Faculty and Staff Bios

Dr. Abrash's research is in Chemical Dynamics, the field of chemistry which attempts to understand how chemical reactions work. The specific area on which this research is currently focussed is to ask the related questions of how the proximity of rea...

Anderson is the author of a number of articles about early jazz and the analysis of wind music and is a member of the editorial board for Monographs and Bibliographies in American Music.  His book, The Original Hot Five Recordings of Louis Armstrong...

The atomic nucleus lies at the heart of matter and at the core of stars. Making up 99.9% of the known mass of the universe the nucleus is a unique strongly-interacting quantum-mechanical mesoscopic system. Consisting of between a few and a few hundre...

Dr. Cheever’s research focuses on the film and literature of the United States from the years immediately following World War II to the end of the twentieth century. Her first book, Real Phonies: Cultures of Authenticity in Post World War II Americ...

Sharon G. Feldman is William Judson Gaines Chair in Modern Foreign Languages and Professor of Spanish and Catalan Studies in the Department of Latin American and Iberian Studies at the University of Richmond. Before arriving at Richmond in 2000, she...

I use synthetic and physical organic chemistry to address specific biological questions. Currently, my work focuses on 8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine (OdG), an abundant DNA lesion that can cause genome mutation and is thought to play a major role in several...

Dorothy Holland is associate professor of theatre and associate professor of women, gender, and sexuality studies. Dr. Holland is also chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance, where she teaches a range of courses: Production Studies, Theatre His...

Dr. Neff has published and given professional presentations on factors influencing decision-making within the juvenile and adult court systems, characteristics of incarcerated juvenile offenders, comparisons of juvenile male sex offenders and non-sex...

Dr. Nourse studied Indonesian at Cornell University, UC Berkeley and Satya Wacana University and has conducted fieldwork in Sulawesi, Indonesia (Southeast Asia) and Bassarel, Guinea-Bissau (West Africa). In addition to numerous articles and presentat...

Radice holds a B.A. from Wittenberg University and a Ph.D. from Yale University, where he studied cell and developmental biology. He has been a NASA research fellow and a Danforth Graduate Fellow, and was appointed a Faculty for the 21st Century, Pro...

Professor Simpson is a native of Memphis, Tennessee. After graduating from Rhodes College in 1976, she pursued a career in advertising, marketing and public relations before entering graduate school at the University of Virginia in 1987. In 1989, she...

Tanja Softic’s prints, drawings and paintings address factors of cultural hybridity that shape the identity and world view of an immigrant: displacement, longing, translation, and memory. A native of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, she studied at...

Macrophages are important cells in the immune system, and catecholamines are important molecules produced by neural and endocrine cells. Recently, it has been determined that immune cells not only take up catecholamines from the environment, but also...

Dr. Stevenson is interested in the development of spectroscopic methods which can rapidly and easily characterize samples, with a minimum of sample treatment required before the analysis. Typically these methods will be based on fluorescence spectros...

Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Mark Thomson has served as professor of military science at University of Richmond and its partner schools (Hampden-Sydney College, Longwood University, Randolph-Macon College, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Virginia U...

Hugh West is working on a study of the intellectual/cultural world of late-Eighteenth-century Europe, especially Germany, through the prism of the life of Georg Forster, 1754-94--a life embracing Catherine the Great's Russia, Cook's second voyage, va...

Dr. Kristin M. S. Bezio integrates the study of literature into the leadership studies curriculum. Her areas of specialization include leadership in literature and film, leadership in performance, and cultural and political history in Early Modern En...

One of the founding faculty members of the Jepson School, Dr. Joanne B. Ciulla teaches courses on ethics, critical thinking, conflict resolution, and leadership in international contexts. A demanding and creative teacher, she was honored in 2007 wit...

Dr. Jessica Flanigan is a philosopher whose research interests include the ethics of business and medicine, law, and public policy. Her current research addresses the ethics of self-medication and looks at the obligations of business leaders, particu...

The heart of Dr. Forsyth's work is to build knowledge about why people feel, think, and act as they do. His research focuses on ethics, with a specific concentration on individual, group, and cultural differences in degree of idealism and relativism....

Social psychologist George R. (Al) Goethals joined the Jepson School faculty in 2006. Before joining the Jepson faculty as holder of the E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professorship in Leadership Studies, he held academic and administrative appoin...

Dr. Julian Hayter is a historian whose research focuses on African American politics in Richmond, Virginia, within the broader context of modern African American history, American political development after 1945, the American civil rights movement, ...

Dr. Gill Hickman's career has involved both administrative and academic appointments. Her expertise is in management, with an underpinning of organizational behavior and human resource management. As an inaugural faculty member of the Jepson School, ...

Dr. Javier Hidalgo is a political theorist whose teaching and research interests center on the ethical and public policy questions related to Mexican immigration in the United States, the morality of the market, and democratic theory. He teaches cour...

As a social psychologist, Crystal L. Hoyt brings a psychological perspective to the study and teaching of leadership. Her research reflects a commitment to conducting both basic and applied investigations. Her primary research interests include women...

Dr. Peter Iver Kaufman studies the political cultures of late antique, medieval and early modern Europe and North Africa. He has written extensively on conflict and authority in Latin Christendom and on religion, politics and drama in Elizabethan Eng...

Dr. Dejun (Tony) Kong is an assistant professor of leadership studies and management. He holds a joint appointment in the Jepson School of Leadership Studies and the University's Robins School of Business.  Dr. Kong has a background in business admi...

Dr. Gary L. McDowell is a leading constitutional scholar who joined the Jepson faculty in 2003 after a distinguished career in public life and the academy. Prior to coming to the Jepson School, McDowell directed the Institute of United States Studie...

Dr. Sandra J. Peart became the fourth dean of the Jepson School of Leadership Studies in 2007. A national leader in her field, Dr. Peart is a former president of the History of Economics Society and co-director of the annual Summer Institute for the ...

Dr. Terry L. Price specializes in leadership ethics and moral psychology. A philosopher with grounding in psychology, Dr. Price focuses his teaching and research interests on applied ethics. He also studied politics on a John M. Olin Fellowship at th...

As the associate dean for student and external affairs, Dr. Kerstin Soderlund oversees the Jepson School's admission process, coordinates community-based learning experiences, collaborates with community partners, and coordinates the internship proce...

Dr. Thad Williamson is associate professor of leadership studies and philosophy, politics, economics and law (PPEL). A sought-after professor and civic activist, his research focuses on urban politics and sprawl, community economic development, polit...

A historian and a legal scholar, Dr. J. Thomas Wren brings a unique perspective to the study and teaching of leadership. He has served as interim dean of the Jepson School and as associate dean for academic affairs. An expert on Virginia, he has writ...

Professor Azizah al-Hibri is a Professor Emerita at the Law School, having served on the faculty from 1992 until her retirement in 2012. Her work has centered on developing an Islamic jurisprudence and body of Islamic law that are gender equitable an...

Professor Ronald Bacigal teaches and writes in the areas of criminal law, criminal process and procedure, and evidence. He is the author or co-author of over a dozen books and almost fifty articles on these subjects, and is widely regarded as the lea...

Professor Margaret Bacigal is Director of the Law School’s Clinical Placement Program and a Clinical Professor of Law. She also teaches and writes in the area of family law, offering an upper level domestic violence seminar. Professor Bacigal is ch...

Professor W. Wade Berryhill is a Professor Emeritus at the Law School, having served on the faculty from 1976 until his retirement in 2007. He continues to teach in the areas of land use law, real estate transactions and contracts. Professor Berryhil...

Paul Birch is the Computer Services Librarian, and focuses on academic technology support and web development. He also teaches legal research and provides assistance at the law library reference desk. Mr. Birch has spoken on technology issues affecti...

Professor Carol Brown teaches and writes in the areas of property, land use planning, real estate transactions, and housing law. She is the author or co-author of six books on these subjects, including Thomson West’s Cases and Materials on America...

Professor Hamilton Bryson teaches and writes in the areas of English legal history, Virginia legal history, and Virginia procedure and practice. He has published numerous books and book chapters on these subjects, and is the founding editor of the Vi...

Tara Casey is Director of the Carrico Center for Pro Bono Service and writes on contemporary public policy issues. She is a member of the Richmond Times-Dispatch Pundit’s Podium, and her essays  have appeared in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Virg...

Professor Dale Margolin Cecka is Director of the Law School's Family Law Clinic, and teaches and writes in the area of family law. Professor Cecka's scholarship focuses on child welfare issues, youth aging out of foster care, and the constitutional r...

Professor Henry L. Chambers, Jr., teaches and writes in the areas of constitutional law, criminal law, law and religion, employment discrimination, evidence, and sexual harassment. His scholarship has appeared in the Journal of Law and Religion, Ma...

Associate Dean and Professor of Law Timothy Coggins directs the Muse Law Library and manages the Law School's technology operations. He also teaches both first-year and advanced courses in legal research. His scholarship focuses on online legal resou...

Suzanne Corriell is the Associate Director for Reference, Research and Instructional Services in the Muse Law Library, where she manages the Law School's reference and research operations and oversees the Law Library's Special Collections and Federal...

Professor Chris Cotropia teaches and writes in the areas of patent law, intellectual property, and federal courts. He is the author of numerous book chapters, amicus briefs, and law review articles on these subjects, and his scholarship has appeared ...

Professor John Douglass served as Dean of the Law School from 2007-2011, and teaches and writes in the areas of criminal law, criminal procedure, evidence, and trial advocacy. Professor Douglass's academic publications have focused on criminal prose...

Professor Joel Eisen teaches and writes in the areas of energy law and policy, environmental law and policy, climate change, and the Smart Grid. He is a co-author of the leading law and business school textbook on energy law, Energy, Economics and th...

Professor Tamar Schwartz Eisen is the Director of the Law School’s first-year Lawyering Skills program.  She is also an active member in the Association of Legal Writing Directors, where she serves as the co-chair of the Leadership Committee, and ...

Professor David Epstein holds the Law School’s prestigious George E. Allen Chair and teaches in the areas of bankruptcy, commercial law, contract law, and corporations. He has also served as Dean at Emory University School of Law and the University...

Professor Jessica Erickson teaches and writes in the areas of corporate governance and securities regulation. Her scholarship has appeared in the Notre Dame Law Review, William and Mary Law Review, and Iowa Law Review, among other venues. Prior to...

Professor William Fisher teaches and writes in the areas of securities regulation and corporate law. He has authored numerous articles on securities law topics, and his scholarship has appeared or is forthcoming in the Emory Law Journal, BYU Law Rev...

Professor David Frisch teaches and writes in the areas of commercial law and contracts. He has authored or co-authored six books on commercial law topics, and his scholarship has appeared in the Vanderbilt Law Review, Southern California Law Review...

Professor James Gibson is founder and Director of the Law School's Intellectual Property Institute, and teaches and writes in the areas of intellectual property, contracts, and law and technology. His scholarship has appeared in the Yale Law Journal,...

Professor Chiara Giorgetti teaches and writes in the areas of international law, international arbitration, international dispute resolution, and state failure and fragility. She has authored over a dozen publications on these topics, and her JSD doc...

Professor Meredith Johnson Harbach teaches and writes in the areas of family law and civil procedure, and also brings a keen interest in legal pedagogy and lawyering theory to her teaching and scholarship. Her scholarship has appeared in the Washing...

Professor Mary Heen teaches and writes in the areas of tax law and policy, legislation and regulation, and feminist legal theory. Her scholarship has appeared in the Yale Journal of Law and Feminism, Wake Forest Law Review, Hastings Law Journal, ...

Professor Ann Hodges teaches and writes in the areas of labor and employment law, feminist legal theory, and nonprofit organizations. She is the co-author of West’s Principles of Employment Law and West’s Public Sector Employment: Cases and Ma...

Joyce Janto is the Deputy Director of the Muse Law Library and teaches legal research in the first-year program, as well as professional responsibility. Ms. Janto served as President of the American Association of Law Libraries from 2010-2011, Presid...

Professor Rodney Johnson is a Professor Emeritus at the Law School, having served on the faculty from 1970 until his retirement in 1999. He has authored over five dozen articles on wills and trusts, nearly a dozen of which resulted in legislative ena...

Professor John Paul Jones teaches and writes about constitutional law, administrative law, maritime law, and military law. He has written more than three dozen articles and book chapters on these subjects, and his scholarship has appeared in the Ame...

Professor Corinna Lain is Associate Dean of Faculty Development and writes in the areas of constitutional theory, Supreme Court decisionmaking, criminal procedure, and the death penalty.  Her scholarship has appeared in the University of Pennsylvani...

Alberto Lopez is an expert in property and wills and trusts and publishes regularly in those fields. He previously taught at Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University.  In addition to his undergraduate and law degrees, Lopez has...

Professor Julie McConnell is Director of the Law School’s Children’s Defense Clinic. Prior to joining the Law School in 2011, Professor McConnell served as the Supervising Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in the City of Richmond’s Juvenile ...

Professor Shari Motro writes at the intersection of gender and tax law and policy, and teaches courses related to these topics. She is the author of West’s The Income Tax Map: A Bird’s-Eye View of Federal Income Taxation for Law Students, and h...

Professor Daniel Murphy is a Professor Emeritus at the Law School, having served on the faculty from 1976 until his retirement in 2012. He continues to teach in the area of international law. During his tenure on the law faculty, Professor Murphy ser...

Amy O’Connor is the Technical Services and Digital Resources Librarian in the Muse Law Library, where she manages the library’s digital collections, provides technical services, and serves at the reference desk. Ms. O’Connor is an active member...

Professor Kristen Jakobsen Osenga teaches and writes in the areas of intellectual property, patent law, law and language, and legislation and regulation. Her scholarship focuses on the intersection between law and linguistics in patent claim construc...

Professor John Pagan is a University Professor and served as Dean of the Law School from 1997-2003. He teaches and writes in the areas of legal history, constitutional law, and sexuality and the law. Professor Pagan's book, Anne Orthwood's Bastard:...

Dean Wendy Collins Perdue’s scholarship spans a number of areas including civil procedure, conflict of laws, land use and public health. Her publications include two case books and numerous articles and book chapters, and her scholarship has appear...

Professor Jack Preis teaches and writes in the areas of federal courts, civil rights litigation, and civil procedure. His scholarship, which focuses on constitutional rights and remedies, has appeared in the Virginia Law Review, Indiana Law Journal...

Professor Emmeline Paulette Reeves is Director of the Law School’s Academic Skills Program and Associate Professor for Academic Success. She also teaches a course on Agency and Partnership Law.  As Director of the Academic Skills Program, Professo...

Professor Kimberly Robinson teaches and writes in the area of education law and policy, with an emphasis on the federal role in education and equal educational opportunity. She also teaches in the areas of pre-trial litigation and legislation and reg...

Professor Noah Sachs is Director of the Law School’s Robert R. Merhige, Jr. Center for Environmental Studies, and teaches and writes in the area of environmental law. His scholarship, which focuses on climate change, toxic substance and hazardous w...

Professor Andy Spalding teaches and writes in the area of international business law. His scholarship, which focuses on anti-corruption law, has appeared in the UCLA Law Review and Wisconsin Law Review, among other venues. Professor Spalding is th...

Professor Jonathan Stubbs writes at the intersection of race and civil rights, and teaches a variety of courses, including constitutional law, human rights law, race, religion and the law, and professional responsibility. Professor Stubbs has authore...

Professor Peter Swisher teaches and writes in the areas of family law, torts, and insurance law. He has authored or co-authored over a dozen casebooks and treatises, and over two dozen articles and book chapters, on these subjects. Professor Swisher ...

Professor Mary Kelly Tate serves as Director of the Law School's Institute for Actual Innocence, which works to identify and exonerate wrongfully convicted individuals in Virginia by pursuing writs of actual innocence and related post-conviction reli...

Professor Carl Tobias holds the Law School’s prestigious Williams Chair and writes in a number of areas, with a particular emphasis on federal judicial selection. A prolific scholar, Professor Tobias is the author of over 120 law review articles an...

Professor Adrienne Volenik is Director of the Law School's Education Law Clinic and Acting Director of the National Center for Family Law, which regularly hosts national conferences on cutting-edge family law issues. Professor Volenik has dedicated h...

Professor Margaret Ann Walker is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Law School’s Academic Success Program. Her teaching focuses on mentoring first-year students in their transition to law school by providing classes which introduce and develop s...

Professor Kevin Walsh teaches and writes in the areas of federal jurisdiction and constitutional law. His scholarship focuses on doctrines that define the scope of federal judicial power, and has appeared in the Stanford Law Review, New York Universi...

Associate Dean Clark Williams teaches and writes in the areas of civil procedure, conflict of laws, and structure of the Virginia judicial system. He has also served as a consultant to various court systems and bar organizations on their rules of pra...

Andrew Winston is the Research and Instructional Services Librarian in the Muse Law Library. He also teaches legal research in the first-year program and has developed a course on innovative technologies in law practice that he will teach in the spri...

Dr. Bagranoff began her career at General Electric Company, where she graduated from the Financial Management Training Program.  She passed the CPA examination in the District of Columbia in 1981 (inactive) and has taught at several universities, in...

Dr. Litteral's reserach interests include work in the area of forecasting that has resulted in recent journal publications and a book focused on spare parts forecasting, inventory management, and control. Another stream of research is directly relate...

Course areas taught: instructional technology, technology leadership, curriculum methods.

Kate Cassada serves as program coordinator for EduLead, a partnership between VCU’s Center for School Improvement and the Center for Leadership in Education at the University of Richmond. EduLead is dedicated to the recruitment, development and sup...

Courses areas taught: Intellectual history, Liberal Arts capstone, U.S. & European history, Renaissance & Reformation

Course areas taught: Community defense, risk & impact analysis, agency management, political dimensions of disaster, war/terrorism, public budget & finance. Dr. Harris began teaching at the University as an adjunct assistant professor in 2000 and has...

Course areas taught: Information systems, leadership, ethics

Course areas taught: African American literature, composition, Latin American literature (in translation), rap music, Shakespeare.

If anyone can be accurately described as a Renaissance man, it would be Dan Roberts, executive producer and host of the award-winning radio series, A Moment in Time.  Created to excite and enlighten the public about the past, its relevance to the pr...

Dr. Strait is a highly experienced bi-lingual faculty member with teaching expertise at the doctoral, graduate and undergraduate levels. Topics of expertise include: international human resource management, immigration, and various management topics ...

Porcher L. Taylor III, J.D. is professor and program chair of the paralegal studies program in the School of Professional and Continuing Studies at the University of Richmond. He also holds a joint appointment (2010-2014) as an associate professor of...