Since 2011, the Jepson School has invited international scholars from various disciplinary backgrounds to serve as the Zuzana Simoniova Cmelikova Visiting International Scholar in Leadership and Ethics. The Cmelikova Scholar program was made possible by a generous gift from Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Ukrop and named in honor of Robert Ukrop’s cousin, who spent five weeks at the Jepson School in 2007 as a resident scholar researching applied ethics.
These scholars are fully involved in the academic life of the school, the University of Richmond, and the wider Richmond community. They collaborate with Jepson School faculty members to present students with international perspectives on topics related to leadership and ethics.
Recent Visiting Scholars
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2023-25
Dr. Ekrem Mus is a native of Turkey and holds a doctorate in public policy and administration. He researches democratic backsliding and security governance in developing countries. A distinguished scholar and practitioner, he served as a police chief in the Turkish National Police.
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2021-23
Dr. Frank Abumere is a political philosopher who researches the global ethics of immigration. The Nigerian native focuses specifically on African immigration.
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2019-21
Dr. Rana Dajani is a Palestinian-Jordanian molecular biologist and tenured professor of biology and biotechnology at Hashemite University in Jordan. She is the recipient of numerous international awards as the founder of the global children's literacy nonprofit We Love Reading.
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2017–19
Dr. Riddhi Bhandari is an anthropologist and assistant professor at the Jindal School of Liberal Arts and Humanities at the O.P. Jindal Global University at Sonipat in Haryana, India. She researches leadership in postcolonial societies, market life, heritage tourism, and state-market dynamics.
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