The leader in leadership
Richmond’s cutting-edge approach to empowering tomorrow’s leaders
Dr. Terry Price recalls being struck by two things when he came to interview for a faculty position at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies. The first was the beautiful and inspiring University of Richmond campus. The second was the leadership school’s interest in a philosophy scholar like him. Philosophers don’t generally talk about leadership he says, so the interview came as a surprise.
“I was kind of waiting to find someone that I could ask, ‘Why are you interviewing me?’ because I don't study leadership,” says Price.
Price, now a tenured Jepson professor who teaches the senior capstone in Leadership Ethics and other courses, is one of many faculty members working in the leadership school who is not a leadership professor by training. That’s because the school deliberately recruits and hires faculty who are experts in other disciplines.
“The idea is they come here interested in this phenomenon of leadership,” says Dr. Sandra Peart, dean of the school. “But they apply their methodological tools and their disciplinary focus to the problem of leadership.”
Peart is a leader in every sense of the word. The economist, scholar, author, and 2024 Fulbright specialist began leading the Jepson School in 2007, the first woman to take the helm. She is the fourth dean in the school’s 32-year history, and its longest-running. Peart says she loves the creative energy at the school and enjoys being part of its evolution.
“We’re an eclectic and multidisciplinary community, united by a common interest in exploring leadership as it manifested historically, as it functions within organizations and society today, and as it should be ideally,” Peart says.
Defining the Discipline
Jepson is more than a school that shapes leaders – it’s also a hub of scholarly work and research with a driving mission to advance the discipline of leadership studies. The school hosts the Jepson Leadership Forum, which invites national and international scholars and experts to campus to initiate discussions on pressing leadership topics. For 2024-2025, the theme is “E Pluribus Unum? The Divisions Testing American Democracy.”
Named in honor of a former Jepson faculty member, the school’s Gary L. McDowell Institute serves as a cross-campus center that welcomes all members of the University community to engage in free and respectful inquiry and thoughtful deliberation across political and ideological boundaries.
The Jepson School of Leadership Studies also partners with the International Leadership Association to offer the Frederic M. Jablin Doctoral Dissertation Award. The award is presented to a scholar whose research on any topic demonstrates substantial insights and implications for the study of leadership.
In a fashion befitting Richmond, a highly ranked liberal arts college, Peart works to ensure students receive a holistic education through Jepson that is innovative and purposeful.
The school provides students with a global perspective and immerses them in the many contexts of leadership by both sending them to the other side of the world for a hands-on education and bringing the world to them through international contexts and visiting scholars. The Jepson approach encourages students to lead lives of consequence. It’s why Jepson remains at the forefront of the discipline.
“The study of leadership around the world has become a real strength of the school,” says Peart. “Much of our current faculty’s scholarship relies on fieldwork in Bolivia, Namibia, Russia, France, and South Korea, with focuses on topics such as authoritarian regimes and the impact of social media and AI on political leadership.”
We’re an eclectic and multidisciplinary community, united by a common interest in exploring leadership as it manifested historically, as it functions within organizations and society today, and as it should be ideally.
Richmond students apply to the Jepson School of Leadership Studies in the fall semester of their sophomore year. Courses include Leadership and the Humanities, Leadership and the Social Sciences, Justice and Civil Society, Quantitative Social Science, and Ethical Decision Making in Health Care, among others.
The coursework exposes students to a variety of disciplines, and it looks at the complexities between good and bad, introversion and extroversion, persuasiveness and ineffectiveness, and when it’s simply the right time to follow.
“Whether they are public servants, policy advocates, or business leaders, our graduates understand that leadership is a process that begins with an exploration of purpose and ethics, listening, and discussion,” Peart says.
In addition to the curriculum, Jepson students are offered mentorship through flagship programs like the Jepson Edge Institute. Alumni plan the all-day professional development program and come to campus to update students on how they are using their leadership degrees. They also conduct mock interviews with students, help students refine their resumes and elevator pitches, and establish relationships for future career and mentoring opportunities.
Students also take part in the Ethics Bowl, an intercollegiate competition that blends public speaking and critical thinking. The latter is also the subject of a required course that teaches students to argue persuasively. “Even many of the smartest people don’t know how to argue,” says Dr. Peart, in pointing out the value of the course.
One of the biggest differentiators for Jepson is the Jepson Scholars Program. Through it, seniors can apply for scholarships to pursue one-year master’s degrees at the University of Oxford. Thanks to the support of the Jepson Scholars Foundation, founded by school benefactor Robert S. Jepson Jr., the scholarship covers tuition, food, housing, and fees, and complements the already strong Jepson degree with another prestigious degree.
Since the program’s inception, 14 Jepson School alumni have obtained a master’s degree from Oxford in subjects such as public policy, Latin American studies, and ecclesiastical history. Five Jepson students are currently enrolled at Oxford through the Jepson Scholars Program.
“Jepson has definitely taught me a different way to think about people and the relationships between them,” says Christian Herald, ’25, a Washington D.C. native who chose Richmond specifically for the Jepson School of Leadership Studies. “If you're interested in people and the way they tick, and you're interested in learning about it from more than one discipline, Jepson is for you.”