Friday, Jan. 30, the College of William and Mary celebrated the recipients of the Thomas Jefferson Awards, the James Monroe Prize and the Plumeri Awards. This annual event recognizes those who embody the College’s values.
Rich Thompson, a dedicated staff member of Civic and Community Engagement, commented on the broader significance of the event.
“It’s really talking about the leadership that the William and Mary community is all about — how each of us can make a difference with our skills and how we can push ourselves to be more of who and what we are for the betterment of others,” Thompson said.
Jason Zheng ’26 received the James Monroe Prize in Civic Leadership for his community commitment. His work on campus is characterized by a passion for student rights and basic needs.
Zheng serves as a senior senator for Student Assembly and chair of the University Policy and Student Rights committee. He leads the Student Assembly Food for All initiative, which focuses on restocking the Sadler food pantry and ensuring access to nutritious foods.
“My parents own a restaurant, so for me, that’s kind of always been a priority,” Zheng said. “I think what’s really great about Food for All and that food pantry that we have is it’s available to students, faculty, administrators, just people who work at William and Mary.”
After graduation, Zheng plans to continue practicing civic leadership by pursuing a Master of Public Policy or attending law school with a focus on supporting rural communities.
The Thomas Jefferson Prize in Natural Philosophy was awarded to Kate Carline ’26. As the director of the Geopolitics of Technology Initiative and a researcher in professor Margaret Saha’s bacteriophage lab, Carline has made it her mission to bridge the gap between science and policy.
Carline recalled her time in the phage lab when she extracted her first strand of DNA and discovered the passion that would define her time at the College.
“I was looking at it and imagining, wow, that is our DNA, that is the code to life, and it is here, and I can see it,” she said. “I think it really just connects the work you’re doing to almost be bigger than yourself and more meaningful to change the world, and it’s really hard to not feel passionate about that.”
One of her most impactful experiences was serving on the iGEM team, where she helped develop a synthetic biology project addressing an issue at the local or global scale. This work took her to Paris, where the team ranked in the top 10 internationally.
This spring, Carline will graduate as a Churchill Scholar, heading to the University of Cambridge to study public policy with a focus on science policy.
Carline said this award was particularly special because she did not apply for it. Instead, she was nominated by faculty mentors.
“It means that not only have I worked hard enough for me,” she said. “But I’ve worked hard enough that people I look up to can really believe in me in that way and believe in me to put me up for this moment.”
The Thomas Jefferson Award is given each year to a member of the College community for significant service through their personal activities, influence and leadership. This year’s recipient was Biology Department professor Dr. Randolph “Randy” Chambers. He serves as director of the Environmental Science and Policy Program, associate chair of biology and director of the biology graduate program. Chambers has additionally conducted extensive research that has influenced aquatic restoration and climate-related environmental planning.
Chambers shared that friends from both high school and college reached out after the award announcement, saying it captured him perfectly.
“For my high school friends, that was 40 years ago,” Chambers said. “They said, ‘That’s who you were 40 years ago, and that’s who you are now.’”
Professor Jennifer Lorden in the English Department received the Thomas Jefferson Teaching Award. Her students appreciate her engaging lecture style and passion for medieval English.
The Plumeri Awards recognize nine exceptional faculty members annually who have taught at the College for at least five years. Those awarded receive a $20,000 prize to be spent over three years to further their teaching and research impact in the community. The faculty chosen for 2026 were associate business professor Igna Carboni, associate health sciences professor Carrie Dolan, government and public policy professor Chris Howard, geology professor Rowan Lockwood, classical studies professor Vassiliki Panoussi, associate computer science professor Bin Ren, assistant athletics director Jasmine Perkins, associate physics professor Justin Stevens, associate religious studies professor Kevin Vose and marine science professor Joseph Zhang.
