Hereford Residential College

The Mead award honors the legacy of Music Emeritus Professor Earnest 'Boots' Mead who taught on the faculty from 1953 to 1997.  Mead  was, and continues to be, dedicated to enhancing the educational experience of university students through student/ faculty interactions . He is fondly appreciated by many students for his many teas, seminars, and dinners at his home on the Lawn.  The award seeks to support  faculty interactions with students through creative endeavors.

Williams was nominated for his work at Hereford College as a Fellow and his role on think-tank committees to foster undergraduate research opportunities. The award comes with a monetary gift which Williams plans use to create a unique classroom experience around the Hereford Minifarm.  Williams helped create the farm several years ago as a  "...vibrant metaphor for the creative education that our University can provide to teach the value of research, preparation, cooperation... and hard work."

Described as a 'Survival Seminar', William's course will organize competitive teams of students drawn from  UVa's 3 residential colleges. Students will cultivate  subsistence crops such as beans, potatoes, cereal grains and corn.  At harvest time, they will compute the survival value of their harvests in terms of per capita consumption; conduct brief experiments (producing ethanol from corn, making bread from wheat)  and audit energy usage; and take local trips to learn about colonial and native farming practices.  Congratulations, Professor Farmer Williams!