George E. Allen Sr. entered the practice of law in 1910 in Victoria, Virginia, after graduating from the University of Virginia School of Law. In 1931, he moved to Richmond where he built a reputation as a trial lawyer and continued to practice until his death in 1972.

From 1950-1960 he served as president of the Richmond Bar Association, from 1951-1953 as faculty member of the Law-Science Institute, and from 1953-1954 as a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He was the first president of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, 1959-1960. In 1965, at the age of 80, he was named the first recipient of the Award for Courageous Advocacy by the American College of Trial Lawyers for representing a black law student accused of felonious assult after a scuffle with police in 1963. Mr. Allen was a fellow and co-founder of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He served as dean of the IATL in 1966.

In 1976, four years after his death, Mr. Allen's sons, Ashby, Wilbur, and George Jr., of the law firm of Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen, gave a challenge gift to establish the George E. Allen Chair in Law as a memorial to their father. It was the first endowed chair in the over-100-year history of the T. C. Williams School of Law.

It was the Allen brothers' hope "that [their] gift would inspire others to do likewise, creating an atmosphere for even further success in funding the law school and the University, thus highlighting the importance of the University and the T. C. Williams School of Law and its service to the community, the state, and the nation."

Prior to 1998, when a full-time faculty member was appointed to hold the position, the George E. Allen Chair in Law was used as a visiting scholar series.

The Stephanie Bennett-Smith Chair in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies was created in 2010 by alumnae of Westhampton College in honor of Dr. Stephanie Bennett-Smith, the former Westhampton dean who helped create the Women Involved in Living and Learning (WILL) program in 1981 along with Dr. Kathleen Rohaly, Dr. Jane Hopkins, and Dr. William Walker.

Dr. Bennett-Smith served as dean of Westhampton College from 1976 to 1984.  In addition to WILL, she helped develop programs in residence life, student governance, academic advising, and alumnae relations.  Dr. Bennett-Smith enhanced the college's reputation and built business and government relationships to assist graduates in job placement.  In 1985, she became present and CEO of Centenary College in Hackettstown, New Jersey, retiring as president emerita in 2001.  At Centenary she established the Northwest New Jersey Women's Center.  Dr. Bennett-Smith also served as president of the Southern Association of Colleges for Women. 

The primary focus of the chair holder will be undergraduate teaching, consistent with the mission of the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) program, an interdisciplinary major and minor focusing on the ramifications of gender and the history of associated social and political movements. 

Lewis T. Booker, the fourth generation of his family to attend the University of Richmond, has had a life-long association with the school.  He earned his B.A. degree from Richmond College in 1950 and a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School in 1953.  Upon graduation from Harvard, Mr. Booker joined the law firm of Hunton & Williams where he rose to the rank of partner and became "of counsel" in 1996. 

Mr. Booker has served as counsel for the Christian Children's Fund and the Baptist General Board of Virginia.  Mr. Booker was the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Richmond in 1977.  A University trustee since 1972, he served an unprecedented three terms as rector. 

In May 1979, Mr. Booker was presented with the Alumni of the University of Richmond Award for Distinguished Service.  He was praised for his "extraordinarily good judgment, exemplary integrity, and uncommon devotion to the University in leading it to a position of exceptional strength" when it was announced that the University had established the Lewis T. Booker Professorship of Religion and Ethics in his honor.

In the late 19th century, Richmond College employed a fund-raiser to tap the vast fortunes being made by industrial giants in the North following the days of Reconstruction. Jabez Abel Bostwick, a financier, became interested in the college and in 1887 donated a Louisiana State bond as well as 250 shares of Standard Oil Trust. Mr. Bostwick had financial interests in cotton and oil and was a business associate of John D. Rockefeller in Standard Oil Trust. He was a donor to various Baptist churches and colleges during his lifetime. He died in 1892 at the age of 51 while helping to remove items in a stable fire at this summer home on Long Island.

The income from his stock gift was instrumental in the operation of Richmond College, until the stock was sold in 1915 for approximately $400,000 which was added to the Richmond College endowment. Bostwick Lane was named in his honor and the Jabez A. Bostwick Chair of English was established to carry out his wish that the gift be used for payment of professors' services.

The Camp Bible Chair was established in 1925 by James Leonidas Camp (University trustee from 1900-1925) and Paul Douglas Camp in honor of their parents, George and Sallie Cutchin Camp. The two Camp brothers, along with other members of the family, founded Camp Manufacturing Co. in Franklin, Virginia, which later became Union Camp Corporation.

The Camp family has continued to support the University of Richmond throughout the years, as evidenced by the naming of the Camp Concert Hall in the George Matthews Modlin Center for the Arts, given by James L. Camp, Jr., a trustee of the University for over 30 years, and his five brothers and sisters. Several members of the Camp family are also graduates of the University.

Prior to 2001, the Camp Bible Chair was held concurrently with the Solon B. Cousins Chair of Religion.

In the spring of 2007, the Board of Trustees authorized the creation of a distinguished University chair to honor then-President William E. Cooper. During Dr. Cooper's tenure as president from 1998-2007, the University created and began implementing an ambitious ten-year strategic plan for further advancing the University's academic core, designed a comprehensive campus master plan, and completed a $212 million fundraising campaign.

The William E. Cooper Distinguished University Chair brings together the University's three distinctive undergraduate divisions (leadership studies, business, and arts and sciences) for the benefit of students and the many constituencies the University serves. In addition to innovative teaching, the incumbent will provide intellectual leadership for symposia on topics that link the concerns of the three divisions to address major national and community issues.

Following Dr. Cooper's tenure as its inaugural chairholder, the William E. Cooper Distinguished University Chair will be used to attract a scholar of national repute who has the training and experience to link the fields of leadership studies, business, and arts and sciences in new and significant ways. Depending upon the background of the individual chosen, the Chair will be housed in the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, the Robins School of Business, or the School of Arts and Sciences, as appropriate. Courses offered by the holder of the Cooper Chair will be open to all students at the University.

In 1989, Mr. and Mrs. Otis D. Coston Jr. of McLean, Virginia, parents of two University of Richmond alumni, initiated the Coston Family Chair in Leadership and Ethics to enable faculty in the Jepson School of Leadership Studies to explore the ethical dimension of leadership and related ethics.

Mr. and Mrs. Coston are president and vice president, respectively, of Stonemark Corporation, a real estate development firm in McLean, Virginia. Mr. Coston earned his Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Oklahoma and his Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard University. Mrs. Coston attended Mary Washington College.

Mr. Coston has served as a University trustee since 1991, serving as rector since 2002. Mrs. Coston has served as a member of the Board of Associates since 1992. The Coston's have also served as chaircouple of the Society of Families Steering Committee.

Topics to be addressed by holders of the Coston Chair are the moral challenges of leadership, the role of values and ethics in organizational cultures, the ethical dimensions of decision making, and the place of values and ethics in the development of institutional and public policy.

The CSX Corporation, formed in 1980 by the merger of the Chessie System and Seaboard Coastline Industries, has long recognized the role of a strong educational system in the growth and quality of life in our country. In 1983, CSX demonstrated its support of the University of Richmond with a gift to the University to establish the CSX Chair in Management and Accounting.

Dr. Clarence E. Denoon, Jr. earned his Bachelor of Science degree and master's degree in chemistry from the University of Richmond in 1934 and his Ph.D. degree from the University of Illinois. In 1986 he was awarded the honorary Doctor of Science degree from Richmond after a 31-year career with Rohm & Haas, a diversified chemicals company. Dr. Denoon served on the University's Board of Trustees from 1984 until his death in 1997.

In 1966, Dr. Denoon established The Clarence E. Denoon Award in the Natural Sciences as a memorial to his father, Clarence E. Denoon, a loyal supporter of the University. A bequest from his mother was added to the fund in 1974. In 1993, Dr. Denoon established the Clarence E. Denoon, Jr. Professorship of Science for a scientist who is also an excellent, inspiring teacher.

Dr. William Judson Gaines taught French at the University of Richmond from 1930 until his retirement in 1970.  He also served as chair of the modern foreign languages department for 17 years and was professor emeritus of French following his retirement. Dr. Gaines earned his bachelor's degree at the University of South Carolina and his master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Wisconsin. He did postgraduate work at the Sorbonne in France.

In 1953 he married Elizabeth Pendleton Gaines, daughter of Dr. Robert E. Gaines, chair of the department of mathematics at the University of Richmond. Mrs. Gaines received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Westhampton College in 1919 and did graduate study at Columbia University. She taught at Collegiate School from 1926-1933 and served as headmistress from 1933-34.

Dr. Gaines died in 1978. Mrs. Gaines, who died in 1985, provided for the establishment of the chair in her husband's memory through her will.

The Gottwald family has taken Ethyl Corporation from a small blotting-paper company to its current position as a major chemical, plastics, and aluminum corporation over the last half century.  Floyd D. Gottwald Sr., who led the way, was a University of Richmond trustee, and his name is memorialized on the University's science center, which was a gift in 1978 from Ethyl Corporation.

The family has been associated with the University for three generations, and they have had a very real part in the growth of the University for more than 35 years.  Floyd D. Gottwald, Jr., a trustee emeritus, received his master of science in business administration degree from the University of Richmond in 1951, and an honorary doctor of science degree in 1983.  Floyd Jr. and Elisabeth Gottwald established an endowment fund at Richmond in 1973, and in 1984 matched gifts of the classes of 1984, 1985, and 1986 to establish the Floyd D. and Elisabeth S. Gottwald Student Speakers Endowment which has brought  nationally and internationally known speakers to campus to stimulate and interact with students.

In 1993 another gift from the Gottwalds established the Floyd D. and Elisabeth S. Gottwald Chair in Chemistry, adding a new level of achievement to the University's science program.  In 2001, the size of the endowment begun by the Gottwalds allowed for the awarding of two endowed chairs in chemistry.

W. Tyler and Alice Haynes, through their lives and their generosity, provided the University of Richmond with an exceptional level of leadership and commitment. Tyler Haynes graduated from Richmond College in 1922 and received his D.D.S. from the Medical College of Virginia in 1926.

In 1927 he joined the MCV faculty and was promoted to clinical professor of orthodontics in 1943. Upon his retirement in 1968, he was appointed emeritus clinical professor of orthodontics. The University of Richmond awarded the honorary Doctor of Science degree to Dr. Haynes in 1972. He was a member of the University's Board of Trustees from 1963 until his death in 1991.

Through the several bequests of Tyler and Alice Haynes, including the trust funds through which the student commons was named the Tyler Haynes Commons in his honor in 1984, and a room in that building was named in honor of Alice Haynes in 1991, the Hayneses have given the University gifts that would place their philanthropy in a truly special category.

In 1994, the Board of Trustees appropriated one of Dr. and Mrs. Haynes' bequests to fund a professorship in American studies in their memory. The chair is intended to be filled by a senior teacher/scholar of national stature in any of the relevant fields of American studies which would include such disciplines as history, literature, religion, philosophy, sociology, or political science.

W. Tyler Haynes is remembered as a committed and generous graduate and trustee of the University of Richmond. He graduated from Richmond College in 1922 and received his D.D.S. from the Medical College of Virginia in 1926. In 1927 he joined the MCV faculty and was promoted to clinical professor of orthodontics in 1943.

Upon his retirement in 1968, he was appointed emeritus clinical professor of orthodontics. The University of Richmond awarded the honorary Doctor of Science degree to Dr. Haynes in 1972. He was a member of the University's Board of Trustees from 1963 until his death in 1991.

Through the several bequests of Dr. Haynes and his wife, Alice, including the trust funds through which the student commons was named the Tyler Haynes Commons in his honor in 1984, and a room in that building was named in honor of Alice Haynes in 1991, the Hayneses have given the University gifts that would place their philanthropy in a truly special category.

In 1997 the University established the Haynes Interdisciplinary Professorship in Leadership Studies from funds bequeathed by Tyler and Alice Haynes. The professorship is to be held by a distinguished academician who is able and willing to teach in at least two academic schools of the University.

Joseph A. Jennings, born in Richmond, Virginia, obtained a B.S. degree from the University of Richmond in 1949, and an advanced degree from the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University.  In 1978 he was named the recipient of the University of Richmond Board of Trustees' Distinguished Service Award, and in 1980 he received an honorary Doctor of Commercial Science degree from the University. He was elected rector of the Richmond Board of Trustees in 1987 and served until 1991. A University of Richmond trustee from 1969 to 2002, "Jack" Jennings served his alma mater in many capacities, including his work with the Annual Fund, the "Our Time in History" campaign, and as a class agent.

Mr. Jennings distinguished himself in his community as a leader and respected businessman during his 47-year career, retiring in 1986 as chairman of the board of United Virginia Bankshares.  In 1983 a grant from United Virginia Bankshares (now Suntrust Bank) was made to the University to establish the Joseph A. Jennings Chair in Business in recognition of Mr. Jennings' years of service to the University. Additional gifts from friends and alumni have helped to make this a fully-funded professorship.

Dr. Robert Edward Loving, loyal alumnus of 1898 and long-time professor of physics at the University of Richmond, displayed a unique and well-known affection for his native Fluvanna County and a profound respect for scholarship. He was remembered by generations of students as a master of the art of teaching and by Virginia Baptists as an active lay leader. Lena Frazer, native of Fredericksburg, Virginia, was a music medalist at Hollins College, and was also active in the Baptist church.

Lena and Robert were married in 1903, and while she continued her study of piano at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, he completed his doctorate at the Johns Hopkins University. After a few years in the Midwest where Robert taught courses at Cornell College in Iowa and the University of Missouri, the Lovings settled into a house on the campus of the University of Richmond where he taught physics from 1908-1948. Besides the many hours that Dr. Loving spent in the classroom, there was time enough for participation in numerous organizations.

In 1943, Lena suffered a stroke; she died eight years later. Robert moved into an apartment in a campus dormitory. After his retirement, a number of former students established a fund to create a prize in his name to be awarded to the best physics student on an annual basis. A plaque on a wall of the Gottwald Science Center now displays the names of the winners of the Loving Award in Physics.

In 1958, ten years after his retirement, the University of Richmond conferred upon Professor Loving the honorary degree of Doctor of Science, and in 1961, less than a year after his death, the Robert Edward and Lena Frazer Loving Chair of Physics, made possible by a bequest from Dr. Loving, was established at the University.

Jacob Billikopf came to the United States from Russia at the age of 13. He enrolled in Richmond College in 1899, and, during his years at the institution, was influenced greatly by the teachings and guidance of history Professor Samuel Chiles Mitchell, who suggested that the young student devote himself to a life of social work. Billikopf was awarded a fellowship in 1902 to the University of Chicago, and received a Bachelor of Philanthropy degree there in 1903.

He began his career in Jewish and nonsectarian charities in the Midwest, and was instrumental in the establishment of public night schools and the free legal aid bureau in Kansas City. He served as impartial chairman of the men's clothing industry in New York and the Government Regional Labor Board for the Philadelphia area, and was a pioneer advocate of direct federal aid to the needy. In 1938, he became director of labor relations for several Philadelphia department stores.

In 1928, Jacob Billikopf received an honorary doctorate from the University of Richmond in recognition of a unique career of public service as a pioneer in social legislation, director of charitable organizations, and arbitrator of labor and management.

In 1948, Mr. Billikopf created a special undergraduate prize in history at the University of Richmond in honor of his teacher and mentor, Samuel Chiles Mitchell. Dr. Mitchell had served the University of Richmond for over 50 years as an inspiring teacher of history and counselor of students, contributing largely to the educational reputation of Richmond College, especially in strengthening ties with the community -- local, state and national -- and will always be a part of its history. Dr. Mitchell learned of the gift only a month before his death in 1948, and was touched by this evidence of devotion on the part of his former student and lifelong friend.

In 1977, a number of years after Mr. Billikopf's death, the University of Richmond received a major portion of the estate of his wife, Esther F. Billikopf, with which it established the Mitchell-Billikopf Professorship in History.

In 1991, the University announced the establishment of the George Matthews and Virginia Brinkley Modlin Chair in Leadership Studies. The chair was given in honor of Dr. George M. Modlin and his wife Virginia Brinkley Modlin by three prominent University of Richmond alumni: the late E. Claiborne Robins, Sr., Robert S. Jepson, Jr., and Austin Brockenbrough III. Dr. Modlin was president of the University of Richmond from 1946-1971, during a period of significant growth for the University. He was also chancellor emeritus.

Mr. Robins, retired chairman of the A. H. Robins Company, donated $50 million to the University of Richmond in 1969, then the largest private gift from a living individual in the history of U.S. higher education. He was a 1931 graduate of the University of Richmond, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1960, and served as a University trustee from 1951 until his death in 1995.

Mr. Jepson is chairman and chief executive officer of Jepson Associates Inc., in Savannah, Georgia. He graduated from Richmond's business school in 1964, earned a Master of Commerce degree in 1975, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Commercial Science degree in 1987, and served as chairman of a very successful annual fund campaign for the University of Richmond. Mr. Jepson's gift of $20 million established the Jepson School of Leadership Studies.

Mr. Brockenbrough is a 1962 graduate of Richmond's business school. He is managing director of Lowe, Brockenbrough & Company, Inc., a Richmond investment counseling firm, and has served as a University trustee since 1989. He was rector of the Board of Trustees from 1994-98 and has served on the Robins School of Business Executive Advisory Board since 1998. Mr. Brockenbrough received the Alumni Distinguished Service Award in 1992.

The chair was established to honor the remarkable leadership in, and contributions to, education by Dr. and Mrs. Modlin and to continue that positive impact on students and faculty.

The Richard L. Morrill Chair in Ethics and Democratic Values was established by the Board of Trustees to recognize and honor Dr. Morrill upon his retirement as President of the University.  The Chair may be awarded to a continuing member of the faculty in the Jepson School of Leadership Studies who is a recognized teacher/scholar in the field of ethics.

Mary Saunders Richardson spent much of her life giving to others, and after her death in 1991 she is giving even more as she honors her parents with a fully endowed chair in the mathematics and computer science department of the University of Richmond.

Miss Richardson was an only child. After her parents, Roger Francis and Mary Saunders Richardson, passed away in the 1960s, she came to work at the University. Then-President George M. Modlin gave her a job in the Virginia Baptist Historical Society, and she gave back to the University every paycheck she earned. She frequently entertained for the University at the Westminster-Canterbury House, hosting pre-vespers and post-vespers services with then University Chaplain Dr. David Burhans; she also put on special luncheons for friends, and sponsored a concert and reception with the Schola Cantorum and Shanghai Quartet.

Through her estate, her memory and that of her parents lives on through the Roger Francis and Mary Saunders Richardson Chair in Mathematics.

The Rigsby Fellow in Economics was established in 2002 by University alumnus Robert E. Rigsby to attract a distinguished scholar with a commitment to and demonstrated ability for teaching and scholarship in economics.

Mr. Rigsby graduated from the University of Richmond in 1971 with a B.A. in economics, and has served as a University trustee since 1997. He retired in 2002 as President and Chief Operating Officer of Dominion's delivery business unit, which includes Dominion Virginia, Dominion North Carolina, and other units. He had been with Dominion's Virginia Power subsidiary since 1971. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the Virginia Society of CPAs.

Dr. W. David Robbins, as dean and professor, provided outstanding leadership and vitality in the E. Claiborne Robins School of Business for many years. He was educated at North Texas State, Northwestern and Ohio State universities, followed by a number of years in the business community before returning to North Texas State and then Rollins College and the University of South Carolina as an educator. He joined the faculty of the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration in 1956. He came to the University of Richmond as dean of the business school in 1959, at the age of 37, and retired as dean to return to teaching in 1977.

In 1986, Robert S. Jepson, Jr., a proud and generous 1964 alumnus of the Robins School of Business, and his wife, Alice, presented a gift to establish a chair to honor the man he called "my favorite professor." While a student, Mr. Jepson was president of Omicron Delta Kappa and the School of Business Administration Student Government Association. The business school faculty unanimously voted him the Norman Medal as the most outstanding graduate of 1964.

The E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professorship in Business honors the memory of the University's leading benefactor who died in 1995. In his will, Mr. Robins directed that some of the proceeds of his bequest be used to create one or more new professorships. Given Mr. Robins' extraordinary leadership and talents in business, and the recognition he received through the naming of the Business School in his honor after his 1969 $50 million gift, it is appropriate that the University's E. Claiborne Robins School of Business house this endowed professorship.

E. Claiborne Robins was born in Richmond, Virginia, to Claiborne (Richmond College Class of 1894) and Martha Taylor Robins. He earned his B.A. degree at the University of Richmond in 1931, and his B.S. degree from the School of Pharmacy at the Medical College of Virginia in 1933. He then joined his mother and two other employees in the family business, which was begun in 1866 by his grandfather, A. H. Robins, as a small apothecary and manufacturing chemist's shop.

By 1970, E. Claiborne Robins was chairman of the board of the A. H. Robins Co., a multinational corporation engaged primarily in the manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and consumer products. He retired in 1990, following the sale of the A. H. Robins Co. to American Home Products Co. Mr. Robins received the honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Richmond in 1960 and the University's first Paragon Medal, its highest award, in 1986.

The E. Claiborne Robins Professorship in Business is awarded to an individual of exceptional talent and distinction, whose scholarship and teaching make that person a model of accomplishment for other members of the University, the Robins School faculty, and for the profession nationally.

Individuals holding the Robins Distinguished Professorship will be nominated by the Dean of the Business School to the Provost and be approved by the President. There are no limits as to the academic specialty of the chair holder nor regarding the number of terms an individual may hold the chair. It is one of four Robins distinguished professorships at the University of Richmond.

E. Claiborne Robins was born in Richmond, Virginia, to Claiborne (Richmond College Class of 1894) and Martha Taylor Robins. He earned his B.A. degree at the University of Richmond in 1931 and his B.S. degree from the School of Pharmacy at the Medical College of Virginia in 1933. He then joined his mother and two other employees in the family business, which was begun in 1866 by his grandfather, A. H. Robins, as a small apothecary and manufacturing chemist's shop.

By 1970, E. Claiborne Robins was chairman of the board of the A. H. Robins Co., a multinational corporation engaged primarily in the manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and consumer products. He retired in 1990, following the sale of the A. H. Robins Co. to American Home Products Co. Since 1969, E. Claiborne Robins, distinguished alumnus and trustee, along with this family, has been the University's greatest benefactor. Mr. Robins received the honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Richmond in 1960 and the University's first Paragon Medal, its highest award, in 1986. He died in 1995.

In 1985, then-President E. Bruce Heilman and the Board of Trustees announced the creation of the E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished University Chair, the largest endowed chair in University of Richmond history.  The chair was designed to attract to the University nationally and internationally distinguished professors, scholars, lecturers, administrators, business leaders, lawyers, scientists, or those accomplished in the arts, humanities, theology or public service.

Effective with the 2010-11 academic year, President Edward L. Ayers, the Robins family, and the Board of Trustees created from the original chair endowment two individual chairs: the E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Chair in Law, to attract to the University distinguished professors who are eminent teacher-scholars to the School of Law; and the E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Chair in the Liberal Arts.  They join the E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professorship in Business and the E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professorship in Leadership Studies in providing flagship endowed positions to support nationally and internationally distinguished faculty in four of the University's schools.

E. Claiborne Robins was born in Richmond, Virginia, to Claiborne (Richmond College Class of 1894) and Martha Taylor Robins. He earned his B.A. degree at the University of Richmond in 1931, and his B.S. degree from the School of Pharmacy at the Medical College of Virginia in 1933. He then joined his mother and two other employees in the family business, which was begun in 1866 by his grandfather, A. H. Robins, as a small apothecary and manufacturing chemist's shop.

By 1970, E. Claiborne Robins was chairman of the board of the A. H. Robins Co., a multinational corporation engaged primarily in the manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and consumer products. He retired in 1990, following the sale of the A. H. Robins Co. to American Home Products Co. Mr. Robins received the honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Richmond in 1960 and the University's first Paragon Medal, its highest award, in 1986. He died in 1995.

The E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professorship in Leadership Studies was established in 1989 to honor the University's leading benefactor. It is one of four Robins distinguished professorships at the University of Richmond.

E. Claiborne Robins was born in Richmond, Virginia, to Claiborne (Richmond College Class of 1894) and Martha Taylor Robins. He earned his B.A. degree at the University of Richmond in 1931 and his B.S. degree from the School of Pharmacy at the Medical College of Virginia in 1933. He then joined his mother and two other employees in the family business, which was begun in 1866 by his grandfather, A. H. Robins, as a small apothecary and manufacturing chemist's shop.

By 1970, E. Claiborne Robins was chairman of the board of the A. H. Robins Co., a multinational corporation engaged primarily in the manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and consumer products. He retired in 1990, following the sale of the A. H. Robins Co. to American Home Products Co. Since 1969, E. Claiborne Robins, distinguished alumnus and trustee, along with this family, has been the University's greatest benefactor. Mr. Robins received the honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Richmond in 1960 and the University's first Paragon Medal, its highest award, in 1986. He died in 1995.

In 1985, then-President E. Bruce Heilman and the Board of Trustees announced the creation of the E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished University Chair, the largest endowed chair in University of Richmond history. The chair was designed to attract to the University nationally and internationally distinguished professors, scholars, lecturers, administrators, business leaders, lawyers, scientists, or those accomplished in the arts, humanities, theology or public service. 

Effective with the 2010-11 academic year, President Edward L. Ayers, the Robins family, and the Board of Trustees created from the original chair endowment two individual chairs: the E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Chair in the Liberal Arts, to attract to the University distinguished professors who are eminent teacher-scholars to the School of Arts and Sciences; and the E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Chair in Law.  They join the E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professorship in Business and the E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professorship in Leadership Studies in providing flagship endowed positions to support nationally and internationally distinguished faculty in four of the University's schools. 

In 2011, the size of the endowment allowed for the awarding of two E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Chairs in the Liberal Arts -- one in Political Science and one in Latin American & Iberian Studies.

James B. Thomas, Jr. was a steadfast friend, wise counselor and liberal benefactor to Richmond College in its formative years. He led the trustees of Richmond College for nearly half a century and gave of his time and resources to ensure the continuation of the College, especially through the lean times following the Civil War by providing funds which enabled the College to reopen.

In 1881, the year before his death, Mr. Thomas supplied the funds to endow a professorship in the department of philosophy, which the Board of Trustees designated to bear his name.

Created in 2004 and funded by a gift from W. Thomas Matthews, President and Chief Executive Officer, Private Client, for the Smith Barney Planning Group, the Colonel Leo K. and Gaylee Thorsness Endowed Chair in Ethical Leadership honors Colonel Thorsness, United States Air Force (retired), who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam and received the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism. After retiring from the military, Colonel Thorsness worked as a corporate executive and served as a senator from Washington State from 1988 to 1992. He and his wife, Gaylee, now reside in Arizona.

The purpose of this chair is to recruit and employ a stellar faculty member in the Jepson School of Leadership Studies who will teach students about the benefits and characteristics of ethical leadership and perpetuate that understanding with all students whom the chairholder instructs.

F. Carlyle Tiller has been closely associated with the University of Richmond for many years. He received his B.A. from the University in 1948 and after receiving his M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania in 1950, joined Wheat, First Securities Inc., serving as its president and chief executive officer from 1971 until his retirement in 1986.

During his 36-year career with Wheat, Mr. Tiller also served the University of Richmond in several capacities. He lectured on investments at the University's Robins School of Business and, as a member of the Board of Trustees, served as chairman of the Executive Committee and as Rector of the Board. He received the Trustees' Distinguished Services Award and in 1976 was awarded an honorary Doctor of Commercial Science degree.

In 1983, Wheat, First Securities (now Wachovia Securities) made a grant to establish the F. Carlyle Tiller Chair in Business to honor this man who has given so unselfishly of his time and resources to further the educational goals of the University of Richmond.  Additional gifts of friends and alumni helped to create this chair.

MacEldin Trawick was born in Tampa, Florida. He received his B.A. degree from the University of Richmond in 1934, and completed his formal education at Columbia University, where he received his master's and doctoral degrees. He joined the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey in 1946, where he gained national recognition in the field of industrial psychology through his work in organization research and the development of methods for the selection, placement and promotion of company personnel at all levels.

Dr. Trawick, former industrial diplomat of the American Board of Professional Psychologists, and member of the American Psychological Association and the University of Richmond Board of Associates, retired from Standard Oil in 1973. That year he gave a substantial gift to the University of Richmond to establish the MacEldin Trawick Professorship in Psychology. He was the first person to endow a professorship at the University of Richmond named for the donor during the lifetime of the donor.

The professorship was to be held initially by a visiting professor whose background would include a general familiarity with industrial psychology; thereafter, the chair might be occupied by a tenured University of Richmond professor. His hope was that this professorship would tie in the subject of industrial and organizational psychology with the curricula of the business school, the law school, or other departments of the University. In 1975, Dr. Trawick made an additional pledge, expressing the desire that this professorship would be initiated as soon as an appropriate occupant could be found. He died in 1977.

Dr. Trawick's generosity made two professorships possible beginning in 2002.

Dr. James T. Tucker, native of Richmond, Virginia, was a 1923 graduate of the University of Richmond. He completed his education and medical requirements at the Medical College of Virginia and Harvard University. He received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Richmond and served on the Board of Trustees from 1947 until his death in 1982.

Dr. Tucker was for years on the surgical staff and board of trustees of the Crippled Children's Hospital (now Children's Hospital), and served from 1955-1970 as surgeon-in-chief. He was a fellow of the International College of Surgeons and a member of the Richmond Academy of Medicine and the Medical Society of Virginia.

In 1954 Dr. Tucker established, anonymously, the Frederic William Boatwright Fine Arts Lecture Fund to honor the man who, as president of the University of Richmond for 51 years, had a great influence on his life. This fund was created to bring to the campus authorities in art, literature, music, dance and drama.

In 1973, at the 50th anniversary celebration of the Class of 1923, it was announced that Dr. Tucker was the donor, and the name of the fund was changed to the Tucker-Boatwright Lecture Fund. This fund now brings to the University of Richmond each year eminent authorities in the liberal arts.

Two years after Dr. Tucker's death in 1982, the University received from his estate a bequest to establish the Tucker-Boatwright Endowment Fund. The income from this fund was used by the University to establish the Tucker-Boatwright Professorships of Humanities. Each of the two professorships—one in Art and another in Philosophy—pays the salary of "a person of outstanding ability and magnitude" who, as a full-time professor, conducts courses to be determined by the administration of the University.

William Binford Vest was born in 1862 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, but spent most of his boyhood in Richmond where his father practiced medicine. William went to work for the Planters Bank at an early age and in 1890 moved to Newport News, joined the Citizens and Marine Bank, and established himself as a leader in the commercial, civic and religious life of that city.

He was an excellent businessman, generous with his time and money, "modest, kindly and charming," and became one of Newport News' most distinguished citizens. He organized the Newport News Building and Loan Association and was prominently identified with the American Bankers Association. Mr. Vest was appointed president of the Marine Bank in 1917, and that same year joined the Board of Trustees of the University of Richmond, retaining both positions until his death in 1924.

Around 1930, Mr. Vest's wife, Elizabeth Morrow (Bettie) Vest, bequeathed to the University of Richmond to establish the William Binford Vest Chair of History in memory of her husband.

Established in 2003 by a gift from University alumna Carole M. Weinstein, the Carole M. Weinstein Chair of International Education enables the appointment of a faculty member or administrator who will be pivotal to the advancement of international education at the University.

Mrs. Weinstein holds a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in English from Richmond and has served on the University's Board of Trustees. In 2004, she received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree. Along with her husband, Marcus, the Weinsteins are members of Omicron Delta Kappa national leadership honor society, the highest recognition a Richmond student or alumnus/a can receive for service to the campus community.

The Weinstein family has contributed to a number of academic programs, endowed faculty chairs, lectureships and construction projects at the university. Those projects include the lead gift to the Carole Weinstein Center, dedicated in October 2010; the Weinstein Center for Recreation and Wellness, which opened in January 2007; the creation of the Marcus M. & Carole M. Weinstein and Gilbert M. & Fannie S. Rosenthal Jewish and Christian Studies Chair; funding the construction of Weinstein Hall, a social sciences building that opened in fall 2003; and establishing the Minnie Roth Weinstein Scholarship Program and the Weinstein Family Endowed Chair in the Social Sciences.

Carole M. and Marcus M. Weinstein generously established the Weinstein Chair in International Studies in the School of Arts & Sciences in 2010.  The holder of this endowed chair shall have a specialty in an international field or in an international subfield of his or her discipline.

Carole Weinstein holds a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in English from Richmond and has served on the University's Board of Trustees. In 2004, she received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree. Marcus Weinstein graduated from Richmond with a degree in psychology and has served on the University's Board of Associates. In 2002, he received an honorary Doctor of Commercial Science degree.

The Weinsteins are members of Omicron Delta Kappa national leadership honor society, the highest recognition a Richmond student or alumnus/a can receive for service to the campus community. The Weinsteins' daughter Allison, a current University Trustee, and their son-in-law, Ivan Jecklin, also are generous supporters of Richmond.

The Weinstein family has contributed to a number of academic programs, endowed faculty chairs, lectureships and construction projects at the university. Those projects include the lead gift to the Carole Weinstein International Center, completed in Fall 2010; the lead gift to the Weinstein Center for Recreation and Wellness, which opened in January 2007; the creation of the Marcus M. & Carole M. Weinstein and Gilbert M. & Fannie S. Rosenthal Jewish and Christian Studies Chair; funding the construction of Weinstein Hall, a social sciences building that opened in fall 2003; and establishing the Minnie Roth Weinstein Scholarship Program, the Lind Lawrence Scholarship, and the Carole M. Weinstein Chair of International Education.

In the fall of 1986, the University of Richmond received a substantial challenge gift from two prominent Richmond families, Marcus and Carole Weinstein and Gilbert and Fannie Rosenthal, to establish a chair for Jewish/Christian studies.

Mr. Weinstein, president of the Weinstein Management Co., graduated in the University's class of 1949; Mr. Rosenthal, retired chairman of Standard Drug Co., graduated in the class of 1947. Mr. Rosenthal has served on the Board of Trustees since 1980; he has been an emeritus member since 1999. Mrs. Weinstein is an alumna of Westhampton College and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and a former member of the Board of Trustees. Mrs. Rosenthal's father was also an alumnus of the University of Richmond.

Both families, inspired by the teachings of Drs. Solon B. Cousins and Frank E. Eakin, Jr. of the department of religion, feel that this chair should focus attention on the study of the Judaic/Christian heritage, not only in the area of religion but also in the fields of art and political science. The chair will bring to the campus leadership and informational programs that will provide the University and the Richmond Community with a better understanding of Jewish and Christian beliefs.

The Weinstein family has contributed to a number of academic programs, endowed faculty chairs, lectureships and construction projects at the university.  Those projects include lead gift to the Carole Weinstein Center, dedicated in October 2010; the lead gift to the Weinstein Center for Recreation and Wellness, which opened in January 2007; funding the construction of Weinstein Hall, a social sciences building that opened in fall 2003; and establishing the Minnie Roth Weinstein Scholarship Program, the Weinstein Family Endowed Chair in the Social Sciences, and the Carole M. Weinstein Chair of International Education.

The Patricia A. and George W. Wellde, Jr. Distinguished Chair in Finance was established in 2001 by University alumnus George W. Wellde, Jr. and his wife, Patricia A. Wellde, to attract internationally recognized faculty in the field of finance to the Robins School of Business.

Mr. Wellde graduated from the University of Richmond in 1974 with a B.S.B.A. in finance, and earned an M.B.A. from George Washington University in 1976. He has served as a University of Richmond trustee since July 2000 and as Rector since 2006. He has been recognized for his service and dedication to his field, the community and the University by being initiated into Omicron Delta Kappa in 2008 and awarded the Alumni Distinguished Service Award in 2001.

In early 2008, Mr. Wellde retired as partner and vice chairman of the Securities Division at Goldman, Sachs & Company. He joined Goldman's Fixed Income Department in 1979, was named partner in 1992, and became branch manager of the Tokyo office from 1994-1999. After his return to New York, he managed several trading business units and subsequently became head of North American sales. Prior to Goldman Sachs, George worked in Washington, D.C. for the Federal Reserve Board. He is a member of George Washington University's Investment Committee and the Council on Foreign Relations. He also serves on the board of the GAVI Alliance.

The Welldes have shown their steadfast support of the University of Richmond through their generosity in establishing the Wellde Scholarship for International Students and supporting the Science Initiative and athletics.

David Meade White Jr. was involved with the University of Richmond community for many years. He earned an LL.B. degree from the University of Richmond School of Law in 1939, and later taught business law, from 1946-1990, as an adjunct professor in the Robins School of Business. His father, David Sr., is a 1900 alumnus of the law school, and his son, David III, is a 1985 alumnus of the business school.

Throughout his law career as managing partner of White, Blackburn and Conte, P.C., judge of the Chesterfield-Colonial Heights judicial circuit, and instructor at John Tyler Community College as well as the University of Richmond, he was recognized as a leader for his significant contributions to the community. He died in 1997.

The David Meade White Distinguished Teaching Fellow was established in 1993 with gifts from colleagues, friends and family including David Meade White and his wife, Nancy Grandis White. It is intended to reward distinguished educators in the Robins School of Business who have dedicated their careers to the highest quality teaching.

Mr. Russell C. Williams, 1984 graduate of the University of Richmond School of Law, made a contribution in 2000 to establish the Williams Chair in Law.  The chair is to be occupied by an outstanding teacher/scholar who teaches basic courses such as torts, contracts, civil procedure, constitutional law, and criminal law.  The chair is intended to be held by a professor who will inspire other faculty, and students, while heightening the level of excitement about the Law School's academic program.

Since 1994 Mr. Williams has worked for the family horse racing and breeding business.  He currently serves as President of Standardbred Horse Sales Co. in Hanover, Pennsylvania, Vice President of both Hanover Shoe Farms and Garden State Horse Sales Co., and Vice Chairman of the Board of the US. Trotting Association.  His great grandparents settled in Hanover and purchased a small shoe factory, Hanover Shoe Factory, which remained in the family until 1997.

Prior to moving to Hanover, Mr. Williams worked in the Office of the Attorney General, Commonwealth of Virginia, and in 1988 established a private law practice in Richmond.  He was an adjunct professor at the University of Richmond School of Law from 1988-91.  Mr. Williams served on the University's Board of Associates from 1995-2000 and as a trustee since 2002.

Roberts Moore, L’61, is a senior litigation partner with Gentry Locke in Roanoke, and a member of the University of Richmond Board of Trustees and the Richmond Law Advisory Board. He has been a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, and is recognized as a leading trial lawyer in the Commonwealth of Virginia by Benchmark Litigation, Best Lawyers in America, and Virginia Super Lawyers. Mr. Moore and his wife, Sandra, endowed the professorship in 2017 to acknowledge faculty members of outstanding caliber in scholarship and teaching.

Dennis I. Belcher, L’76, was a partner at McGuireWoods, where he worked for 41 years in the field of trusts and estates. He was nationally recognized in his field, and his leadership included serving as president of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and as chairman of the American Bar Association’s Section of Real Property, Trust, and Estate Law. Dennis was committed to his local community in Richmond, and served on the Board of Governors for St. Christopher’s School and the Board of Directors of the Commonwealth Club, in addition to playing an instrumental role in the founding of Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, where he was general counsel.

Shortly after Dennis passed away in April 2017, Richard Cullen, L’77, then C.E.O. of McGuireWoods, launched an effort to establish a permanent memorial that would honor Dennis’s legacy at the University of Richmond School of Law, and the firm, along with many of Dennis’s clients and friends, gave generously to establish a professorship that would honor a professor who is as exceptional a law professor as Dennis was a lawyer.