Spider Insider

Updates

March 12, 2025
Employees who are parents of undergraduate arts and science, business, and leadership studies students may present their diplomas to them at the May commencement ceremony. Employee family members of students in other schools may also be able to present diplomas. To present a diploma, please complete this form by Friday, April 11.

March 10, 2025
Reminder — Flexible Spending Account (FSA) reimbursement deadline for submission: March 31

Submit receipts for medical and dependent care expenses incurred in 2024 by March 31. 

How to submit claims:
  • Submit claims through WEX, the vendor used for FSA management in 2024.
  • Instructions on how to submit claims can be found here.

March 4, 2025
Members of the University of Richmond community are invited to submit nominations for recipients of honorary degrees and potential commencement speakers for next year or in the future. Nominees will be evaluated based on their embodiment of the characteristics outlined below. In your nomination, please include a brief description of how the nominee demonstrates these qualities.

Ideal speaker candidates should embody many or all of the following characteristics:
  • Epitomize University of Richmond values
  • Be an exemplar of commitment to an idea, cause, or community
  • Set an inspirational example to graduating students
  • Be an engaging and dynamic speaker with the ability to deliver an affirming or celebratory message
  • Be accomplished in their work, or a visionary leader or community member
  • Have a national or international reputation.
Please email your nomination by Friday, March 28, to Dana Lascu.

March 3, 2025
Schedule a one-on-one retirement counseling appointment here on campus. UR TIAA representative, Richard Carroll, can help you create a plan for your goals. 

Gottwald Science Center, Study Room E302
8 a.m.–5 p.m.
Wednesday, March 26

Call 1-800-732-8353 or go to tiaa.org/schedule to schedule your one-hour session. 

February 14, 2025

Dear Colleagues, 

We want to inform you of an important development regarding your healthcare coverage. Bon Secours Healthcare and Cigna are currently negotiating the renewal of their contract, which is set to expire on April 1, 2025. Unfortunately, these negotiations may impact your access to Bon Secours facilities and physicians in the future.

At the University of Richmond, we are closely monitoring these negotiations and are actively encouraging both parties to reach an agreement before the expiration date. Negotiations between healthcare providers and insurance companies are common, but they usually do not become public or result in providers leaving an insurance network. We will continue to voice our concerns and encourage an agreement to prevent any disruption for our employees.  

What You Need to Know:

  • Impact on Care: If Bon Secours and Cigna are unable to reach an agreement, Bon Secours may leave the Cigna network, potentially affecting your access to or the cost of their services as they would become an out-of-network provider.
  • Continuity of Care: If you or a dependent are receiving ongoing treatment with Bon Secours, you may qualify for Continuity of Care. This program allows eligible participants to continue using certain Bon Secours providers or facilities at in-network rates for a limited time after a contract ends.
  • Cigna Notifications: Cigna is contractually required to notify affected members 30 days before a contract expires. If a resolution is not reached by April 1, 2025, you will receive official communication directly from Cigna regarding any potential changes to your network options.

Next Steps:

We are actively working with Cigna and Bon Secours and will continue to monitor the situation.

We understand how important healthcare access is to you and your family, and we are committed to ensuring you have the most up-to-date information. As soon as we have more details, we will share them with you.

Thank you for your understanding and patience as we work through this situation. We will keep you updated as we learn more and will share any important developments.

Sincerely,

Geraldine Sullivan                          
Chief Human Resources Officer 

Laura Dietrick
Director, Benefits & Employee Well-being      



Campus Highlights


Kudos

  • February 20, 2025
    Earl Lewis
    Congratulations to Earl Lewis for successfully completing the University of Richmond Data Analytics Class! Earl’s dedication and hard work in advancing his analytical skills demonstrate his commitment to professional growth and excellence. Data analytics is a crucial skill in today’s evolving workplace, and Earl’s achievement showcases his drive to leverage data-driven insights for better decision-making. His accomplishment will undoubtedly benefit our team and enhance our capabilities. Congratulations, Earl!
    —Submitted by Mirinda McCants, User Services
    January 14, 2025
    Spider Exchange, Rethink Waste
    Big shout out to David Donaldson, Jacob Saqueira, and the operations team that pulls the trash from the outdoor bins for going above and beyond. They manage to return sentimental items that students have accidentally binned, funnel useful discarded items back into the campus community (Brita water pitchers, stick vacuums, Halloween decor, and more), and provide a supportive and educational experience for student workers. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
    —Submitted by Marya Kravets, Advancement Systems
  • November 20, 2024
    Rick Glass, Events Team
    Rick, I can’t thank you enough. I’m so glad we decided to have our event at the University of Richmond. Your staff and team, student, etc. were outstanding, and the setting, parking, etc. were the best! Hopefully, we host more events with you in the future! On behalf of the Richmond Pediatric Society, thank you and thank you. 
    —Submitted by Melissa Nelson, Summit Emotional Health
    September 18, 2024
    Michelle Williams
    Shout out to Michelle for helping the clinic find a parent for a sick child. Michelle went above and beyond to help find the employee. Even after telling me that she did not see anyone with that name she never gave up. She called the clinic back and had found the employee. Thank you, Michelle, for your dedication!
    —Submitted by Karen, Henrico County
  • September 11, 2024
    Facilities Team
    BIG shout out to Christopher Gee, Scott McIntosh, Kyle Donovan, Chris Harrison, Julian Cline, Manny Haines, Mazie Ellerbe, and all of our other friends in facilities who keep the systems running at Bostwick 3!
    —Submitted by Marya Kravets, Advancement Systems
    July 23, 2024
    David Brandon, Earl Lewis
    Shout out to the Help Desk, especially Earl and David. Earl created a USB drive that allowed David Brandon to fix my desktop quickly and efficiently. Just before this fix, David installed a printer in our Computer Science lab so fast we didn't notice it was done. It is reassuring to know that helpful resources are readily available to keep our department running smoothly.
    —Submitted by Kathy Rothert, Computer Science
Submit a kudo

Did you know…

#22

"Best Liberal Arts Colleges"
—U.S. News & World Report (2025)

Accomplishments

  • March 12, 2025

    Julian Hayter was promoted to professor of leadership studies. He is a historian whose research focuses on modern U.S. history, American political development, African-American history, and the American civil rights movement.

    March 12, 2025

    Christopher von Rueden was promoted to professor of leadership studies. An anthropologist with expertise in traditional human societies, his research focuses on how humans form status hierarchies, why we evolved to do so, and the demographic and ecological factors that cause our hierarchies to be more or less coercive.

  • March 10, 2025

    Jennifer Bowie was promoted to professor of political science. Bowie specializes in judicial decision-making in federal, state, and comparative court, and is the former editor of the Law and Politics Book Review.

    March 10, 2025

    Mary Finley-Brook was promoted to professor of geography, environment, & sustainability. Finley-Brook specializes in environmental policy, climate justice, public health, energy transition, affordable access to renewable energy technologies, and equity in environmental, climate and energy governance.

    March 10, 2025
    Aleksandra Sznajder Lee was promoted to professor of political science. Her research focuses on the politics of economic reform and industrial restructuring in transition economies and on the resulting types of capitalism that emerge in the postcommunist region.
  • March 10, 2025

    Carrie Wu was promoted to professor of biology. Her research investigates the mechanisms of adaptive differentiation and speciation and examines how environmental variation influences phenotypic and genetic variation among natural plant populations. 

    March 10, 2025

    Andy McGraw was promoted to professor of music. He has published extensively on Southeast Asian music, music and ethics, and rhythmic analysis. He is an active performer and directs a gamelan orchestra for the Richmond community.

    March 10, 2025

    Janelle Peifer was promoted to associate professor of psychology. She is a licensed clinical psychologist, and her research examines intra- and inter-cultural processes of college students’ intercultural competence development.

Submit an accomplishment

View the Latest Photos & Videos

New spider welcome to the web video

Latest from @URICHMOND

In the News

American Scholar
February 28, 2025
Something New in the West

German professor and Humanities Fellow in Literary Translation Kurt Beals is interviewed on this podcast.

Our Publications