Bright Frimpong, assistant professor of business administration at Washington and Lee University, was awarded the 2026 Mednick Memorial Fellowship from the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges (VFIC).
The fellowship, which is designed to encourage the professional development of college and university teachers and improve their academic competence through research and advanced study, carries a minimum stipend of $2,250 to assist in research and scholarship.
“I am deeply honored to receive the Mednick Fellowship,” said Frimpong. “I am grateful to Dean Rob Straughan for the nomination and to Leslie Dixon, assistant director of grants and sponsored research, for her guidance throughout the application process. The fellowship will support data collection for this project and enable me to present my findings at the Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS) in August.”
Frimpong’s research encompasses the use of AI washing, the practice of exaggerating or misrepresenting a company’s artificial intelligence capabilities to attract investors and customers. The technique is gaining attention in crowdfunding markets, and Frimpong seeks to explore how that trend affects the success of crowdfunding campaigns and the trust that everyday backers place in them.
“Crowdfunding platforms have long rewarded entrepreneurs who communicate technological innovation, as these platforms attract early adopters,” said Frimpong. “Looking at the data from Indiegogo and Kickstarter, campaigns invoking AI capabilities are funded less, which contrasts with what we know from the crowdfunding literature. This fellowship will allow me to investigate how prevalent AI washing is becoming, what is driving it and, crucially, its continuous impact on project funding and backer trust.”
Frimpong is in his third year as a member of the faculty at W&L.
