Kudos

Madhumita Chakraborty

Grantor: Keck Geology Consortium

Grant: Chakraborty, Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Geoscience, will lead a community-engaged assessment of ground water chemistry and quality in the karst aquifers of Rockbridge County and neighboring areas.

Jenny Davies

Grantor: Fulbright Institute of International Education

Grant: Davies, Professor of Dance, has been selected as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar for 2026-27 for the United Kingdom.

Jane Stewart

Grantor: Virginia Department of Environmental Quality

Grant: Stewart, Director of Sustainability, and the Office of Sustainability and Energy Education will lead the Full Circle Food initiative, strengthening W&L’s composting system.

Tammi Etheridge LeGrande

Grantor: International Center for Law and Economics

Grant: Etheridge LeGrande, Associate Professor of Law, secured funds to support a lecture series on law and economics.

John Lindberg

Grantor: Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges

Grant: Lindberg, Manager of Technical Operations for the Lenfest Center, helped secure funding for sound upgrades in Wilson Hall.

Iguehi Rajsky

Grantor: Internal Revenue Service

Grant: Rajsky, Assistant Professor of Accounting, secured funding to continue leading student driven tax filing support for the local community.

Bright Frimpong

Grantor: Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges

Grant: Frimpong, Assistant Professor of Business Administration, was awarded the Mednick Memorial Fellowship to pursue research on artificial intelligence washing.

Marisa Charley

Grantor: Project Pericles

Grant: Charley, Associate Director of the Shepherd Program, secured a civic engagement mini-grant to support her students in developing civic health club programs in the community.

Sarah Hollen

Grantor: Women’s Sports Foundation

Grant: Hollen, Assistant Coach for the men’s and women’s cross country and men’s and women’s track & field teams, was awarded the Tara VanDerveer Fellowship which provides hands-on leadership training for women coaches.

Dick Kuettner

Grantor: Virginia Department of Education

Grant: Kuettner, Director of the Global Discovery Laboratories, secured renewal of a contract with the Virginia Department of Education for W&L to continue hosting the Virginia Governor’s World Language Academies, which draws the state’s top foreign language students to campus for an immersive language experience.

Jordan Peimer

Grantor: Mid Atlantic Arts

Grant: Peimer, Director of the Lenfest Center, secured a perfomance grant.

Nicholas Barber

Grantor: National Science Foundation

Grant: Barber, Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Geoscience, secured funding to purchase a confocal Raman imaging microscope for Washington and Lee.

Charlotte Hoopes

Grantor: Virginia’s Academic Library Consortium

Grant: Hoopes, Assistant Professor of Business Administration, received a grant to create online open course materials.

Mauricio Betancourt

Grantor: Virginia Foundation of Independent Colleges

Grant: Betancourt, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, received a grant to support his summer research.

David Marsh

Grantor: National Science Foundation

Grant: Marsh, Professor of Biology, received funding to continue his studies of salamanders and leaf litter invertebrates within the Prospect Hill Soil Warming Experiment at Harvard Forest.

Michael Hill

Grantor: Endeavor Foundation

Grant: Hill, Director of the DeLaney Center and Professor of Africana Studies was awarded a grant to support programing at the DeLaney Center.

Bill Hamilton

Grantor: U.S. Department of the Interior

Grant: Hamilton, Professor of Biology, received a renewal grant for his research with students evaluating bison grazing effects on ecosystem health in Yellowstone National Park.

Lucas Morel

Grantor: Associated Colleges of the South

Grant: Morel, John K. Boardman Professor of Politics, was awarded a fellowship as part of the ACS Academic Leadership Fellows Program for 2025-26.

Dick Kuettner

Grantor: Virginia Department of Education

Grant: Kuettner, Director of the Global Discovery Laboratories, secured renewal of a contract with the Virginia Department of Education for W&L to continue hosting the Virginia Governor’s World Language Academies, which draws the state’s top foreign language students to campus for an immersive language experience.

Son Nguyen

Grantor: American Physical Society

Grant: Nguyen, Visiting Professor of Physics, secured travel and professional development funds to further research the properties of nucleons and nuclei and their interactions.

Catherine Smith

Grantor: Anonymous

Grant: Smith, Vicent L. Bradford Professor of Law, received a grant from an anonymous donor to co-found the Consortuium for the Advancement of Children’s Constitutional Rights.

Tammi Etheridge

Grantor: International Center for Law and Economics

Grant: Etheridge, Associate Professor of Law, secured funds to support a lecture series on law and economics.

Robert Humston

Grantor: VA Department of Wildlife Resources

Grant: Humston, John Kyle Spencer Director of Environmental Studies and Professor of Biology, secured funds to conduct stream water quality analysis in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests.

Ryan McCoy

Grantor: U.S. Department of Agriculture

Grant: McCoy, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, will administer a grant for work at the Midwest Climate Hub.

Dan Johnson

Grantor: John Templeton Foundation

Grant: Johnson, David G. Elmes Term Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Science, will serve as the lead data scientist as part of a multi-year collaborative grant.

Chong Wang

Grantor: American Mathematical Society

Grant: Wang, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, recieved an enhancement grant to explore energy-driven pattern formation in complex physical and biological systems.

Isra El-beshir

Grantor: Terra Foundation

Grant: El-beshir, Director of Art Museum and Galleries, will administer a grant to support the exhibition LONG TIME NO SEE by Stephanie Shih.

Dan Johnson

Grantor: National Science Foundation

Grant: Johnson, David G. Elmes Term Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Science, is part of a multi-year National Science Foundation collaborative grant to build a platform to transform educational assessment of creative thinking for STEM education and research.

Nneka Dennie

Grantor: Institute for Citizens and Scholars

Grant: Dennie, Assistant Professor of History, received the Mellon Emerging Faculty Leaders Award (MEFL) to support her research with the Black Women’s Studies Association.

Lingshu Hu

Grantor: VFIC

Grant: Hu, Assistant Professor of Business Administration, received a grant to support his research examining the curvilinear impact of politicians’ negative expressions and intergroup communications on their popularity and likability on Twitter.

Margaret Anne Hinkle

Grantor: National Science Foundation

Grant: Hinkle, Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Geoscience, received support for collaborative research to identify and quantify the critical biogeochemical parameters that control precipitation and the associated adsorption.

Erin Gray

Grantor: The American Chemical Society

Grant: Gray, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, received two awards to research Photoredox-Mediated Iminyl Radical Generation from Alkyl Azides.

Mikki Brock

Grantor: Wellesley’s Newhouse Center for the Humanities

Grant: Brock, Associate Professor of History, was awarded an academic year fellowship to continue her work on crime, gender, and spectacle in 18th century Scotland.

Angela Sun

Grantor: The National Humanities Center

Grant: Sun, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, was granted a fellowship to spend time at NHC focusing on the ethics of reporting wrongdoing.

Li Kang

Grantor: National Endowment for the Humanities

Grant: Kang, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, was awarded a summer stipend to critically exam and systematically develop the underlying metaphysical commitments behind three prominent Chinese Buddhist schools.

Edward Adams

Grantor: David and Rosalee McCullough Fellowship

Grant: Adams, John Lucian Smith Jr. Professor of English, was awarded a fellowship to support his research at Marietta College’s special collections.

George Bent

Grantor: National Endowment for the Humanities

Grant: Bent, Professor of Art History, is managing a grant to support the development of a digital recreation of 15th century Florence.

Kristina Roney

Grantor: Fulbright Scholars Program

Grant: Roney, Assistant Professor of French, was awarded a U.S. Scholar fellowship in France.

Lisa Greer

Grantor: Keck Geology Consortium

Grant: Greer, Professor of Earth and Environmental Geoscience, is part of a collaborative grant to support a student gateway project studying coral reefs in Belize.

Ryan Brindle

Grantor: Virginia Foundation of Independent Colleges

Grant: Brindle, Assistant Professor of Cognitive & Behavioral Science and Neuroscience received the H. Hiter Harris, III Rising Star Award.

Bill Hamilton

Grantor: U.S. Department of the Interior

Grant: Hamilton, Professor of Biology, received a renewal grant for his research with students evaluating bison grazing effects on ecosystem health in Yellowstone National Park.

David Pfaff

Grantor: Virginia Foundation of Independent Colleges

Grant: Pfaff, Senior Academic Technologist and IQ Center Director, was awarded the H. Hiter Harris III Excellence in Instructional Technology Award.

Michael Hill

Grantor: Jessie Ball duPont Fund

Grant: Hill, Director of the DeLaney Center and Professor of Africana Studies, was awarded a grant to support a new civic enhancement internship program.

Erin Hughes

Grantor: Women’s Sports Foundation

Grant: Hughes, Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach, was awarded the Tara VanDerveer Fellowship which provides hands-on leadership training for women coaches.

Dick Kuettner

Grantor: Virginia Department of Education

Grant: Kuettner, Director of the Global Discovery Laboratories, secured renewal of a contract with the Virginia Department of Education for W&L to continue hosting the Virginia Governor’s World Language Academies, which draws the state’s top foreign language students to campus for an immersive language experience.

Michael Hill

Grantor: Virginia Humanities

Grant: Hill, Director of the DeLaney Center and Professor of Africana Studies was awarded a grant to support the DeLaney Center’s Screen to Square program.

Jeffrey Rahl

Grantor: Virginia Foundation of Independent Colleges

Grant: Rahl, Professor of Earth and Environmental Geoscience, was awarded the Mednick Memorial Fellowship for his research.

Lorri Olan

Grantor: Virginia Foundation of Independent Colleges

Grant: Lorri Olan, Senior Associate Director of and Career and Professional Development, received a grant to enhance professional development in the Alumni and Career Services department.

Steve Cross

Grantor: Virginia Foundation of Independent Colleges

Grant: Steve Cross, Radio Station Manager, received funds to install a whisper room at the radio station.

Brian Alexander

Grantor: Society of the Cincinnati in the State of Virginia

Grant: Alexander, Associate Professor of Politics, will be the program administrator of the Visiting Scholar Program.

Robert Humston

Grantor: U.S. Department of Agriculture

Grant: Humston, John Kyle Spencer Director of Environmental Studies and Professor of Biology, secured funds to conduct stream water quality analysis in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests.

David Baluarte

Grantor: Fulbright Scholars Program

Grant: Baluarte, Clinical Professor of Law, was awarded a U.S. Scholar fellowship in Mexico.

George Bent

Grantor: Samuel H. Kress Foundation

Grant: Bent, Professor of Art History, is the recipient of a grant to support the development of a digital recreation of 15th century Florence.

Mengying Liu

Grantor: American Association of University Women

Grant: Liu, Assistant Professor of Engineering, is the recipient of an individual research and publication grant.

Melissa Kerin

Grantor: National Endowment for the Humanities

Grant: Kerin, Associate Professor of Art History, received a summer stipend to research and write an article on seventeenth-centrury patron scenes in three Buddhist temples in Basgo (Northern India).

Barton Myers

Grantor: National Endowment for the Humanities

Grant: Myers, Professor of History was awarded a summer stipend to research and write a book on southern-born military officers who fought to preserve the Union during the Civil War.

Ellen Mayock

Grantors: Rockbridge Community Health Foundation and Grace Episcopal Christian Outreach Committee

Grant: Mayock, Professor of Romance Languages, together with Reino, was awarded grants from the Rockbridge Community Health Foundation and Grace Episcopal in support of the 2023 ESOL summer program for local students.

Jayne Reino

Grantors: Rockbridge Community Health Foundation and Grace Episcopal Christian Outreach Committee

Grant: Reino, Visiting Professor of Romance Languages, together with Ellen Mayock, was awarded grants from the Rockbridge Community Health Foundation and Grace Episcopal in support of the 2023 ESOL summer program for local students.

Bill Hamilton

Grantor: U.S. Department of the Interior

Grant: Hamilton, Professor of Biology, received a grant for his research with students evaluating bison grazing effects on ecosystem health in Yellowstone National Park.

Michelle Drumbl

Grantor: Internal Revenue Service

Grant: Drumbl, Robert O. Bentley Clinical Professor of Law and Associate Dean, received a grant to support the Law School’s Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic.

Natalia Toporikova

Grantor: National Science Foundation

Grant: Toporikova, Associate Professor of Biology, has been awarded a collaborative research grant to explore the evolutionary origins and underlying mechanisms of the circadian clocks in araneoid spiders.

Leslie Wingard-Cunningham

Grantor: Associated Colleges of the South

Grant: Wingard-Cunningham, Associate Provost for Faculty Development, is leading a collabrorative grant with Hendrix College and the University of Richmond to support faculty in “Facilitating Constructive Dialogue in a Challenging World.”

Barton Myers

Grantor: National Endowment for the Humanities

Grant: Myers, Class of 1960 Professor of Ethics and History was nominated by the College to pursue a grant in support of Champions of the Union, a book project to promote understanding of the Civil War era.

Melissa Kerin

Grantor: National Endowment for the Humanities

Grant: Kerin, Associate Professor of Art and Art History, was nominated by the Collge to pursue a grant in support of Turbans and Tourquoise, a project to analyze donor scenes in Western Himalya in the 15th-18th centuries.

Chawne Kimber

Grantor: Jessie Ball duPont Fund

Grant: Kimber, Dean of the College, received funding to enhance the New Faculty Cohort with external speakers.

David Harbor

Grantor: National Science Foundation

Grant: Harbor, Professor of Earth and Environmental Geoscience, received funding to conduct research on hydraulic plucking to mitigate the risks of erosion on infrastructure.

Dan Johnson

Grantor: National Science Foundation

Grant: Johnson, David G. Elmes Term Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Science, received funding to build a platform to transform educational assessment of creative thinking for STEM education and research.

David Marsh

Grantor: Wildlife Management Institute, Inc.

Grant: Marsh, Professor of Biology, received funding to purchase genomic tools to manage threats to two species of salamanders.

Zoila Ponce de Leon Seijas

Grantor: American Political Science Association

Grant: Ponce de Leon Seijas, Assistant Professor of Politics, will apply this grant to her research on attitudes in Brazil and the U.S. about immigration and deportation.

Bill Hamilton

Grantor: U.S. Department of the Interior

Grant: Hamilton, Professor of Biology, received a grant for training youth on how to evaluate bison grazing effects on ecosystem health.

Erin Gray

Grantor: Organic Syntheses, Inc

Grant: Gray, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, received funding to conduct a two-year summer research project with a student.

Robin LeBlanc

Grantor: Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges

Grant: LeBlanc, Professor of Politics, was awarded the Mednick Memorial Fellowship for her research.

John Taylor

Grantor: Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges

Grant: Taylor, an Audio Engineer for the Music Department, supported a capital grant request for video production equipment in Wilson Hall.

Margaret Hinkle

Grantor: Keck Geology Consortium

Grant: Hinkle, Assistant Professor of Geology, was awarded a grant in support of assessing ground and surface water quality in the Shenandoah Valley.

Margaret Hinkle

Grantor: Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges

Grant: Hinkle, Assistant Professor of Geology, was awarded the Mednick Memorial Fellowship for her research.

Ellen Mayock

Grantors: United Way and Rockbridge Community Health Foundation

Grant: Mayock, Professor of Romance Languages, was awarded grants from The United Way and Rockbridge Community Health Foundation in support of the 2022 ESOL summer program for local students.

Deborah Miranda

Grantor: Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges

Grant: Miranda, Thomas H. Broadus, Jr. Professor of English Emeritus, received the Libby and Hiter Harris Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award, which recognizes outstanding faculty who reflect a strong, clear and abiding commitment to excellence in classroom teaching.

Andrew Christensen

Grantor: American Association of Law Libraries (AALL)

Grant: Christensen, Head of Digital Initiatives and Outreach for the Law Library, received an AALL research grant to help build data infrastructures for bespoke faculty services.

Julia Hernandez

Grantor: Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA)

Grant: Hernandez, Visiting Assistant Professor of Spanish, was awarded a VIVA Open Adopt Grant to create open resource materials for Spanish 220: Introduction to the Literature of Spain. These materials will make this class accessible to a wider variety of students, both at W&L and across Virginia, for whom the original price tag presented a serious challenge.

Jeffrey Rahl

Grantor: National Science Foundation

Grant: Rahl, Professor of Geology, received a grant from NSF’s Tectonics Panel. His research is focused on the formation of the Sangre de Christo Mountains in Colorado, as a way to understand the properties of continental crust during mountain building.

Andrea Lepage

Grantor: Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges

Grant: Lepage, Pamela H. Simpson Professor of Art History, led a request for a VFIC Capital Grant to improve W&L’s sculpture studio. The project resulted in the installation of a new track lighting system to enhance the experience and working conditions for students, faculty, and visiting artists.

Sascha Goluboff

Grantor: Associated Colleges of the South

Grant: Goluboff, Director of Community Based Learning and Professor of Cultural Anthropology, is the PI on an ACS grant entitled “Community-Engaged Teaching: A Collaborative Peer Learning Model,” which aims to build a wider community of faculty who are knowledgeable about and utilize community-engaged teaching.

Paul Hanstedt

Grantor: Associated Colleges of the South

Grant: Hanstedt, Director of the Harte Centre for Teaching and Learning and Professor of Education Studies, is a part of an ACS grant to support mid-career faculty.

Paula Kiser

Grantor: Michigan State University

Grant: Kiser, Assistant Professor and Digital Scholarship Librarian, is leading W&L’s work on a Mellon Foundation supported open-source web publishing platform cataloging project. The goal is to develop better metadata and tagging for making the academic archival holdings related to enslaved people and slavery more accessible to the public.

Dick Kuettner

Grantor: Virginia Department of Education

Grant: Kuettner, Director of the Global Discovery Laboratories, secured renewal of a contract with the Virginia Department of Education for W&L to continue hosting the Virginia Governor’s World Language Academies, which draws the state’s top foreign language students to campus for an immersive language experience.

Alicia Swasy

Grantor: Craig Newmark Foundation

Grant: Swasy, Reynolds Professor of Business Journalism, received support for a documentary on women entrepreneurs in journalism.

K.T. Vaughan

Grantor: Hampton University

Grant: Vaughan, the Higginbotham University Librarian, was invited to participate in the Leading the Charge cohort program organized by the Hampton University Library with funding from the Institute for Museum and Library Services. This program is designed to pilot and assess tactics for recruiting and retaining librarians of color.