David Marsh and Adrienne Jones to Serve as Scholars in Residence for the Office of Community-Based Learning Marsh will work with Nature Camp in Vesuvius, Virginia, and Jones will collaborate with the Legal Aid Justice Center for the 25th Judicial District.

By Brian Laubscher
October 23, 2025

The Office of Community-Based Learning (CBL) at Washington and Lee University has announced that David Marsh, professor of biology, and Adrienne Jones, DeLaney Center Postdoctoral Fellow in Southern Race Relations, will serve as its scholars in residence for the 2025-26 academic year.

The CBL Scholar-in-Residence program is a one-year opportunity that supports a tenure-stream or fixed term faculty member at W&L who is interested in or is currently conducting research that would enhance knowledge, understanding and/or create an impact within Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. The scholar in residence meets with and receives support from the Office of Community-Based Learning throughout the academic year, to include brainstorming and building relationships with potential community partners.

“The Community-Based Learning office is doubly blessed to have two wonderful scholars in residence this year,” said Sascha Goluboff, CBL director. “David brings his extensive knowledge about salamanders to a new local audience and Adrienne will work with a local justice center to figure out how much debt that local residents, who have had contact with the criminal legal system, owe and ways to help mitigate their issues.”

As a scholar in residence, Marsh will collaborate with Nature Camp, a summer camp for middle and high school students based in Vesuvius, Virginia, to set up a long-term monitoring program for a rare salamander species found in the surrounding area. During Spring Term, Marsh and his students will set up a monitoring grid at the site, and in the summer, he will teach campers how to carry out the monitoring and record and archive the necessary data. The intent is for the project to be self-sustaining.

“I’ve been working informally with Nature Camp for a few years, bringing my herpetology classes to work with them and visiting to give evening talks about salamanders,” said Marsh. “I’m excited to turn this into a more formal collaboration and start a project that will engage Nature Camp kids in real scientific research and provide opportunities for W&L students in environmental education.”

Jones, who will join the Sociology and Anthropology Department next fall as assistant professor of sociology, will partner with the Legal Aid Justice Center (LAJC) to collect data about legal fines and fees in Virginia’s 25th judicial district, which includes both the City of Lexington and Rockbridge County. Jones and her research students will work to determine how much local debt exists, how old the debts are, who owes the debt and which local and state government agencies receive the payments. She aims to synthesize the findings for a written brief and visual presentation to share with the LAJC. She hopes these findings will contribute to ongoing conversations about fine and fee reforms both locally and nationwide.

“I’m excited to expand my research on legal fines and fees to Virginia,” said Jones. “As a scholar in residence, I will have support to develop collaborative relationships with community partners equally invested in moving the conversation about legal fines and fees forward. We know legal fines and fees can have serious, negative consequences for individuals with limited ability to pay. I hope this research is a first step toward developing solutions to alleviate this financial burden.”

Marsh has been a member of the W&L faculty since 2000 and has been studying the effects of climate change on amphibians for decades. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in biology from the University of Virginia and a Ph.D. in population biology from the University of California, Davis.

Jones is in her second year as a postdoctoral fellow with the DeLaney Center. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a master’s degree in public policy from Duke University and a Ph.D. in public policy, also from Duke.

The Office of Community-Based Learning supports, enhances and develops mutually beneficial, reciprocal collaborations that enrich engaged teaching and learning while advancing community interests. CBL’s educational approach integrates learning and mentorship with community engagement through reciprocal community partnerships and critical reflection.