14. NASA’S GREATEST ASTRONAUT PORTRAIT EVER IS A SPIDER
Two-time International Space Station resident Leland Melvin, R’86, sneaked his rescue dogs Jake and Scout in while sitting for his official NASA photo in 2009.
When a reporter found and published one of the images in 2015, it unlocked stratospheric levels of joy and delight.
15. Campus ghost lore
Does the late May Keller really wander the halls of the Westhampton Deanery, where she lived for decades? Have you heard footsteps in the catwalks of Booker Hall? And what about the child seen wandering the halls of the Bottomley House? All a bit of harmless fun. Probably.
@urichmond Biology major Bella Foust, ‘25, is one of over 100 science students spending their summer on campus doing research projects. She’s been working in a Gottwald lab under the leadership with Dr. Joao Tonini and Dr. Rafael de Sa, studying the genetics of frogs — the Rhinella species from Colombia, specifically. 🐸 Hear from Bella on why this research is so crucial, especially now! 🌎 #URichmond #SpiderPride #universityofrichmond #studentresearch
♬ original sound - University of Richmond
16. Summer break? More like summer plans
The Richmond Guarantee (see No. 29) provides funding for every undergraduate to have a great summer research or internship experience. UR Summer Fellowships connect them with the opportunities they pursue. Seven programs fall under the URSF umbrella. Each summer they collectively give about 500 students the opportunity to spend time focused on something that fits their passion, furthers their education, and positions them for the future.
17. Nailing that (mock) interview
In 2008, the Robins School of Business piloted an innovative idea. Students get great academic preparation, but what if we also offered a professional development boot camp for, say, two days?
Thus was born Q-camp, a popular program that now regularly fills up within hours of registration opening. During it, students do mock interviews, learn networking skills, and practice presenting themselves in a professional setting. About 25% of the volunteers who help each year are alumni. Other undergraduate schools took note and launched their own school-specific versions, A&S Next and Jepson Edge. They all reflect Richmond’s commitment to preparing students for their futures in every way possible.
18. Partners in the community
In December, science majors in the Gottwald Science Center got some new lab partners — middle school students participating in Higher Achievement. Together, they ran an experiment with zebra fish as part of a larger project related to treating epilepsy in people.
Community partnerships, often coordinated by the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement, are an integral part of the Richmond curriculum. Sometimes, Spiders go to businesses and organizations for collaborative projects, internships, and service learning. Sometimes, they host community partners on campus and reach deep into what they’ve learned to explain, say, zebra fish embryos to preteens.
This philosophy — learning through community connections — is campuswide. SPCS students, for example, completed more than 3,200 practicum hours in schools throughout the Richmond region last year.
19. Lavender graduation
In 2013, The Collegian reported that about 60 people attended UR’s first Lavender Graduation, which celebrates LGBTQ+ graduates. In 2023, the event drew 125. The tradition began at the University of Michigan in 1995, and approximately 200 universities celebrate it today.
Richmond has added its own take by combining the event with the first-of-its-kind Rainbow Prom, which is scheduled to return for its second year in 2024.
20. Bench Top Innovations
Is it surprising that Richmond’s approach to teaching entrepreneurialism is so innovative? Of course not.
One of the newest examples starts with a great course name: Creating and Commercializing Culinary Magic. Most people on campus call it Bench Top Innovations, and its tagline is “from ideation to revenue in less than nine months.”
Here’s how it works. For a semester, teams of students compete to develop a food-based product. At the end of the semester, they make their pitches to a panel of judges, and a winner is chosen. During the second semester, the whole class becomes one team again with one goal: launching and scaling a business based on the winning product.
One recent success story is Absurd Snacks, a line of snack mixes produced in a supply chain free of the nine most common allergens. At last count, it was available at more than 70 retailers on the East Coast and a handful more west of the Mississippi.
Here’s the kicker: The Bench Top Innovations course is open to seniors of every discipline, not just business majors.
If there’s another class like it anywhere in the country, we haven’t found it.
21. Spiders hit the high notes …
22. … and have the moves
23. #SPIDERPRIDE WORLDWIDE
24. Itsy, bitsy Spiders
25. URAA
Each year at commencement, the current president of the University of Richmond Alumni Association welcomes new graduates into its fold. This year, for the first time, it will be Ed Pruden, R’72 and G’74.
The 28-member URAA board comes from across the country — from New York to California, from Illinois to Louisiana — with members representing every graduation decade from the 1960s to today. They are a key voice and resource for UR’s approximately 62,000 living alumni.
Here’s how Pruden describes what he’s loved and learned in his time volunteering with the URAA:
- What I’ve enjoyed:
- Getting to know board members from ages 25 to 75
- Learning similarities and differences in our experiences as students and as alumni
- Getting to know university leadership and better understanding the scope and challenges of their work
- Listening to Spiders and parents share their appreciations and concerns about the university
- What I’ve learned:
- Students, faculty, and alumni are an increasingly diverse group of folks.
- One cannot predict what Spiders might think about an issue based on their age, gender, or race.
- Spiders universally appreciate the education and experience they had at UR and want it to continue to improve for each new generation.
- Golden threads of common feelings that I’ve observed among Spiders of all ages:
- Integrity and core values are nurtured at UR.
- Spiders are extremely proud of the university’s growing academic reputation, enhanced campus facilities, athletic successes, and increasing national awareness and stature.
- Small enrollment and class sizes enable UR students to feel known, heard, and appreciated by their professors and university staff.
- Relationships between professors and students often develop into friendships that promote mentoring and encouragement into the future.
- UR has always been an incredibly beautiful campus that feels like home over a lifetime.
26. We know the little things aren’t always little
Every fall, Spiders Helping Spiders channels philanthropic support to the Student Emergency Fund, the Career Opportunity Fund, and financial aid.
Spiders respond with collective generosity that makes a huge difference. Take the Career Opportunity Fund. During the 2022–23 academic year, it awarded an average of $235 to nearly 150 students. These funds went to pay for things like clothing for job interviews and travel costs for conferences. This support positions students with limited means to say yes to opportunities. It changes lives.