News briefs and announcements

Jepson School launches 150-day online civic engagement project
Students, alumni and faculty of the Jepson School are participating in an online project to share community service and civic engagement experiences.

“150 Days in a Lifetime of Service” was started by the school’s alumni networking committee and is housed in a Web platform similar to Facebook. Participants can create a profile, post photos, record hours of service and interact through discussions. Users also can blog at blog.richmond.edu/jepson.

The project creates an opportunity for students to connect with alumni and will provide organizers with an overview of participants’ volunteer interests and activities.

Community engagement is a key element of the leadership curriculum, and Jepson students complete approximately 3,000 hours of volunteer service per semester with local nonprofit organizations. Visit jepson.richmond.edu/anniversary/service.htm for more information.

In-house general counsel named
Shannon E. Sinclair, former senior vice president and general counsel of Inova Health Systems in Fairfax, Va., has been named the University’s first in-house general counsel.

Sinclair joined Inova in 1997 as assistant vice president and associate general counsel, moving up to vice president and deputy general counsel in 2001, then to her most recent position in 2002.

Her responsibilities with Inova included management of legal affairs, oversight of risk management, advising the board of trustees and senior leadership on governance, and promoting legislative and regulatory agendas. She also was actively involved in Inova’s emergency preparedness, institutional strategy and operations.

Sinclair is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Virginia’s honors history program. She earned her law degree cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania and clerked for Judge Richard B. Kellam of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. She later earned a master’s of public health degree from Harvard University.

School administrators enroll in leadership academy
Fifty-one assistant principals and educators in the Richmond area have returned to school to learn about leadership. As students of the University’s Next Generation Leadership Academy, the administrators will learn theories and applications of leadership qualities to enhance their career development. The program is offered through EduLead, an educational leadership training partnership between the University and VCU. 

In its fourth year, the nine-month curriculum includes six theoretical sessions taught by leadership scholars, six theoretical sessions taught by administrators at the participating schools, mentor sessions with colleagues, a case study and a book discussion with a national scholar.

McGoldrick is part of NSF grant recipient team
KimMarie McGoldrick, professor of economics, is part of a research team that has received a $497,953 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop innovations in teaching college economics. McGoldrick’s team will develop an economics pedagogic portal—a Web-based resource for instructing undergraduate economics students.

Awarded to North Carolina A&T State University, the grant will be administered by McGoldrick; Scott P. Simkins, director of academy for teaching and learning at North Carolina A&T; Cathryn A. Manduca, director of the science education resource center at Carleton College; and Mark H. Maier, economics chair at Glendale Community College.

Westhampton Lake bench dedicated
A group of Richmond alumni dedicated a bench along Westhampton Lake in memory of a fraternity brother killed in the Vietnam War. Members of Phi Kappa Sigma gathered Homecoming Weekend for a ceremony honoring Lt. Steven Andrew “Andy” Jarrett, R’66. The bench, near Tyler Haynes Commons, is engraved with the American flag. Jarrett died May 12, 1968, in a U.S. Army hospital in Yokohama, Japan, from wounds he received in combat. He received a bachelor of arts degree from Richmond, where he was an officer of the fraternity.

Relay for Life on campus this year
The University’s observance of Relay for Life, the largest fundraising event for the American Cancer Society, came to the UR campus this year for the first time, after being held off-campus for two years. Organizers raised $19,000 during the event, which included walking and running around the lake in observance of the full-time, continual battle against cancer. Also featured were informational materials, awareness activities, contests and entertainment. After dark, a Ceremony of Hope illuminated the path around the lake with lighted bags called luminaria.

Trick or Treat Street raises most money ever
Partnering with Children’s Organ Transplant Association, the University’s 10th annual Trick or Treat Street Halloween festival raised more than $10,000 toward a liver transplant for 3-year-old Cole Hafer of Richmond.

Trick or Treat Street provides a fun and safe Halloween experience for Richmond area children, with such activities as pumpkin painting, haunted houses and costume contests. All proceeds go toward charity.

This year’s event was organized by Richmond’s InterFraternity and Panhellenic councils with co-chairs Chris Lucas of Wantagh, N.Y., and Jordan Bookman of Oklahoma City, Okla.

The $10,000 is the most ever raised by Trick or Treat Street. The full amount will benefit Hafer, who was diagnosed with biliary atresia, for which doctors recommended a life-saving liver transplant. The donation will help his family pay for the costly operation.

For more information about Hafer or to donate to his fund, visit www.firstgiving.com/TOTS.

Food for Fines collects items for Food Bank
Richmond students donated 196 cans of food and packages of non-perishable items during Boatwright Memorial Library’s “Food for Fines” campaign. Donations were delivered to the Central Virginia Food Bank.

For each can or box of non-perishable food donated by a student, $1 in overdue library fees was forgiven. Food was collected at various library service points, including Boatwright Library, Parsons Music Library, and the Media Resource, Technology Learning and Curriculum Materials centers.

Lakeview Hall makes “Dorms of Distinction” list
University Business, a magazine for senior administrators at colleges and universities, has named Lakeview Hall to its 2008 Dorms of Distinction list.

The magazine evaluated 76 residence halls at small and large colleges and universities for their sustainability, student input in design, atmosphere and community-oriented spaces. Lakeview, the University’s first eco-friendly residence hall, was included for its:

• Living and Learning programs, in which students with common interests live, go to class and participate in out-of-class activities together
• E-suds software, enabling students to remotely monitor laundry facilities
• Five handicapped-accessible double rooms with private baths
• Green housekeeping methods and pest management
• Trip switches on electric ranges in kitchens to prevent overheating
• Lobby with a view of scenic Westhampton Lake

Construction of Lakeview is the first phase of a project to renovate all of Richmond’s residence halls. The University followed strict design and construction guidelines to make the building eco-friendly and has registered Lakeview for LEED certification, the national standard for sustainable buildings.

Boatwright exhibits
Boatwright Memorial Library will feature two exhibits focusing on African-American leadership, the theme this year for Black History Month. One exhibit will feature selections from the library’s Rare Book Collection, and the second will focus on current materials from the circulating collection.