University of Richmond Magazine

#Spiderpride

101 things we love about UR

D-Hall desserts. Scholarships. Publishing with your professor. Triceragoose. We asked far and wide to compile a list of things Spiders love. Here are 101 of them, in random, not rank, order.
A photograph of Russell Nance, L'97, standing on a row of bourbon barrels, in a rickhouse full of additional bourbon barrels stacked to the ceiling. He is smiling, and wearing dark rimmed glasses, a blue t-shirt and jeans.
Lives Of Purpose
Will the real Russell Nance please stand up?
Is this alum a Manhattan attorney or a central Virginia bourbon distiller? At first glance, it looks like two Spiders with very different lives both call themselves Russell Nance, L'97. But they look alike, talk alike, and wear the same stylish glasses. What’s going on?
A collage showing the 1974 yearbook group photo of SOBA, with a warm neutral toned rainbow in the background
Notebook
We weren't invisible anymore
Fifty years ago, the first generation of Black undergraduates at Richmond organized UR’s first Black History Week.
student pins message of gratitude at Forum on Gratitude Day
Forum
Sunrise thoughts
President Kevin F. Hallock reflects on his morning walks on campus. During them, he writes, “I am consistently struck by my favorite thing [about UR]: the people.”

Spiders Near and Far

“The notion that a prosecutor or the state could interpret art for the purpose of proving guilt or innocence is the thing that shocked me.”

—Filmmaker Sam Widdoes, ’08, who premiered his newest documentary at the Sundance Film Festival
Sean Bode, ’05
Well-being
Courageously vulnerable
Lt. Col. Sean Bode, ’05, works to enhance the holistic well-being of service members, drawing from his personal experiences to guide others.
Heather Granato, W’92
Nutrition
A natural win
“I am hopeful the next 30 years will be just as much fun as the last 30,” says Heather Granato, W’92, whose journalism career focuses on health and nutrition.

Eye

A photo of four Amazonian representatives walking across the Potterfield bridge with the Richmond city skyline behind them.
A photo taken from overhead depicting two women creating a print for University of Richmond Magazine on a 1930s letterpress in the Boatwright Library book arts studio.
A photo of students storming the court at the Robins Center after Richmond's win over Dayton.
A photo depicting a crowd of students dancing and watching a music performance in front of Richmond Hall.
Lamp at North Court
Sunset over Westhampton Lake in spring with cherry trees in foreground
A photo of student Ally Raphael, who is wearing a racing suit, standing in front of her BMW sports car, on the NASCAR track at Richmond International Raceway on a clear blue sky day.
Students celebrated the start of the fall semester at the Spider Drop dance party in August

Campus News

United Nations building in New York City
Academic Excellence
New journal launches
Domestic and global affairs are the focus of a new student-launched academic journal.
The Fightin' Spiders of Richmond music score
Music
Golden oldie
Where do Spider fight songs come from? Some original sheet music turned up in the music library that sent a UR researcher down a rabbit hole.
A rendering of the plan for the burying ground
Commemoration
Burying ground
Trustees have approved “the creation of a permanent memorial to honor the enslaved persons burying ground on a parcel of land that became our current campus.”
Yagmur Bingul, ’24
Portrait
A calling to care for others
Yagmur Bingül’s volunteering to help earthquake victims in her native Turkey strengthened her commitment to service.

“The campus is gorgeous. I’ve joked before that they shampoo their squirrels.”

—Roben Farzad, journalist-in-residence in the Robins School and host of NPR's Full Disclosure

Sports

Quentin Southall, a young man with curly black hair, sits a table painting a pair of high-top sneakers with an image of Tyler Haynes Commons and Westhampton Lake. His basketball jersey hangs in the background.
Lives Of Purpose
The shoe fits
The shoe fits, and it’s beautiful. The art of Quentin Southall, ’24.
From The Archives
How to fail spectacularly
To lose as badly as the mid-1970s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, be prepared to go cheap or go home. In a 2016 book, Jason Vuic, G'97, chronicled the hilarious misadventures of one of the NFL’s most disastrous teams ever.

More to Explore

Science of sport
Christine Helms, associate professor of physics at the University of Richmond, unpacks the perfect dive using science as demonstrated by diver Sally Harrington, ’26.
UR Now
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Past Issues

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University of Richmond Magazine: Spring 2024

Spring 2024
University of Richmond Magazine: Autumn 2023

Autumn 2023
University of Richmond Magazine: Summer 2023

Summer 2023
University of Richmond Magazine: Spring 2023

Spring 2023