At its Friday morning meeting, JMU's Board of Visitors (BoV) appointed Charlie King as interim university president, presented proposed tuition and fee increases, approved new budget and began the presidential search process.
During the Board of Visitors Friday morning meeting, Vice President for Access and Enrollment Management Donna Harper announced her retirement after nearly 50 years with JMU.
The Board of Visitors announced Charlie King will serve as interim university president during the search for Alger’s permanent replacement.
The Student Government Association (SGA) released its election results via Instagram Saturday afternoon. Here are the highlights.
During its regular Tuesday meeting, the Student Government Association (SGA) Senate unanimously passed two accessibility resolutions, approved contingency funds for two a cappella groups and the Front-End Budgeting (FEB) for SafeRides. It also passed an update to its financial procedures.
Virginia Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera (R) visited JMU on Tuesday to speak at “Common Good in the Commonwealth: A Fireside Chat with Virginia Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera" with University President Jonathan Alger. This is part of JMU's newest free speech initiative called "Engaging in Better Conversations Across Differences."
The Student Government Association unanimously approved Front End Budgets for the upcoming year and resolutions to show their commitment to the LGBTQ+ community. They also approved campus sexual assault resources and recognized the importance of Diversity Equity, and Inclusion during their meeting on Tuesday.
Faculty Senate Speaker Katherine Ott Walter announced President Alger to leave in June. Ott Walter has been gathering survey data from faculty members in hopes of filling the interim president role while the school searches for his replacement. At the meeting, testing center availability and yearly evaluations were also discussed.
During its regular Tuesday meeting, the Student Government Association (SGA) Senate approved funding for Front End Budget groups, BluesTones, Madison Saxophone Society and the Vietnamese Student Association, as well as appointed an SGA Historian for the remainder of the 2023-24 school year.
After changes made to the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) this year, many universities — including JMU — are scrambling to put forth financial aid offers for prospective students.
JMU President Jonathan Alger announced in a campus-wide email Monday afternoon he accepted an offer at American University in the same position. JMU’s acting president will take over July 1.
Ohio State professor and JMU alumnus Stephen Quaye (’02) discussed Black student activism on college campuses and the use of a racial justice lens to improve Black students’ experiences during Black History Month keynote event on Thursday, organized by the Center for Multicultural Student Services (CMSS).
Increased applications and admissions, as well as athletic success and JMU’s economic impact, were just some of the topics discussed at Friday’s Board of Visitors (BoV) meeting. The BoV will meet next on April 18 in the Festival Student and Conference Center.
The Board of Visitors’ (BoV) Student Affairs Committee convened Thursday to discuss a strategic plan for the department, JMU’s accessibility resources and new initiatives such as religious spaces to enhance students’ sense of belongingness on campus.
JMU’s X-Labs, a center for engaged interdisciplinary research, partnered with the global education technology company Ellucian to create a pilot internship program that leads students to develop a software.
University communications spokesperson Eric Gorton first announced JMU was accepted into the “Welcome Corps on Campus” program in a press release on Feb. 8. Religion professor Christina Kilby, who has been “very involved” in the program, said JMU is one of the cohort of schools enrolled in it; the full list is yet to be revealed.
Despite the push toward protecting children from sexually explicit content through Rockingham County Public Schools’ (RCPS) temporary removal of 57 books, these schools still use sexually explicit materials in their curriculum. Students voice their concerns with the removal of these books, arguing that these new standards for book removal should have been applied equally to all books.
Classes meant to take place on Jan. 16 that had been canceled because of snow were re-scheduled to this past Saturday. Even though students did not like this decision, Faculty Senate Speaker Katherine Ott Walter said this may become the norm.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth District on Tuesday reopened a lawsuit against JMU regarding an allegedly mishandled Title IX complaint involving former communications studies faculty member Alyssa Reid.
The student loan pause that looked to help borrowers after COVID-19 and was lifted in September has JMU alums now paying back their debt while gaining interest over time, which means they may enter tight financial situations. To help borrowers, the federal government created an alternative payment plan, though a JMU expert cautions students about its longevity.
The Student Government Association (SGA) Senate held a town hall on Nov. 14, which answered questions collected by the student body regarding JMU’s Stop the Haze training, nutrition, construction, attendance, lack of academic advisors and enrollment appointments.
The Board of Visitors (BoV) convened Friday to discuss record enrollment data, JMU's student body ratio and DEI initiatives, hopes for donor funding and more.
The future of filmmaking is facing growing concerns because of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and Writers Guild of America (WGA) strikes. Students who are planning to enter the film industry say they have growing concerns because of the ongoing strikes by actors and writers.
Harrisonburg City Public Schools (HCPS) updated its lockdown policies for this school year to better prepare for the potential of such an emergency. Deb Fitzgerald, chair of the HCPS school board, said the new lockdown guidelines will help with clear and efficient communication. HCPS schools are introducing a new color card system that indicates the level of lockdown they’re under.
Carly Fiorina, the first woman to lead a Fortune 50 company, former presidential candidate and new member of the JMU Board of Visitors (BoV), gave a presentation about the importance of civic engagement for Constitution Day at JMU on Wednesday, stating changes don’t necessarily have to come from the mighty and the powerful.
The Student Government Association (SGA) Senate amended its fall election policy to require prior review of election-related social media posts for campaigning members, heard from the Latinx Student Association, passed an amendment to the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice and Accessibility (DEIJA) requirements of the constitution of the SGA, and appointed Kieran Fensterwald to serve as the student representative of the Harrisonburg City Council on Tuesday.
George Anders, the senior editor-at-large for LinkedIn, visited JMU on Monday to discuss his recent book, “You Can Do Anything: The Surprising Power of a ‘Useless’ Liberal Arts Education,” which he said was written to aid liberal arts majors in obtaining careers after graduating.
JMU's Board of Visitors met Friday, highlighted by Director of Athletics Jeff Bourne announcing his retirement, a glowing response of the university's career outcomes report and a spirited debate about how to get JMU more funding from the General Assembly in Richmond.
JMU’s Madison Center for Civic Engagement is hosting 2023 Institute of Civic Studies and Learning for Democracy (ICSLD), a weeklong seminar and residential retreat. A group of 44 people from Ukraine, Georgia and Germany, among other countries, came to Harrisonburg on Monday where they heard from JMU President Jonathan Alger and other university leaders about bedrock American ideals.
As school kicks back into motion across the country, professors and students are navigating the new frontier of generative artificial intelligence (gAI) and its unpredictable potential inside and outside the classroom.
The 18-credit climate science minor looks to bring context to a changing Earth made applicable to several career paths. Headed by geology and environmental science professor Bill Lukens, it's open to all students regardless of major.
With the renovations ongoing at the usually crowded Carrier Library, students are searching for new workspaces. JMU Libraries is working to “identify, enhance, and promote” popular existing study spaces such as Rose Library, the Student Success Center (SSC) and The Union, as well as new spots.
The new leadership of JMU’s Student Government Association (SGA) — student body president and vice president, executive treasurer and student representative to the Board of Visitors — are planning for the year based on their goals and experience of past leadership.
JMU President Jonathan Alger, who played a key role in two Supreme Court cases when he was working at the University of Michigan that dealt with similar issues to the ruling in late June striking down on race-conscious admissions, said JMU already abstains from such practices, and that increasing the availability of financial aid is — as it has been — the school’s top priority to becoming more diverse.
As the new school year begins, the Honors College will be using an adjusted Honors minor curriculum. The new program will remove barriers to completing the minor in an effort to ease student stress and encourage retention in the Honors College program.
Rutherford, a humanitarian and political science professor at JMU, is the newest appointee to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s Board of Historic Resources. Rutherford's now one of six members appointed to the state’s historic board to approve and disapprove historic proposals related to the federal and Virginia government’s historic register, a term he will serve for four years.
JMU’s Board of Visitors approved tuition increases for the 2023-24 academic year. Although the motion passed, several members appointed to the board last year by Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) voiced concerns about approving the increase at Friday’s meeting, especially because JMU’s fate in the Virginia state budget isn’t yet sealed.
The board also approved JMU’s budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year. The university’s total operating budget comes in at $723.8 million, increasing 5.8% from last year.
Textbook costs can add to students' stress and limit their options for classes. Affordability is a barrier the JMU library is attempting to help overcome with loan systems and online resources for students.
The Faculty Senate passed a resolution Thursday afternoon condemning JMU Provost and Senior Vice President for Student Affairs Heather Coltman alleging a lack of shared governance between administration and faculty and a culture of intimidation in hiring practices. Thirty-three of 42 voting senators supported the resolution.
MyMadison outages on Tuesday morning caused students with overlapping enrollment appointments to experience crashes and delays. The enrollment process groups students by credit hours into the same time slots. Students who have yet to enroll for fall classes are experiencing more fear following Tuesday's crash.
The Student Government Association (SGA) Senate approved funding for the Asian Student Union (ASU) and JMU acapella groups Low Key and Unaccompanied, as well as the budget for University Program Board (UPB), and heard a presentation from JMU Dining Services during Tuesday’s meeting.
General education classes will no longer be grouped into clusters. Instead, groups will be named after a new summary of the skills they aim to teach.
Hindsight is 20/20, or at least that was Monday's focus as Dr. Anthony Fauci and CNN Chief Domestic Correspondent Jim Acosta (’93) led a town hall at JMU to talk about lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and reflect on the mistakes and successes that have followed the U.S. throughout the global health crisis.
SGA announced the major candidate results of Tuesday's election. Winners were President Nate Hazen, Vice President Faith Forman, Executive Treasurer Matt Haynicz and Student Representative to the Board of Visitors Abigail Cannella.
Banning and censoring books have been hot-button issues of late, particularly within education. The implications of censoring or not censoring content in public schools have wracked the public consciousness for decades but have picked up speed within the past few years, and Harrisonburg is no exception.
Class registration occurs just a few months before the semester begins, and for some students like sophomore Maddie Tardif, this proves to be stressful. During this time, students are often racing against one another to get classes, but what really makes this time so hectic is the battle over “good professors,” several students told The Breeze, and they often consider Rate My Professors ratings when picking classes.
JMU’s Office of Disability Services (ODS) expanded to a second testing location this month to accommodate the growing population of students registering with disabilities at JMU.
The Breeze has been JMU’s official student-run newspaper for 100 years. Since its first issue on Dec. 2, 1922, The Breeze’s mission has been to provide the JMU community with news and important information. From college name changes to the construction of new buildings, here are some of the biggest moments The Breeze has chronicled at JMU since 1922.
Seen at schools throughout Harrisonburg are small plots of land that’ve been turned into gardens by contributors across the city assisting students in learning about sustainable garden practices and building connections with the environment and healthy food.
As the priority filing date for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) nears, the JMU Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships Brad Barnett urges students who are returning for the 2023-24 school year to apply on the Federal Student Aid website before the March 1 deadline.
The JMU Board of Visitors (BoV) discussed changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), updated members on JMU’s efforts with the Virginia General Assembly and heard a presentation on a new Innovation Center for Youth Justice at its full board meeting on Feb. 10.
There’s a new internet tool that’s taken the academic world by storm by assisting students in cheating their way to good grades: ChatGPT, a revolutionary artificial intelligence (AI) language model.
Eric Nickel, the director of university recreation, won the Dolley Madison Award, which recognizes a member of the Hart School of Hospitality, Sport and Recreation Management for their time, talent and treasure.
COVID-19 created shortages of all kinds across the world, including in different areas of labor in the U.S., such as retail, hospitality and the food industry. One area, in particular has been hit hard: teachers. In Harrisonburg City Public Schools (HCPS), there’s high demand for time off and leave from teachers, but not enough substitutes to fill all the requests, according to Jeremy Weaver, the director of human resources for HCPS.
Anne van Leeuwen, an associate professor of philosophy at JMU, received the inaugural Patterson Prize from Simone de Beauvoir Studies, a scholarly journal dedicated to the philosopher of the same name.
The Gus Bus, an after-school enrichment program for elementary school students in Harrisonburg, has recently undergone a transformation — one that highlights local landmarks with the hope of bringing the community together.
Two retiring JMU professors, Neil Marrin and Tassie Pippert, have founded the Marrin and Pippert Scholarship Endowment for Study Abroad & Experiential Learning to support study abroad efforts for students from the Hart School of Hospitality, Sport and Recreation Management.
Many GenEd professors have noticed reduced attendance since the return from the pandemic and see a correlation between students' attendance and their and grades. Some students said the increase in absences may be due to a lack of motivation or a lack of interest in classes that aren't for their majors.
JMU senior Casey Brewer won the 2022 Henry Fong Award, an international award that grants one student a scholarship to study at another International Network of Universities (INU) member university for one semester with a stipend of $2,000 for travel costs and living expenses. The last Henry Fong Award winner at JMU was in 2011.
Karin Tollefson-Hall, an art education professor at JMU, has won Virginia Art Educator of the Year, the highest award in the profession at the state level. She’s been at JMU for 13 years.
JMU’s Center for First-Generation Students opened on Nov. 7. Located in the Student Success Center (SSC), it’s the first on-campus center of its kind for first-generation students. In 2022-23, about 12% — 2,391 — of undergraduates at JMU are first-gen students, according to the university.
At the Dec. 1 faculty senate meeting, faculty were informed on how to deal with student absences, JMU Provost Heather Coltman reported on the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) Survey and staff bonuses were discussed.
Race-based factors have been used in college admissions processes since the 1960s — now the Supreme Court is considering whether they’re constitutionally viable. The Supreme Court held oral arguments for two affirmative action-related cases Oct. 31 in which Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) filed suit against the University of North Carolina (UNC) and Harvard for considering race in their admissions process. SFFA argues that race-based admissions leads to discrimination of Asian and White Americans.
The JMU Board of Visitors (BoV) introduced a new center for first-generation students, announced low-cost educational resource programs and heard a presentation on career outcomes and retention rates at its full-board meeting on Nov. 18.
JMU’s selection of majors and minors may soon become wider. Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) professors Mary Thompson, Dawn Goode and Kristen Kelley have proposed a new LGBTQ studies minor.
The Department of Political Science and JMU's modern European Studies program hosted a Ukraine and the Future of Europe event on Wednesday, where students could voice their opinions and ask questions to a panel of professors with expertise on the subject.
Students, alumni and other visitors to campus will have plenty of events and activities to choose from during this year’s Homecoming weekend from Friday, Oct. 21, to Sunday, Oct. 23. Here are highlights of the weekend’s events.
Madison Hall will be renamed Holland Yates Hall after JMU alumnus Paul Holland (’82) and his wife, Linda Yates, donated the largest cash gift to the university in JMU history, according to an email sent to faculty and staff Oct. 19.
Molly Merryman, associate professor at Kent State University, visited JMU on Friday to speak about her work as the research director for Queer Britain — the national LBGTQ museum of the United Kingdom — and gave insight on adding an LGBTQ studies program at JMU.
Nick Brinen, assistant professor of architectural design, was awarded the 2023 Beck Fellowship from the College of Visual and Performing Arts in September 2022. Brinen received the fellowship due to his spring 2022 project: building a bike pavilion for children with disabilities.
JMU's Grow Your Own program is fully funded from the state and aims to give back to lower-income communities by giving people in underserved areas of Virginia an opportunity to become teachers. The program was born to enhance those lower-income schools by awarding scholarships to education students who agree to go back and teach at their local high schools.
At the end of August, President Joe Biden introduced a plan that’ll forgive up to $20,000 of student loans per person. With this plan, people who make $125,000 after graduating will be eligible for up to $10,000 of loan forgiveness and Pell Grant recipients will be eligible for up to $20,000. The Breeze spoke to past and current JMU students who'll be affected by the loan forgiveness plan.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced nominees for the Board of Visitors (BoV) of universities across Virginia, including five new members for JMU. As Youngkin is Virginia’s first Republican governor since 2014, this could shift education initiatives across the commonwealth, and the BoV itself. The Breeze spoke with the new members about their goals for their terms and what they hope to bring to the table.
The Student Government Association (SGA) Senate approved funding for the Asian Student Union (ASU) and JMU acapella groups Low Key and Unaccompanied, as well as the budget for University Program Board (UPB), and heard a presentation from JMU Dining Services during Tuesday’s meeting.
General education classes will no longer be grouped into clusters. Instead, groups will be named after a new summary of the skills they aim to teach.
Hindsight is 20/20, or at least that was Monday's focus as Dr. Anthony Fauci and CNN Chief Domestic Correspondent Jim Acosta (’93) led a town hall at JMU to talk about lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and reflect on the mistakes and successes that have followed the U.S. throughout the global health crisis.
SGA announced the major candidate results of Tuesday's election. Winners were President Nate Hazen, Vice President Faith Forman, Executive Treasurer Matt Haynicz and Student Representative to the Board of Visitors Abigail Cannella.
Banning and censoring books have been hot-button issues of late, particularly within education. The implications of censoring or not censoring content in public schools have wracked the public consciousness for decades but have picked up speed within the past few years, and Harrisonburg is no exception.
Class registration occurs just a few months before the semester begins, and for some students like sophomore Maddie Tardif, this proves to be stressful. During this time, students are often racing against one another to get classes, but what really makes this time so hectic is the battle over “good professors,” several students told The Breeze, and they often consider Rate My Professors ratings when picking classes.
JMU’s Office of Disability Services (ODS) expanded to a second testing location this month to accommodate the growing population of students registering with disabilities at JMU.
The Breeze has been JMU’s official student-run newspaper for 100 years. Since its first issue on Dec. 2, 1922, The Breeze’s mission has been to provide the JMU community with news and important information. From college name changes to the construction of new buildings, here are some of the biggest moments The Breeze has chronicled at JMU since 1922.
Seen at schools throughout Harrisonburg are small plots of land that’ve been turned into gardens by contributors across the city assisting students in learning about sustainable garden practices and building connections with the environment and healthy food.
As the priority filing date for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) nears, the JMU Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships Brad Barnett urges students who are returning for the 2023-24 school year to apply on the Federal Student Aid website before the March 1 deadline.