The combined power of cutting-edge research and authentic connection
2026 Plumeri Awards celebrate the achievements of W&M faculty and staff
April 30, 2026
By
Annie Powell M.A. ’18, Ph.D. ’24
On April 17, William & Mary celebrated the recipients of the 2026 Plumeri Awards for Faculty Excellence. Nine faculty members and one former athletics staff member received the awards, which are accompanied by a $20,000 stipend to pursue research and mentorship initiatives.
The Plumeri Awards, established in 2009 by Joseph J. Plumeri II ’66, D.P.S. ’11, honor and encourage the passion, vision and leadership that William & Mary faculty bring to their research and teaching. The awards are Plumeri’s tribute to the high-quality education that he received from W&M professors during his time as a student. As of this year, 266 faculty and staff members have received Plumeri Awards.
“Joe, you have inspired us once again,” said President Katherine Rowe at the award ceremony. “The most awesome thing that can happen for any professional is to have their expertise acknowledged and valued. And that’s what we do here today.”
The recipients’ fields of expertise span the humanities, sciences, business and athletics. They study international health care, U.S. social policy, paleobiology, Roman literature and more.
“These are scholars, leaders and teachers whose work advances the frontiers of knowledge while bringing students directly into the process of inquiry, creativity and discovery,” said Provost Peggy Agouris.
Faculty have powered a remarkable year for William & Mary, in which the university launched the new School of Computing, Data Sciences & Physics, achieved designation as an R1 research institution, was recognized as the No. 2 public school in the nation for undergraduate teaching and was named by Forbes, for the second year in a row, as one of the “New Ivies” for the university’s excellence in career readiness.
These achievements are grounded in the connections that are formed between faculty and students, who are passionate about their fields of study and driven to excel.
All of the Plumeri Award recipients include students in their research, introducing them to the methods of their fields and supporting them as they pursue graduate school and professional employment.
Sage Khurana ’27, a geology and biology double major and student of professor Rowan Lockwood, said: “Rowan’s support to me over the past three or so years has almost been like a scaffold, helping me achieve higher and higher heights, encouraging me to be a better student, a better researcher and a better science communicator than I would have been without her input.”
Chris Howard, Pamela C. Harriman Professor of Government & Public Policy, has guided Liyana Mohammed ’27 both academically and professionally. “Professor Howard taught me how to think analytically with the texts we read and discuss for class,” said Mohammed, a government and psychology double major. “And outside of the classroom, he provided me with so many different resources to help me with my internship and job search.”
Significant faculty investment in students’ intellectual and personal development is a hallmark of William & Mary. It’s what Plumeri remembers from his time as a student here, and why he is committed to honoring W&M faculty with Plumeri Awards. “I never had a professor who turned me away. I never had a professor who didn’t have time for me. They always cared for me, always said ‘Joe, come on in,’” said Plumeri.
That’s a unique level of authentic care, he said.
Inga Carboni, W. Brooks George Associate Professor of Business and recipient of a 2026 Plumeri Award, shared at the award ceremony that she also prioritizes authentic connections and experiences for her students.
“The moments that stick with students aren’t lectures,” Carboni said. “They’re the research project where a student discovers they can generate something new. The internship where they solve a real problem and walk away trusting themselves in a way they didn’t before. The applied experience where they realize they can do hard things. That feeling of capability and confidence is what we’re all trying to build.”
It was at William & Mary that Plumeri learned that it’s best to be yourself, even if that means standing out from the crowd.
As a student from Trenton, New Jersey, Plumeri saw the differences between himself and his fellow students, who were mostly from the South. Yet those differences were embraced rather than rejected.
“I was accepted for who I was — the Italian kid from New Jersey,” Plumeri said. “And that shaped my life.” His career has taken him around the world, running global companies. But no matter where he goes, he added, he’s still “Joey Plumeri from Trenton.”
Plumeri’s roles have included serving as senior advisor to the global investment firm KKR & Co., vice chairman of the Board of Directors of First Data Corp., the world’s largest payments and business solutions company, chairman of the investment bank Insurance Advisory Partners and a variety of leadership positions over more than 30 years at Citigroup, including co-CEO of Shearson Lehman Brothers, CEO of Primerica Financial Services and CEO of CitiBank North America. He is currently the chairman of Sweet Loren’s, a gluten- and dairy-free baked goods company, and Combate Global, a Hispanic mixed martial arts promotion company.
“I’ve never been different in a new place. I was myself all the time. And that’s the authenticity that I was taught here,” Plumeri said.
At the awards ceremony, Plumeri spoke about the common threads that connect people, which were on full display during a national tragedy 25 years ago.
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Plumeri, then-CEO of the insurance company Willis Group, was in Monte Carlo, Monaco, at the annual international Reinsurance Rendez-Vous meeting. The Willis Group was the insurer for the World Trade Center; Plumeri’s office was on the 107th floor. That morning, he delivered a speech about the responsibility of insurance companies to step up during moments of catastrophe. A driver on his way to the airport later told Plumeri about the terror attacks.
Plumeri flew to Copenhagen later that day to visit the Denmark office of the Willis Group. “I got there and saw people in front of the TV crying,” Plumeri said. “And the people in Copenhagen did not know the people in the World Trade Center. They just understood the horror that they saw. And if I ever needed confirmation that all of us are essentially the same, I saw that on that day.”
Those shared, authentic emotions are the connections that bind us together. Plumeri experienced that connection at William & Mary, with professors who genuinely cared for the Italian kid from Trenton. And he sees those authentic relationships continuing in the university today.
“You inspire our upward trajectory, and you fuel it,” Rowe said to Plumeri during the ceremony.
With the support of the Plumeri Awards, William & Mary faculty will continue to reach upward — and pull students upward with them.
Meet the 2026 Plumeri Award Recipients:
Inga M. Carboni, George Brooks Term Associate Professor of Business
Professor Carboni serves as the chair of the Department of Management at the Raymond A. Mason School of Business. Her research examines how workplace relationships shape careers, teams and organizations, with a particular focus on gender and professional networks.
Carrie B. Dolan, Associate Professor of Health Sciences
Professor Dolan is a global health researcher whose work integrates epidemiology and health economics to study access to care and the real-world impact of health policy in low-resource settings. She was named one of the Explorers Club’s “50 People Changing the World.”
Chris Howard, Pamela C. Harriman Professor of Government & Public Policy
Professor Howard, a leading scholar on the history and politics of U.S. social policy, joined the Department of Government in 1993. He is the author of four books, including “Who Cares: The Social Safety Net in America” (Oxford University Press, 2023). His teaching portfolio includes courses such as “The War on Poverty” and “Building the American Welfare State.”
Rowan Lockwood, Professor of Geology
Professor Lockwood is a conservation paleobiologist whose research uses the fossil record to predict how modern oceans may respond to environmental change, including global warming and extinction events. She is the president of the Paleontological Society, the world’s largest professional organization representing paleontologists.
Vassiliki Panoussi, Chancellor Professor of Classical Studies
Professor Panoussi is an internationally recognized scholar of Roman literature and culture. Her research examines Latin poetry of the late Republic and early Empire through interdisciplinary approaches that bring together literary criticism, cultural anthropology, religious studies, feminist theory and the study of ideology.
Bin Ren, Bruce Taggart Term Distinguished Associate Professor of Computer Science
Professor Ren’s research focuses on software systems for modern computing, including compilers, parallel computing, high-performance computing and efficient artificial intelligence infrastructures. He is also the recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER Award.
Jasmine Sparrow, Director of Foundation Operations, University Advancement
Prior to her current role, Sparrow served as the assistant athletics director for student-athlete development for W&M Athletics. She founded and launched “Excel” — the department’s first comprehensive student-athlete development program, which focuses on leadership development, career readiness and community engagement.
Justin R. Stevens, Wilson & Martha Claiborne Stephens Associate Professor of Physics
Professor Stevens’ research focuses on understanding the strong nuclear force, one of the four fundamental forces of nature. He received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the U.S. government's highest honor for early-career researchers demonstrating exceptional leadership in science.
Kevin A. Vose, Professor of Religious Studies
Professor Vose’s teaching and research explore Buddhism, East Asian religions and the intersections of religion and science. He has served as chair of the Department of Religious Studies and director of both the Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Program and the Global Studies Program.
Joseph Zhang, Professor of Marine Science
Professor Zhang is a leading scholar of computational geophysical fluid dynamics. His research focuses on developing advanced numerical models to better understand and predict complex environmental systems and hazards. His research models have been used by the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.