| The Columns Weekly - Thursday, Mar. 19, 2026 |
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Murch Exits the Stage
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| Professor Brian Murchison will retire from full-time teaching at the end of the academic year. |
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Meet a Colleague: Dani Wallace |
| Dani Wallace serves as recruitment operations manager for the School of Law. Learn more about Dani in our "Meet a Colleague" feature series. |
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| Get to Know Your Newest Co-Workers |
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New Employee Q&A |
| Get to know the newest members of the Washington and Lee employee workforce through our new employee feature page! This week, we feature five new employees who have joined the W&L community in recent weeks. |
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Vice President for Admissions and Financial Aid Sally Stone Richmond addresses prospective Johnson Scholars at a dinner in Evans Hall.
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A light home schedule for the week ahead.
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| Featured Social Media Site |
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Keep up on all things related to Fancy Dress by following its Instagram account.
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Mudd Center Speaker: Daphne Miller
5:10 p.m. Stackhouse Theater
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Dr. Daphne Miller, family physician and clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco, will deliver a lecture titled “Ethical Considerations in Farmacology: The Tangled Web That Connects Soil and Human Health.” The event is free and open to the public.
More Info
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Institute for Honor Symposium Keynote: Jay Coen Gilbert
5:10 p.m. Northen Auditorium
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Enjoy a fireside chat with Jay Coen Gilbert, co-founder of B-Lab, a nonprofit organization behind the global B Corporation movement. Gilbert's keynote chat is free and open to the public.
More Info
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Winter Choral Concert
8-10 p.m. Lenfest Center/Wilson Concert Hall
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W&L presents the Winter Choral Concert featuring W&L’s Glee Club and Cantatrici. The performance is free and open to the public and tickets are not required.
More Info
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Senior Piano Recital: Juyoung Kim, Camille Ramos and Nicholas Rizzo
3-5 p.m. Lenfest Center/Wilson Concert Hall
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Senior piano students Camille Ramos, Nicholas Rizzo, and Juyoung Kim join forces to present a broad-ranging program of solo and collaborative repertoire. The recital will feature works by Brahms, Chopin, Chaminade, Ginastera and Tchaikovsky. The recital is free and open to the public and tickets are not required.
More Info
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DeLaney Dialogue and Reading Club Breakfast
8 a.m. Gin Hotel 12 p.m. Watson Pavilion
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The DeLaney Center at Washington and Lee University will present two events Monday, March 23 featuring Caitlyn Thompkins, DeLaney Center postbaccalaureate fellow. The first event is a Reading Club Breakfast held from 8 to 9 a.m. in the first-floor banquet room at the Gin Hotel in downtown Lexington. The second event is a DeLaney Dialogue discussion held in the Watson Pavilion from noon to 1 p.m. Both events include a free meal and are open to the public.
More Info
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Herman Ward Taylor, Jr. Speaker Series: Mary Beard
5:30-6:30 p.m. Stackhouse Theater
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The 2026 Herman Ward Taylor, Jr. Speaker Series presents Mary Beard. Beard is a professor of Ancient Literature at the Royal Academy and Fellow of Newnham College, Cambridge University. Free and open to the public, but tickets are required.
RSVP
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College Faculty Meeting
4:10 p.m. Northen Auditorium
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The final College faculty meeting of the year will be held in Northen Auditorium on March 23. |
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Beyond the Page: Jeff Kosky
5-6:30 p.m. Tucker Hall (Lemon Room)
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Jeff Kosky, professor of religion, will discuss his book, “From the Heart: A Memoir and a Meditation — On a Vital Organ,” as part of the final installment of the Beyond the Page: Milestone Works by Faculty series. Kosky’s lecture will be followed by a reception and book exhibit organized by the W&L University Store, and copies of his book will be available for purchase.
More Info
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Artisans of Rockbridge County: Matthew Kahle by Jeffrey S. Evans
5-6:30 p.m. Mason Taylor New Room
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Jeffrey Evans, president of the Virginia-based auction house Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates, Inc., will deliver a lecture titled “Artisans of Rockbridge County: Matthew Kahle.” Matthew Kahle is best known for creating W&L’s “Old George [Washington]” statue, carved for then-Washington College between 1842-1844. The event is free and open to the public, but attendees are encouraged to RSVP in advance, as space may be limited. Light refreshments will be served before the program.
More Info
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Film Premiere: “KAMAL'S.”
6:30 p.m. Stackhouse Theater
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W&L presents the premier of “KAMAL’S,” a documentary by Nich Perez, the DeLaney filmmaker-in-residence with W&L’s Department of Journalism and Mass Communications. The film screening is free and open to the public, and no tickets are required. Doors will open at 6 p.m. for refreshments, and a Q&A will follow the screening.
More Info
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National Symposium of Theater in Academe
March 26-27 Hillel/Chavis Board Room/Stackhouse/CGL atrium
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Washington and Lee University will welcome international and American theater artists to campus for its 18th National Symposium of Theater in Academe on March 26-27. The title of this year’s symposium is “Emotion, Pathos and the Human Condition in Theater and Film,” and all the events are free and open to the public.
More Info
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Phi Beta Kappa Initiation and Convocation
4-5 p.m. Harte Center
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The Phi Beta Kappa chapter at Washington and Lee University will welcome members of the junior and senior classes into the prestigious honor society at the Phi Beta Kappa/Society of the Cincinnati Convocation. Dan Kramer, director of the International Studies Office at the University of Virginia, will deliver the convocation address, titled “The Future of Diplomacy.”
More Info
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Robert W. Root ’42 Endowment Lecture: Eric Schwitzgebel
5-6:15 p.m. Northen Auditorium
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Eric Schwitzgebel, distinguished professor of philosophy at the University of California, Riverside, will deliver the Robert W. Root ’42 Endowment Lecture. The lecture, “Will AI Soon Be Conscious, and What Should We Do If We Don’t Know,” will explore whether AI systems can possess the ability to be as meaningfully conscious as humans, including highlighting conflicting leading scientific theories. The talk is free and open to the W&L community.
More Info
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University Orchestra Concert
8-10 p.m. Lenfest Center/Wilson Concert Hall
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Join the University Orchestra for its Winter Term concert, “reNEWal.” The performance will celebrate spring and rebirth featuring music from Ludwig van Beethoven, Frederick Delius and Wolfgang Mozart, as well as Igor Stravinsky’s “Berceuse an Final” from Firebird Suite. The performance is free and open to the public, and no tickets are required.
More Info
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ODK Initiation Ceremony
4 p.m. Grace Episcopal Church
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W&L's Alpha Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK), the national leadership honor society, will welcome three honorary and 32 student initiates during its spring induction ceremony. The ceremony is open to the public and a recording of the event will be available. Cliff Holekamp ’96, co-founder and managing director of Cultivation Capital, will deliver the keynote address at the ceremony, titled “Leading Beyond Achievement,” and be inducted as an honorary ODK member.
More Info
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Senior Recital: Isabel Duarte (Soprano)
8-10 p.m. Lenfest Center/Wilson Concert Hall
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Isabel Duarte ’26, a soprano and music and biology double major from Washington, D.C., will perform her senior vocal recital. The performance is free and open to the public.
More Info
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Senior Recital: Ava GianGrasso (Violin)
1-3 p.m. Lenfest Center/Wilson Concert Hall
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Ava GianGrasso ’26, a violinist from Clarence, New York, will perform her senior violin recital. The recital is free and open to the public.
More Info
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Endowed Professorship Lecture: Seth Cantey
5-7 p.m. Northen Auditorium
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Seth Cantey, associate professor of politics and head of the Middle East and South Asia Studies (MESA) program, will present a public lecture to mark his appointment to the Lewis G. John Term Professorship in Politics. Cantey’s talk, “Freedom Money: Bitcoin’s Promise and How it Could Fail,” is free and open to the public, and will be immediately followed by a reception in the lobby outside the auditorium.
More Info
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