Communications

Dear Campus Community,

We are writing about incidents that have arisen in our community in recent days as we, along with campuses across the country, continue to be affected by the unfolding situation in the Middle East. A student-organized demonstration and counter-demonstration took place yesterday on campus, and several members of the University community have voiced concerns about escalating rhetoric and behavior that occurred during and after the event. These include incidents of derogatory name-calling and hateful social media posts that are antithetical to our values as an institution and have no place on this campus. The safety of our campus community is paramount, and we are carefully reviewing each reported incident while providing support to the affected members of our community. Information about the University’s procedures for addressing issues of bias and discrimination can be found here.

As an academic community, the University of Richmond has a foundational commitment to free and open discussion of ideas and to ensuring an environment in which respectful discourse and thoughtful debate can occur. However, freedom of expression is not without limits or responsibility. It is imperative that all members of our campus community engage in thoughtful dialogue, respecting one another as members of our shared campus community and our shared human community. Words are powerful and can have profound consequences. We can convey our views without dehumanizing another. We are fully committed to fostering a campus where every voice can be heard, and every member of our community can flourish.

We know many people in our campus community continue to be deeply affected by the situation in the Middle East, and we encourage you to reach out to the available resources, which include: 

• The Chaplaincy, (804) 289-8500 
• Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), (804) 289-8119
• College Deans offices
  • Dr. Mia Reinoso Genoni, Westhampton College, (804) 289-8468
  • Dr. Joe Boehman, Richmond College, (804) 289-8061
• Student Center for Equity and Inclusion (SCEI), (804) 289-8032
• UR Employee Assistance Program, 1-877-622-4327

We are deeply grateful for the dedicated, extraordinary efforts of those in these offices and across the University who have provided invaluable care and support for students in recent weeks.

There are still challenges ahead. We urge that we remain collectively committed to fostering a University community where we can discuss and debate complex, challenging issues and thoughtfully and respectfully disagree with one another. Please take good care.

Sincerely,

Steve Bisese
Vice President for Student Development

Geraldine Sullivan
Chief Human Resources Officer

Greetings Everyone,

It’s hard to believe we are at the midway point of the semester. This weekend is Homecoming, which provides us with the opportunity to come together and demonstrate our #SpiderPride. I’ll be in D-Hall this Friday during our Spider Day Lunch, handing out T-shirts. I hope to see you there or at the evening festival.

I continue to enjoy getting to know you all, the campus, and the Richmond community. I appreciate your willingness to include me in department meetings, welcome me to special events, and all the invitations for coffee, lunch, and walks around the lake. I love touring our incredible spaces, such as Boatwright Memorial Library, Modlin, and our museums.

Many of you have asked or are wondering what my vision is for the office. Right now, we are focused on supporting the strategic plan and completing an exercise I call “asset mapping.” This strength-based approach will allow me to fully understand the great work done across the division and identify opportunities where we can more strategically support our colleagues and students.

In today’s troubled world, I am incredibly proud of the care and support I’ve seen across our community. Thank you for your continued support of one another and of our students.

A. Joan Saab

Executive Vice President and Provost

Dear UR Colleagues,

As many of you know, a faculty member at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill (UNC) was fatally shot yesterday in a campus building. This tragedy is yet another senseless act of violence in our nation, this one on a college campus where the community was celebrating the start of a new semester.

The University of Richmond is committed to keeping our campus community safe. Our colleagues in the URPD, in partnership with faculty, staff, and students, contribute to these efforts. We strongly encourage all members of our campus community to download the UR Spider Safe app and also sign up for UR Alert. These are important tools that help connect our community to one another in emergency situations.

Anyone in our University community may convey a concern through an online form and may submit an anonymous report through the UR Spider Safe app. To report an emergency on campus, call the URPD at 804-289-8911.

Additionally, as part of our commitment to supporting campus safety and well-being, our Threat Assessment Team proactively evaluates concerns that may pose a threat to our campus community. An email with more information about that team will go out to our community later this week.

As we empathize with the sense of grief and fear experienced by the UNC community, we encourage each of you to take care of yourselves and each other. To those of us who need support during this time, please reach out to those around you, and we also encourage you to consider the following resources:

• UR Employee Assistance Program, 877-622-4327
• Behavioral health resources for employees
• The Chaplaincy

Please take care,

Joan Saab
Executive Vice President and Provost

Geraldine Sullivan
Chief Human Resources Officer

Dear Colleagues

As we begin a new academic year, I want to share information on the three compliance education modules intended to support our shared commitment to preventing harassment and discrimination, protecting personal information and University data, including student education records, and avoiding cyber-attacks such as phishing.  Beginning September 1, 2023, the following on-line compliance modules will be available to all faculty and staff:   

• Preventing Harassment & Discrimination: Gateway which is designed to help faculty and staff identify potential harassment, sexual misconduct and provides information on how to respond when confronted with those situations.  The online module last approximately 35 minutes and the software will allow users to pause the training at any time. 
• Cybersecurity Awareness provides important information to enable faculty and staff to recognize phishing attempts, avoid online scams and understand cyber best practices.  This online module lasts approximately 30 minutes and the software will allow users to pause during the training at any time.
• FERPA:  Protecting Student Privacy provides a general understanding of FERPA, (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) which is essential to protecting the confidentiality of student education records. This online module lasts approximately 15 minutes and the software will allow users to pause during the training at any time.

I know the close relationship that you have with your students.  You serve as teachers, mentors, and role models.   We want to be sure you are equipped with information that helps protect students and the University.

Each of these education modules will be included in your Talent Web account in the University’s learning management system, Cornerstone, and you will have until March 1, 2024 to complete them. Thank you for taking the time to complete these important compliance education modules and I wish you a productive academic year.

Sincerely,

A. Joan Saab

Executive Vice President and Provost

Hi Everyone,

Next week is an exciting week! That’s not to say this week wasn’t exciting. For me it was a whirlwind of participation in Spider traditions. I welcomed families of our new students, dined with our new faculty, presented our Distinguished Educator and Distinguished Scholarship awards, and officially started the academic year at Colloquy. Today, I’ll attend my first commencement as Provost, awarding degrees to graduates of the MBA program.

I want to take a moment to thank you for all that you do to ensure the University is ready and able to support our students. As you may have heard at Colloquy, I believe education is transformative and that we all are key participants in this process.  As your chief academic officer, I will do whatever I can to support you in the classroom and beyond.

I hope to see you all soon. Have a great semester!

A. Joan Saab

Executive Vice President and Provost

Hello Everyone,

I hate to interrupt your summer, but a number of you have asked so, I wanted to share the University’s Guidance on Generative AI in Teaching and Learning. The guidance is below.   

Please make sure to clearly state your own philosophy on your class syllabus. You are encouraged to contact the Faculty Hub for additional support and to review examples of syllabus statements that may be used or modified, as appropriate.

We recognize that the technologies involved are evolving quite quickly and will be holding a series of workshops in the Faculty Hub, as well as, hosting a variety of speakers over the academic year. Keep an eye out for more information in the coming weeks.

I hope you are all keeping cool and enjoying some time off. I look forward to meeting many of you soon.

All best,

Joan

Generative AI in Teaching and Learning

Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) that uses machine learning to create content (text, images, video, audio, music, computer code, etc.). Generative AI includes tools such as ChatGPT, Bard, DALL-E, AlphaCode, Stable Diffusion, Synthesia, Cohere Generate, and other emerging technologies.

While these tools have applications that may facilitate learning, they are also prone to inaccuracies and other problems. Our current guidance is the same as for any other tools: faculty determine what may or may not be used in student work presented for feedback or evaluation.

Students pledge in the Honor Code to not give nor receive “unauthorized assistance” on assignments submitted for a grade:

• Undergraduate Honor Code, Article IV.A.3

“To reinforce a student’s continual dedication to the Honor Code, a student may be expected to provide and sign the following pledge on every assignment that the student submits to an instructor for a grade at the instructor’s discretion:

I pledge that I have neither received nor given unauthorized assistance during the completion of this work. Full Signature.”

Note: Graduate students in the Robins School of Business are bound by Article V: Honor Code Violations; the process is handled by the Associate Dean for Graduate and Executive Programs.

• Law School Honor Code
• SPCS Honor Code

Faculty must define what is “unauthorized assistance” in their classes. As always, course policies should be clearly communicated, in writing, including how to cite resources or tools used. Students are encouraged to ask clarifying questions of their instructors.

Note:  At this time, we are not aware of any reliable detectors of the use of generative AI to create content.

Dear Colleagues,

It’s my pleasure to invite you to our annual Colloquy to celebrate the outstanding work of our faculty, welcome our newest colleagues, and officially start the academic year together.

The ceremony will take place on August 23 from 3-4 p.m. in the Alice Jepson Theatre of the Modlin Center for the Arts. It will be followed by a reception in Booth Lobby.

This year we will hear from and honor our Distinguished Educator and Distinguished Scholarship Award recipients and recognize esteemed faculty receiving endowed appointments. You will also hear from me, the featured speaker (I promise to keep it short)!

I’m grateful to our Award Selection Committee – Al Goethals (Chair), Lidia Radi, Shakun Mago, Andrew Schoeneman, Joel Eisen, and Linda Boland (Ex-Officio) for recommending this year’s award recipients, and to the many staff who’ve coordinated our Colloquy celebration.

DISTINGUISHED EDUCATOR AWARD RECIPIENTS

School of Arts & Sciences

• Dr. Elisabeth Gruner, Professor of English

• Dr. Aleksandra Sznajder Lee, Associate Professor of Political Science

• Dr. David Salisbury, Associate Professor of Geography and the Environment

Robins School of Business

• Dr. Cassandra Marshall, Associate Professor of Finance

• Trey Sutton, Associate Professor of Management

Jepson School of Leadership Studies

• Dr. Christopher von Rueden, Associate Professor of Leadership Studies

School of Law

• Meredith Harbach, Professor of Law

DISTINGUISHED SCHOLARSHIP AWARD RECIPIENTS

School of Arts & Sciences

• Dr. Emory (Ted) Bunn, E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Chair in the Liberal Arts and Professor of Physics

• Dr. Jane Geaney, Professor of Religious Studies                              

• Dr. William Ross, Roger Francis and Mary Saunders Richardson Chair in Mathematics and Professor of Mathematics

Robins School of Business

• Dr. Monika Kukar-Kinney, F. Carlyle Tiller Chair in Business and Professor of Marketing

• Dr. Marshall Geiger, CSX Chair in Management and Accounting and Professor of Accounting

Jepson School of Leadership Studies

• Dr. Peter Iver Kaufman, Professor and George Matthews and Virginia Brinkley Modlin Chair in Leadership Studies

School of Law

• Kristen Jakobsen Osenga, Austin E. Owen Research Scholar and Professor of Law, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Law School

ENDOWED APPOINTMENTS

Dr. Emory (Ted) Bunn, E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Chair in the Liberal Arts

Dr. Artem Durnev, Patricia A. and George W. Wellde, Jr. Distinguished Chair in Finance

Dr. Rhiannon Graybill, Weinstein-Rosenthal Chair of Jewish Studies

Dr. KimMarie McGoldrick, E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professorship in Business

Dr. Elizabeth Outka, Tucker-Boatwright Professorship of Humanities

Dr. Michel Robe, Patricia A. and George W. Wellde, Jr. Distinguished Chair in Finance

Dr. Julietta Singh, Stephanie Bennett-Smith Chair in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Dr. Jonathan Whitaker, Joseph A. Jennings Chair in Business

I hope you are enjoying the tail end of the summer. I look forward to my first Colloquy at the University of Richmond and kicking off the new academic year with you on August 23.

Sincerely,

A. Joan Saab
Executive Vice President and Provost