow is a New York Times columnist, MSNBC political analyst, anchor of PRIME with Charles Blow on the Black News Channel, and author of "Fire Shut Up in My Bones" and "The Devil You Know." The last few decades have seen rapid changes in gender relations and norms -- in t...

University of Richmond student Ava Paul, ’24, sits down with Jepson Leadership Forum speaker Carole Hooven, author of "T: The Story of Testosterone"; former lecturer and co-director of Undergraduate Studies, Harvard University's Department of Human Evolutionary Biology; currently a lab associate in the Harvard University Department of Psychology and a non-resident senior fellow at the American Ent...

The Jepson Leadership Forum presents Carole Hooven, author of "T: The Story of Testosterone"; former lecturer and co-director of Undergraduate Studies, Harvard University's Department of Human Evolutionary Biology; currently a lab associate in the Harvard University Department of Psychology and a non-resident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI)," for a discussion on "The Non-T...

Jepson School 2023-24 Leader-in-Residence, Dr. Danny TK Avula, presents "Healing Our Social Distance: Community as the Remedy to Polarization" in the Queally Center for Admission and Career Services on the University of Richmond campus. Dr. Avula is the commissioner of the Virginia Department of Social Services, one of the commonwealth's largest agencies. He oversees the agency's work to help stab...

The Gary L. McDowell Institute presents Angel Adams Parham, associate professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, for the presentation "Don't Cancel the Classics, Broaden and Diversify Them." Nov. 9, 2023 The Gary L. McDowell Institute is dedicated to its namesake's values and principles: free inquiry, thoughtful deliberation, and rigorous discussion of classical texts and issues in poli...