Washington and Lee Names Four Faculty Members to Endowed Professorships These faculty have been recognized for their outstanding teaching, scholarship and service to the university.

By Brian Laubscher
April 4, 2024

Washington and Lee University has announced that four faculty members will be named to endowed professorships within The College and The Williams School effective July 1, 2024.

Lisa Greer – Harry E. and Mary Jayne W. Redenbaugh Term Professorship
A professor of earth and environmental geoscience, Lisa Greer will hold the Harry E. and Mary Jayne W. Redenbaugh Term Professorship. This professorship was established in 2008 by Mary Jayne Redenbaugh in honor and memory of Harry E. Redenbaugh ’39. The permanently endowed fund provides support for a faculty member regardless of department within The College or The Williams School. The award recognizes a professor for a fixed term, normally three years, and is administered by the provost or a designee in consultation with the appropriate academic deans.

Greer currently serves as chair of the Department of Earth and Environmental Geoscience, and she is a core faculty member for the environmental studies program. She first joined the W&L faculty in 2003. Greer holds a Bachelor of Arts in geology from Colorado College and a Ph.D. in marine geology and geophysics from the University of Miami.

Mohamed Kamara – H. Laurent Boetsch Jr. Term Professorship in International Education
Mohamed Kamara is a professor of French, and he will occupy the H. Laurent Boetsch Jr. Term Professorship in International Education. This professorship was established in 2014 through leadership gifts by Bernard C. “Ben” Grigsby II ’72 and his wife, Carol P’12. It is a permanently endowed fund providing support for a faculty member in The College or The Williams School who has scholarly and teaching interests that significantly involve expertise in and exposure to topics in international education. The award recognizes a different professor every three to five years.

Kamara first joined the W&L faculty in 2001, and he has served as the chair of the Romance Languages Department since 2022. He is also a core faculty member for the Africana Studies Program. Kamara holds a Bachelor of Arts in French and English and a diploma in secondary education from Fourah Bay College (University of Sierra Leone). He also earned a Master of Arts in French from Purdue University and a doctorate in French from Tulane University.

Robin LeBlanc – William Lyne Wilson Professorship in Political Economy
A professor of politics, Robin LeBlanc will hold the William Lyne Wilson Professorship in Political Economy. This professorship was created in 1991 by a bequest from William Lyne Wilson II ‘27, in memory of his grandfather, who served as university president at the turn of the century. This bequest was added to a smaller fund honoring the former president, which was created soon after his death to establish the Department of Economics at W&L. Wilson professors are selected from faculty serving in either the economics department or the Department of Politics.

LeBlanc first joined the W&L faculty in 1998 and on three different occasions, she has served as the head of the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program, for which she is still a core faculty member. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English language and literature from Berry College and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Oklahoma.

Julie Woodzicka – William R. Kenan Jr. Professorship
Julie Woodzicka is a professor of cognitive and behavioral science and will be named to the William R. Kenan Jr. Professorship. This professorship was established in 1971 by a grant from the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust of New York. It honors the memory of Kenan, a prominent American industrialist who devoted a lifetime to advancing higher education. The trust directed that the endowment maintain a professorship of eminence and distinction and that it support a scholar-teacher of distinction whose enthusiasm for learning, commitment to teaching and interest in students will make a notable contribution to the undergraduate community. Selection of the professor and department for which they are affiliated is at the discretion of the president of the university.

Woodzicka currently serves as chair for the Department of Cognitive and Behavioral Science, and she is a core faculty member for the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program. She first joined the faculty in 2000 and taught the university’s inaugural women’s and gender studies introductory course. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, a Master of Arts from the University of Dayton and a Ph.D. from Boston College.