INSIDE: GIVING DAY SUCCESS8 FITNESS MENTORSHIP30 AMPLIFYING BLACK VOICES 42 THE MAGAZINE
OF JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY
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SPRING SUMMER S P R2 IN / 0G 22 SUM M ER 2022
A Culture of
Kindness Celebrating the gift that keeps on giving PAGE 26
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Giving back to the Smokies JMU’s newest Alternative Spring Break was hosted by Adam Monroe (’03), park ranger with Great Smoky Mountains National Park. For more on Monroe and the trip, visit https://j.mu/monroe.
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SOUNDBITES This issue’s theme is “The Value of Partnerships.” Can you share one example of a partnership you’ve been a part of? “Throughout my life, my dad has always pushed me to pursue my creative passions and allow that to shape my future career. The countless reviews of my writing, his appraisal and his advice have taught me that going after what excites you is how you should live life. Having him as my mentor has made me unwilling to settle for anything less than what drives me.” KRISTEN ESSEX editorial intern
“I proudly partner with the Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition. SVBC’s mission is to build communities that are stronger, healthier, welcoming and full of joy, along with the belief in the power of the bicycle to transform ourselves and our world. Being a member of this organization and supporting this mission directly helps my local community.” BILL THOMPSON creative director
“My mom is the most significant partner in my life; she guided me the past 20 years in taking care of my Type 1 diabetes (aside from being a mentor in most areas of my life). Now, I have her to thank for my independence in living a healthy lifestyle that’ll allow for abundance and longevity.” JULIA WEAVER (’21) content producer
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Madison Buiting (’22) is a Communications Studies major from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Buiting works as a media relations intern with University Communications. She is a member of PRSSA, Lambda Pi Eta and Phi Beta Kappa. Additionally, Buiting is a former member of Bluestone Communications. After graduation, she plans to work at a public relations agency in the greater Philadelphia area. She wrote a Faculty Focus item about Biology professor Jim Herrick on Page 15. Kristen Essex is an editorial intern in University Marketing and Branding. She is a senior majoring in Communication Studies with a concentration in Advocacy and a minor in Environmental Studies. She also works as a communication consultant for The Learning Centers at JMU. Upon graduation, Essex plans to pursue a career in advocacy, combining her love for the environment and media. She wrote a feature story about UREC’s Mentorship Through Exercise program on Page 30.
BOA R D O F V I S ITO RS 202 1 –22
Lara P. Major (’92, ’20P), Rector Deborah T. Johnson (’78), Vice Rector Vanessa M. Evans-Grevious (’93, ’97M) Christopher Falcon (’03) Frank T. Gadams (’93) Jeffrey E. Grass (’92) Matthew A. Gray-Keeling (’05) Maribeth D. Herod (’82) Lucy Hutchinson (’06) Maria D. Jankowski John C. Lynch (’91) Maggie A. Ragon (’82) John C. Rothenberger (’88) Kathy J. Warden (’92)
Craig B. Welburn (’96) Xaiver Williams, Student Member Donna L. Harper (’77, ’81M, ’86Ed.S.), Secretary PRESIDENT
Jonathan R. Alger PRESIDENT’S CABINET
Cynthia Bauerle
Vice Provost, Faculty and Curriculum (interim)
Jeff Bourne
Director of Athletics
Anna Godeassi is a freelance illustrator based in Italy. Her work is featured on the cover of this issue as well as in the pages of our cover story about JMU’s culture of kindness on Page 26. Her extensive production includes painting, sculpture, installations, illustrations for publishing, advertising and video art. You can look out into her world at http://annagodeassi.com. Christian Howe is in his third year at JMU after beginning as an assistant in the Athletics Communications office in 2020. He was promoted to assistant director of Athletics Communiations in 2021. Howe, the point person for baseball, men’s and women’s soccer, and swimming and diving, profiled baseball star Chase DeLauter on Page 18.
Jess Nickels (’21) graduated from JMU with a degree in Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication. She contributed to Madison magazine as a student editorial assistant and is now a project manager in the College of Business’ Office of Marketing and Communications. She writes stories, news articles and recruitment materials, implements social media campaigns, and manages the CoB’s websites. Nickels’ profile of Nkosi Davis (‘18) is on Page 63.
Brian Charette
Caitlyn Read (’10, ’18M)
Director, State Government Relations
Anthony Tongen
Vice Provost, Research and Scholarship
Mary-Hope Vass
Executive Director of Communications and University Spokesperson VICE PROVOSTS
Cynthia Bauerle
Special Assistant to the President, Strategic Planning and Engagement
Faculty and Curriculum (interim)
Heather Coltman
University Programs
Provost and Senior Vice President, Academic Affairs
Mike Davis Chief of Staff
Arthur Dean II (’93, ’99M) Executive Director, Campus and Community Programs for Access and Inclusion
Donna Harper (’77, ’81M,
’86Ed.S.) Vice President, Access and Enrollment Management
Jack Knight
Senior Assistant Attorney General and University Counsel
Nick Langridge (’00, ’07M, ’14Ph.D.) Vice President, University Advancement
Brent Lewis
Associate Vice President, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Student Affairs
Melissa Lubin
Linda Cabe Halpern Rudy Molina Jr.
Student Academic Success and Enrollment Management
Anthony Tongen Research and Scholarship DEANS
Robert Aguirre Arts and Letters
Michael Busing Business
Rubén Graciani
Visual and Performing Arts
Robert Kolvoord
Integrated Science and Engineering
Mark L’Esperance
Education
Sharon Lovell (’85) Health and Behavioral Studies Melissa Lubin
Professional & Continuing Education
Dean, Professional & Continuing Education
Fletcher Linder
Marsha Mays-Bernard
Bethany Nowviskie
Associate Vice President, Student Health and Well-Being, Student Affairs
Tim Miller (’96, ’00M)
Vice President, Student Affairs
Rudy Molina Jr.
Vice Provost, Student Academic Success and Enrollment Management
Towana Moore
Interim Vice President, Administration and Finance
Honors (interim) Libraries
Samantha Prins
Science and Mathematics (interim)
Linda Thomas The Graduate School
A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N OFFICER
Dave Urso (’03, ‘05M) President
David Owusu-Ansah
PA R E N T S C O U N C I L CHAIRS
Andy Perrine (’86)
Craig (’91) and Kimberly (’90) Pinello (’18P/’20MP,
Associate Provost, Diversity Associate Vice President, Marketing and Branding
’18P/’20MP, ’22P)
E S S E X PH OTO G R A PH BY H A N N A S E A R FOS S ( ’ 22); G O D E A S S I BY C H I A R A RO M AG N O; N I C K E L S ( ’ 2 1 ) BY E LI S E T R I S S E L
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Restoring trust in each other
Education, partnerships are key to combating civic malaise
ecently, I spoke at an event held by the Partnership for polarization industry and are fed up with it. American Democracy, a new nonpartisan organiza- Many are becoming aware that their buttons tion describing itself as a “collaborative nerve center are being pushed and their brains are being attracting greater energy and resources to advance hacked. More are resolving to do something American democracy.” I serve on the organization’s about it by forming civic efforts …” Civic National Leadership Council, and the event included efforts such as the Partnership for American leaders from faith communities, higher education and other organiza- Democracy. There are many more. tions partnering to work toward preserving democracy. At the national level, those include Campus The focus of my talk was the crisis of trust in institutions and Compact, whose board I currently chair, and the ALL IN Campus the basic systems of our democracy, and how to restore it. Such a Democracy Challenge, where I chair the Council of Presidents. JMU lack of trust is nothing new, of course. Since our nation’s founding, is taking a national leadership role and partnering with these orgaAmericans have fiercely defended individual rights in the context nizations because their important work underscores the foundation of institutions aimed at seeking the common good. The Gadsden that education and partnerships can help to restore trust in instituflag famously sporting a coiled snake and proclaiming, “DON’T tions and in each other as Americans. Despite the pessimism many TREAD ON ME,” which first appeared in 1775 and still flies, people feel about our current political and civic malaise, Rausch symbolizes individualism to many. But optimistically wrote, “As we know from for uniquely contemporary reasons, a “The tools of misinformation Tocqueville, when Americans set about lack of trust in public institutions and to raise a roof or build a civic group, there and disinformation are so in each other has reached crisis levels as is not much they cannot accomplish.” I sophisticated that many exemplified by the attack on the U.S. heartily concur. of us have come to believe Capitol on January 6, 2021. Many at JMU believe it too. The The key question I raised in my theme of this issue of Madison is “The in things that are utterly remarks asked, “How can we rebuild Value of Partnerships” and the trust without factual basis.” trust?” Because we now live in a world they can engender. On a campus so conwhere a person does not have to be educated to have access to lots nected socially, JMU can be an incubator for ideas and efforts that of data and information, which might or might not be factual, I can “raise a roof ” and restore trust in each other and the human firmly believe that we as a society need to develop data, informa- institutions we have so earnestly built to cultivate the American tion and media literacy to help us make sense of all the noise. Have Experiment. It is work we must do. And while trust in institutions you ever knowingly seen a “deep fake” video? They are so realistic is at a low point, I honestly believe that Rausch was correct when he that a person can appear to be saying or doing something that they wrote, “…human institutions were the breakthrough technology never said or did. that freed Homo sapiens from our tribal chains.” James Madison The tools of misinformation and disinformation are so sophisti- himself believed this too, evidenced by his role as architect of our cated that many of us have come to believe in things that are utterly U.S. Constitution and author of the Bill of Rights, the founding without a factual basis. Add to that the social validation feedback documents animating many of our human institutions. At the uniloop many people seek in social media where we get an addictive versity named for Madison, we bear a unique responsibility to work dopamine hit every time our beliefs — true or not — are affirmed toward these celebrated elements of his legacy. by those in our like-minded bubbles, the ultimate result is a growing chorus of dangerously polarized views on virtually every issue and on all sides of the political spectrum. It’s as if these technologies are aimed at separating us and are luring us to revert back to our species’ tribal nature. No wonder we are in a crisis of trust. In a long-form piece titled “Rethinking Polarization,” Jonathan Rauch, senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, wrote in National Jonathan R. Alger Affairs recently, “Lots of people are alarmed and exhausted by the president, James Madison University
A LG E R PH OTO G R A PH BY CO DY T ROY E R ; Q UA D BY ST E V E A D E RTO N ( ’ 1 9)
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Letters to the Editor Winter 2022 Madison
Nice job on the most recent Madison magazine! I just finished reading it from cover to cover. The magazine, which has really improved in recent years, reinforces how proud I am to be a JMU Duke. — Lauren Liles (’04)
High praise from a department head
The Winter 2022 issue of Madison was one of my absolute favorites since its inception. And it might’ve been the best yet! The stunning photos and heartfelt stories beautifully captured how JMU catalyzes positive outcomes on our campus and beyond. — Theresa Clarke, Department of Marketing academic head and College of Business professor
Destigmatizing mental health
I loved the recent issue of Madison magazine! Especially the story on tennis star Amanda Nord (’22), who opened up about her mental health. — Jennifer Marshall (’01)
No longer a Madison reader
S PR I N G/S U M M E R 2 022 Vol.45, No. 2
Learning that JMU is using funds to maintain a Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression office in order to determine which pronouns to use in articles helped me realize that my time and money can be better spent elsewhere.
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Khalil Garriott (’04)
S E N I O R E D I T O R - AT - L A R G E
Pam Brock
MANAG I NG E DITOR
Jim Heffernan (’96, ’17M) EDITOR
Amy Crockett (’10) C R E AT I V E D I R E C T O R
— Michele Moore (’90) EDITOR’S REPLY: This is a false premise. We’re printing this letter because the writer approved doing so, but SOGIE does much more than what Michele surmises. While we’re sorry to lose a reader, she may receive her alma mater’s official publication any time in the future.
A proud former professor
I was thrilled to see the Alumni Spotlight on Jihan Crowther in the Winter 2022 Madison magazine and to learn about her success. I wanted to reach out to her and thank her for her kind remembrance of my teaching. I had hoped to find her on Face-
Bill Thompson
book but with no success. Can you give me a contact email so I can congratulate Jihan on her recent successes and tell her how much it meant to me that she recalls my class as helpful to her? Thank you. — Roger Hall, professor emeritus of Theatre
ART DIRECTOR
Carolyn Windmiller (’81) A D M I N I S T R AT I V E A S S I S TA N T
Haley Garnett
D E S I G N A S S I S TA N T S
Emily Dodge (’22) Hannah Phillips (’22)
EDITORIAL INTERNS
Kristen Essex Emma Loscalzo (’22)
CONTENT PRODUCTION TEAM
EDITOR’S REPLY: I happily provided Jihan’s email address to Roger! She had complimentary things to say about him. This is exactly one of the purposes of this publication: to bridge members of the JMU Family and help cultivate connections between professors and alumni.
Steve Aderton (’19) Cody Troyer Julia Weaver (’21)
AT H L E T I C S P H O T O G R A P H Y
Cathy Kushner (’87)
CAMPUS CONTRIBUTORS
Alumni Relations Athletics Donor Relations Parent Relations University Communications and Marketing F O R A D D R E S S U P D AT E S :
Email: advancementgr@jmu.edu or call 1-855-568-4483 C O N TA C T T H E M A D I S O N S TA F F :
Email: madisonmag@jmu.edu or call 540-568-2664
Madison magazine, JMU, 127 W. Bruce St., MSC 3610, Harrisonburg, VA 22807 For Class Notes, go to jmu.edu/alumni. Madison is an official publication of James Madison University and is produced by the Division of University Advancement for alumni, parents of JMU students, faculty, staff and friends of JMU. Editorial office: JMU, 127 W. Bruce St., MSC 3610, Harrisonburg, VA 22807
NOTICE OF NON-DISCRIMINATION AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY:
Amanda Nord (’22) opened up about her mental health in our Fall issue. (Above): Jihan Crowther on the set of The Man in the High Castle.
James Madison University does not discriminate on the basis of age, disability, race or color, height or weight, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation or belief, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, parental status (including pregnancy), marital status, family medical or genetic information in its employment, educational programs, activities and admissions. JMU complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination, affirmative action and anti-harassment. JMU prohibits sexual and gender-based harassment, including sexual assault, and other forms of interpersonal violence. The responsibility for overall coordination, monitoring and information dissemination about JMU’s program of equal opportunity, nondiscrimination, Title IX and affirmative action is assigned to the Office of Equal Opportunity & Title IX. Inquiries or complaints may be directed to the Office of Equal Opportunity & Title IX: Amy Sirocky-Meck, Title IX Coordinator, 540-568-5219, www.jmu.edu/oeo, oeo@jmu.edu. (REVISED JANUARY 2020)
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UREC mentorship program focuses on all dimensions of wellness.
1
Contents
42
Chanda McGuffin (’93) co-founded RISE, an organization that houses the largest Black library in Virginia with 1,500-plus books.
Full Frame
Alternative Spring Breakers volunteer in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
38
Kurt (’89) and Dona (’88) Rodgers are seeking to end the stigma surrounding the mental health of student-athletes.
BY JULIA WEAVER (‘21)
2
Contributors, Staff Soundbites
Get to know the people behind the stories
3
Presidential Perspective
6
Letter From the Editor The value of partnerships
BY KHALIL GARRIOTT (‘04)
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President Alger on how to restore trust in one another through education and partnerships
10
Madison Trust has supported 77 projects since 2014, with nearly $925,000 in total investments.
Lauren K. Alleyne shares her passion and unique approach to poetry with students.
Unleashed
Giving Day 2022, Stewardship Luncheon, Madison Trust, Q&A with AAAD Fellow
12 News & Notes
Furious Flower’s Mellon Foundation grant; JMU partnership nets economic development award; Black female mayors participate in MVS; new Carnegie Classification; Dukes in space; Iron Man at Rockingham County Fair; esports more than just video games; college-wide alumni board launches; Faculty Focus; Training and Technical Assistance Center supports disabilities
17 Brag Sheet
”Talking points,” a way to brag about JMU
Cancer survivor Leah Evert (’03) launched The Willow Foundation to fund latestage cancer research. (See back cover)
U R EC PH OTO G R A PH BY H A N N A S E A R FOS S ( ’ 22); M c G U FFI N ( ’ 93) BY ST E V E A D E RTO N ( ’ 1 9); RO D G E RS BY CO DY T ROY E R ; T E E L BY J E N N Y M A RT Y ( ’ 22)
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Letter From the Editor
C O N T E N T S
18 JMU Nation
The value of partnerships
F
From Sept. 27 to Oct. 1, 2021, JMU’s campus had an “Attitude of Gratitude” week. As I waited for a coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts in the Student Success Center, I stopped to read sticky notes of appreciation written by JMU students for the JMU Dining Services employees there. One read, “Thank you for your hard work! It’s always a pleasure to come here, no matter how busy it is, because of you all!” Another: “Thank you for your kindness!!” Someone else wrote, “The sweetest humans ever. We appreciate everything you do!” Another added, “Thank you for always putting a smile on my face!” The shared ethos of all those sticky notes ladders up to kindness and appreciation for one another’s hard work. That “Attitude of Gratitude” is what we’re about at James Madison University. The theme of this issue is “The Value of Partnerships.” Success is a collaborative effort. I was reminded of that when my voice went hoarse cheering from the stands during our historic upset of Virginia in men’s hoops on Dec. 7, 2021. Without the incredible fan support from students in the Atlantic Union Bank Center that night, I’m skeptical that we would’ve been victorious. Even UVA coach Tony Bennett cited the fans’ impact on the outcome in his postgame presser. “College basketball — what an atmoThe next time sphere; what a beautiful arena!” Bennett said. “The fans were great. … A lot of teams won’t you’re looking come in here and play.” to accomplish Partnership-driven successes abound in these something big, pages. On Page 12, read about how the Furifind a partner ous Flower Poetry Center teamed up with JMU to bring along. Libraries for a $2 million grant from the Mellon Foundation. On Page 15, learn about a Biology professor’s collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration to improve food safety. On Page 24, meet a trio of alumni siblings who partner with the College of Business to keep their late father’s legacy alive. On Page 30, find out more about a “Mentorship Through Exercise” program that combines the positive elements of mentoring with physical activity. On Page 63, read a profile of an alumnus whose job is to find partners for his nonprofit organization, which supports charities across myriad causes. And on the back cover, meet an alumna who overcame late-stage cancer to launch a foundation supporting research connecting nutrition, exercise and mindset to positive cancer outcomes. The next time you’re looking to accomplish something big, find a partner to bring along. Your journey will be more fruitful and productive. Go Dukes!
Khalil Garriott (’04) executive editor, Madison magazine @khalilgarriott M A D ISON
24 Bright Lights
JMU siblings partner with College of Business to honor their father’s legacy BY KHALIL GARRIOTT (‘04)
26 Culture of kindness
JMU’s benevolent spirit is at the heart of the Madison Experience BY EMMA LOSCALZO (‘22)
30 Mentorship through exercise
UREC program pairs students with faculty and staff members to promote connection, wellness BY KRISTEN ESSEX
34 Island flower
Acclaimed poet and scholar Lauren Alleyne to lead JMU’s Furious Flower Poetry Center BY BECCA EVANS (’18, ‘20M)
38 Morgan’s Message
Nonprofit seeks to end stigma surrounding mental health of student-athletes BY JIM HEFFERNAN (‘96, ‘17M)
42 A call to RISE
Local advocacy organization strengthens community dialogue by amplifying Black voices BY AMY CROCKETT (‘10)
46 Alumni for Life
Brothers look to make their mark in Virginia’s growing hemp industry; the person responsible for many alumni announcements and events; award winners; Richmond school principal recognized as Disney Magic Maker; chapter spotlight; Mixed Media
56 Class Notes
Faculty Emeriti Association news; scholarship thank-you letter; Staff Emeriti Association update; celebrations; inaugurations; CoB grad uplifts and supports nonprofits’ missions
64 By the Numbers
The impact of the Institute for Innovation in Health and Human Services
24
Sincerely,
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Baseball superstar Chase DeLauter near the top of every MLB draft board; celebrating 100 seasons of women’s basketball; Hall of Fame Class of 2022; swimming and diving team wins fifth consecutive team title; Alger joins Knight Commission
M AG A Z I N E
The Fallon Challenge is a competition for JMU student entrepreneurs to pitch their business ideas. G A R R I OT T ( ’ 04) A N D WA R D E N ( ’ 92) PH OTO G R A PH S BY E LI S E T R I S S E L ; FA LLO N C H A LLE N G E CO U RT E SY O F M E R E DY T H E FA LLO N (‘ 12)
Being seen for who we are. As chief executive officer and president of Northrop Grumman, Kathy Warden (‘92) is among 12 women CEOs of Fortune 100 companies. Northrop Grumman leads the industry team for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, the largest, most complex and powerful space telescope ever built. Our university is being seen for who we are — because of JMU alumni like Kathy. A new classification by the Carnegie Commisssion from a master’s-level to a doctoral/research university moves JMU from the regional to the national rankings. That’s Being the Change.
To learn more about the new classification, visit http://j.mu/being-seen
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Dukes lift Giving Day past $1 million — again On Giving Day 2022, Dukes around the world raised $1,035,165 for 152 campus causes. That’s the second-highest giving total in the sixyear history of JMU Giving Day and just the second time the 24-hour event’s giving has surpassed $1 million. “The generosity and enthusiasm of the JMU community are inspiring,” said Nora Sutton, assistant director of Annual Giving, who helped organize the all-Dukes-on-deck occasion. “Thank you for making JMU stronger with your support. During the last year of the Unleashed camImagination and spirit at peak performance
Duke Dog rallied JMU Nation to the cause and X-Labs highlighted JMU’s nascent esports program by streaming competitions. Taking the cake — or pie — was the School of Communication Studies, whose professors good-naturedly took pies in the face when donors hit giving milestones throughout the day. The Honors College held events in Harrisonburg, Northern Virginia, Charlottesville, Richmond and on Zoom, which helped inspire 165 donors to give more than $20,000. Alumni chapters from Boston to Texas also celebrated Giving Day with in-person and virtual events to raise funds for chapter scholarships. Highlights included an axe-throwing contest hosted by the Williamsburg Alumni Chapter at Axe Republic and a virtual Verzuz Battle hosted by the Black Alumni Chapter with dozens of alumni in attendance. BAC inspired the largest chapter scholarship fundraising effort with 105 donors giving more than $8,770. The Tampa Bay Dukes gathered at Big Storm Brewing Co. to spur on giving, while Atlanta alumni competed in a JMU Giving Day trivia night and happy hour at New Realm
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paign, this is outstanding.” To make the day a success, 4,777 total donors gave, including 1,355 firsttime donors. Giving Day ambassadors encouraged fellow Dukes to do the same, issued challenges, and joined dozens of events and activities. Dukes took to social media, with thousands engaging on JMU channels in addition to creating custom content using #JMUGivingDay.
2022 RESULTS
Brewery on the BeltLine. The MetroDukes and SCOM Alumni Chapters combined forces and turned out at the Bronson Bierhall in Arlington to give and watch the totals climb in real time online.
Each gift makes an impact “If you ever needed proof of the power of giving together, Giving Day is it, because 3,500 gifts were $100 or less,” Sutton said. “That’s more than a quarter of a million dollars, and it goes to show how each gift makes a huge impact.”
Ambassadors and challengers start early
Donors who love Giving Day pitched in early, contributing more than $400,000 in challenge funds that were unlocked during the day as donors hit key giving milestones for their favorite causes. The largest challenge of the day, the Maxine Jobst Memorial Scholarship Challenge, released $200,000 in scholarship support when the goal of 3,250 day-of donors was reached. Alumni couples Ken (’90) and Amy (’92) Kiser and Alisa (’93) and Gregory (’93) Mitchell contributed $50,000 to student scholarships when other milestones were reached. Giving Day ambassadors also went the extra mile. In addi-
$1,035,165 total raised
4,777 total donors 28
challenges unlocked
1,335
first-time donors
$161
$79,722
average donation from ambassador referrals
more than
195
ambassadors
raised by ambassadors
3,500 gifts of $100 or less gifts from
150+
funds & programs supported
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12:00:31 a.m. first gift
states
all in 24 hours tion to making their gifts, they signed on to urge others to do so. “Our 195 Giving Day ambassadors played a key role,” said Jordan Williams (’16), associate director of Annual Giving, who worked with these dedicated volunteers. “Ambassadors reached out to their networks
11:57:15 p.m. last gift
of Dukes by text, phone, social and email and encouraged them to give. The individual gifts stemming from ambassador referrals averaged $161 and totaled more than $79,000. That’s fabulous.” For more on Giving Day, visit https://j.mu/giving.
PH OTO G R A PH BY H A N N A S E A R FOS S ( ’ 22); I N FO G R A PH I C BY J E N N Y M A RT Y ( ’ 22)
T H E 2 9 T H A N N UA L
Stewardship Luncheon
Celebrating possibilities through student scholarships By Kristen Essex
The event featured a surprise appearance by JMU’s softball team and a moment of silence for gratitude, including an honorable mention for the work of Charlie King, former senior vice president for Administration and Finance. “You saw the value in JMU, you know how special this place really is and you have invested,” President Jonathan R. Alger said.
“It has been a year of significant achievement at JMU.” — PRESIDENT ALGER
Ruth Bowers-Sword (’20M), right, with friend Delaney Westwood (’16), reflected on her mentorship with retired Biology professor Emily Branscome (’78M). “Emily’s support of my dream is not anything I could have ever imagined,” Bowers-Sword said. For her master’s, she spent four months in Cameroon studying monkeys and will study in Tanzania next.
President’s list Quantitative Finance major and soccer midfielder Demetri Turner shared his “Do More” attitude. “I apply this mindset to all areas of my life, but I think I’m most proud of how I’ve utilized this approach to help give back to my community,” Turner said. Along with his passion for academics and soccer, Turner feels compelled to give back to those who might not be as fortunate as him.
Saxophone professor David Pope and Music major Dylan Royal captivated the audience with their moving performance of Pope’s “Royal Duke Tango Fantasy.” “What we are about to share with you is another way that faculty and students work together,” Pope said. A scholarship made the difference in bringing Royal to JMU.
Accounting major Alyssa Mae Tomlin connected with donors Lori Mowen (’80) and Sue Cumpston (’82) over their shared experience of being firstgeneration college students from the Appalachian region. The three placed an emphasis on working hard for what you have. “Like you, we know from experience that it takes a village to get students through college,” Cumpston said.
LU N C H EO N PH OTO G R A PH S BY J U LI A W E AV E R ( ’ 2 1 )
Alumni, parents and longtime donors Gail (’82) and Richard (’80) Hendrick, with Paula Polglase (’92, ’96M), joined students and other donors to highlight the impact of giving in the life of JMU and celebrated their Hendrick Family Dukes Pay It Forward Scholarship.
“Being able to help JMU students fund their education makes us feel like we are making a contribution to our global community.” — LORI MOWEN (’80) AND SUE CUMPSTON (’82)
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BY THE NUMBERS 2014-22 PROJECTS SUPPORTED
77 (85%)
2022
TOTAL INVESTED
$924,884 200
FACULTY PARTICIPANTS
216
DONORS CONTRIBUTING 2022 INNOVATIONS
10
Campus projects representing 16 disciplines
2022 EVENT FUNDING To see funding updates or make a gift, visit https://j.mu/mtrust. Or scan the QR code to learn more.
Total pledged so far:
$85,525* *Totals at press time
Madison Trust fuels innovations through contributions from philanthropic investors like you. Thank you!
Alumni Kathy and Eric Warden recognize the crucial need to increase JMU scholarships for students who can attend only with financial assistance.
AUGUST 2021
NOVEMBER 2021
DECEMBER 2021
AUGUST 2022
Wardens issue giving challenge to match $1.25 million to recruit 100 students.
Inspired donors increase the match challenge to assist 25 more students.
YOU surpass the challenge, raising $3.1M total to support 125 students!
First 50 Dukes Pay It Forward scholarship recipients will arrive at JMU.
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Meet JMU’s AAAD Fellow: Kwabena Opoku-Agyemang, a 2021-22 Fellow in JMU’s African, African American, and
Diaspora Studies Center, is a lecturer in English at the University of Ghana and the academic director of the School for International Training in Ghana. He holds a doctorate from West Virginia University after prior studies at the University of Ghana. His scholarly interests include the analysis of digital forms in African literature, and his work has appeared in Research in African Literatures as well as in peer-reviewed edited volumes. He has also guest-edited special editions of Journal of Gaming and Virtual Worlds and Postcolonial Text, and is on the editorial board of journals such as Hyperrhiz and Tydskrif vir Letterkunde. Morgan Lyle (’20): When did you discover you had an interest in English?
Kwabena OpokuAgyemang: My parents
are both professors in English, and I grew up enjoying reading. I therefore had an early interest in English and liked to understand the motives behind the actions of various characters in novels. I also liked to listen to oral folktales that my parents would tell at night.
Lyle: What are your spe-
cific academic interests?
Opoku-Agyemang: I am
interested in African digital literature, which is literary and creative-expression online work that is created and accessed on digital platforms such as social media, blogs, apps, etc.
Lyle: What classes do you typically teach?
Opoku-Agyemang: At
the graduate level, I teach a research methods class, postcolonial literature and I co-teach an advanced seminar in African literature with professor Kofi Anyidoho. At the undergraduate level,
“My area of study is important because digital technology is increasingly becoming the most common means by which Africans produce and engage with literary work.” — KWABENA OPOKU-AGYEMANG
I teach literary theory, new literatures in English and an Introduction to African Literature course.
Lyle: How do you go about
Lyle: Why is your area of
Opoku-Agyemang: I
study important?
Opoku-Agyemang: My
area of study is important because digital technology is increasingly becoming the most common means by which Africans produce and engage with literary work. As such, it is crucial to understand the implications of being able to, for example, publish work online without struggling through the conventional gatekeeping problems that plagued older African writers. It is also important to understand how young African writers imagine their continent in a time when social media and digital technology dramatically alter the ways in which we relate with the world around us.
conducting research on African electronic literature and video games?
read or play the material and then think usually about thematic connections that underpin the nature of the texts that I have engaged with. I also try to connect these new media forms to older literary modes of expression to see how they differ from — and also enhance — tradition.
Lyle: How does your work translate to the United States’ Eurocentric study of literature? Where does it fit into the conversation? Or, how does it shift the conversation?
Opoku-Agyemang: My
work critiques Eurocentric scholarship by centering African modes of learning and being. I typically dis-
place Western thought by not making my work necessarily be seen as responding to such forms of thinking. However, I do not try to make my work be against other cultures; I can also let my work speak in conversation with such cultures to show how important African studies are. Again, I use African philosophical thought to underpin my work. One such way of thinking is the Sankofa concept, which emphasizes the importance of curating history and tradition in order to fashion an important African sense of identity.
Lyle: What is something you want people to take away from your work?
Opoku-Agyemang: I
would like people to appreciate the force of African thought, in the sense that ideas from the continent are complex and relevant on and off the continent. I also like for people to appreciate how young writers, especially, are able to harness the potential of digital technology to create work that speaks to their own worldviews.
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News&Notes SPRI NG/SU M M E R 2022
A digital future for Black poetry at JMU
by building a sustainable digital framework for the Furious Flower archive,” said founder Joanne V. Gabbin, executive director of Furious Flower and professor of English. “The Mellon Foundation’s The Mellon Foundation has investment has helped us grow awarded JMU $2 million over from a history of individual four and a half years to secure collaborations and friendthe digital future of the Furiships into a true institutional ous Flower Poetry Center, the and organizational effort,” nation’s first academic center said Bethany Now viskie, devoted to Black poetry. This dean of Libraries, senior acagenerous grant will support demic technology officer and the center’s internationally professor of English. “This is recognized leadership and hard, necessary work that goes provide for archival descripbeyond mere preservation and tion, digital preservation and access,” she added. “It is based global access to an extensive in equity and shared underarchive of Furious Flower standing aimed at repairing poetry and spoken-wordhistorical imbalances and performance videos in JMU Located in Cardinal House, the Furious Flower Poetry Center building a better future.” Libraries Special Collections. serves creative writers, literary and cultural scholars, and poetry The Special Collections The grant will help to lovers everywhere. department houses Furious strengthen and enhance the center’s web and scholarly publishing Flower’s extensive and unique audiovisual, print and manuscript colinfrastructure in partnership with open access and digital scholarship lections, as well as Gabbin’s papers. Funding from the Mellon Founinitiatives at JMU Libraries. This work includes Furious Flower’s trail- dation will help support videography, digital collections technology blazing literary journal The Fight & The Fiddle. and the participation of poets in Furious Flower’s fourth major field“It is really gratifying to know that this grant from the Mellon building conference in 2024. Foundation will help us to nurture, recognize and support Black poets — Ginny Cramer
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Partnership with BRCC, Merck nets economic award
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workforce development partnership between JMU, Blue Ridge Community College and Merck recently received the Judge’s Choice Award from the University Economic Development Association. Since 2019, Merck has hired 40 JMU
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graduates and 35 BRCC graduates to fill full-time and contract positions. In addition, the partners created an internship program to provide a pipeline of future workers, hired a regional manufacturing liaison, and developed a curriculum to train students for biotechnology and manufacturing jobs. The partnership received a $2.5 million special appropriation over five years from the Virginia General Assembly. “While working together seems obvi-
ous, it’s easier said than done,” said Melissa Lubin, dean of the School of Professional and Continuing Education and JMU’s chief economic engagement officer. “Finding ways to connect our work takes strategy, intention and a lot of conversation.” The partnership began after Merck announced a $1 billion investment in its Elkton facility to increase production of its human papillomavirus vaccines. — Eric Gorton (’86, ’09M)
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Mayors discuss leadership challenges of the 21st century
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n Feb. 16, JMU honored Black History Month by hosting a panel of Black female current and former mayors. Karen Freeman-Wilson, Sharon Weston Broome, Tishaura Jones and Harrisonburg Mayor Deanna Reed discussed the challenges of 21st-century leadership during a virtual Madison Vision Series event. The panel’s four trail-blazing women — who made history as their respective cities’ first African American female mayors — discussed their journeys as community leaders as well as the challenges of being Black women in positions of leadership. “My path to mayor wasn’t an easy one,” said Jones, who was sworn in as mayor of St. Louis, Missouri, in 2021 after eight years as city treasurer and two terms in the Missouri House of Representatives.
Weston Broome, (L-R): Karen Freemayor-president of man-Wilson, Sharon Weston Broome, Baton Rouge, LouTishaura Jones and i sia n a , a nd E a st Deanna Reed Baton Rouge Parish, said while there are geographic differences among the four women, they all come from shared experiences. According to Freeman-Wilson, who serves as president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League, the “connectivity of African American women as sisters” has the power to inspire young Black girls in search of role models. The conversation also touched on the COVID-19 pandemic, crisis leadership, social justice, mentorship and public service. The dialogue concluded with JMU President Jonathan R. Alger thanking the speakers for their uplifting words and messages of hope. — Kristen Essex
JMU awarded new Carnegie Classification JMU’s world-class academic excellence and national prominence has been validated with a Carnegie Commission classification of “R-2,” or a “doctoral university with high research activity.” “Our rise to such levels of recognition is a direct result of JMU’s decades of excellent teaching, support for students and commitment to a premier undergraduate and graduate experience,” said JMU President Jonathan R. Alger. JMU will have new opportunities to elevate the academic mission of the university, while expanding research and scholarship for faculty and students and participating in larger, national conversations. JMU was previously considered a “master’s-level” institution. — Mary-Hope Vass
DUKES IN SPACE!
The JMU DukeSAT team took its first steps toward space in November with the launch of a highaltitude balloon test, Hi-SAT One. The goal of the project is to develop and test a mesh network (wireless internet) in space using small satellites. This flight was the first step in proving the team’s ability to launch, track, document and recover a payload. — Michelle Anderson
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JMU engineering students bring STEM to local community
The Rockingham County Fair had a surprise guest in August — Iron Man
Engineering students Lauren Dargan reactions and participant surveys. (’22), Ryan Motta (’22), Jenna Lindsey However, it was only a test run of (’22) and William Sullivan (’22) of the their alpha-level prototype. The team Interactive Biophysics Machines Capis working on its beta-level prototype stone team presented their capstone which it hopes to display at a local project, “Engineering Iron Man,” at school in the spring. the Rockingham County Fair. The “There were a lot of teachers at the project is an essential part of Engifair asking us if we could come to their neering students’ undergraduate eduschool,” Lindsey said. “People from cation. Teams present their projects at around the county said, ‘We like this the annual Engineering Exchange. idea, we want this idea to be impleThe team created an interactive mented at our school.’” (L-R): Engineering students Lauren Dargan, learning experience for fourth- through William Sullivan, Ryan Motta and Jenna Lindsey “I am impressed with what this team sixth-grade students. Using a familiaraccomplished this past year, and how superhero, Iron Man, as part of the display, them interested and enjoy the activities,” they used engineering to excite pre-college the team hoped to impact the community by Sullivan said. kids about learning STEM,” said Jacquelyn teaching young kids about the human ner“You could see them from 30 feet away, Nagel, engineering professor and capstone vous system while sparking their interest in grabbing their parents’ shoulder, pointing adviser. “I visited their booth at the fair, and science, technology, engineering and math. at Iron Man, and then coming over and just it was great to see the lessons in action. It “We worked to try to tailor the best expe- lighting up,” Motta said. was clear that the kids were motivated by rience possible for the kids, and we thought Their display at the Rockingham County what they created.” Iron Man was the best way to do that to get Fair was a huge success based on student — Haley Huchler
“The energy that [the students] were giving back showed us that what we were doing had serious value in these kids’ lives.” — RYAN MOTTA, Engineering student
JMU launches esports program X-Labs initiative now a formal member of ECAC
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MU X-Labs is excited to join the Eastern College Athletic Conference and the competitive opportunities now available to our emerging esports program,” said Nick Swayne, executive director of X-Labs. “We are excited for our students to have access to challenging tournaments and competitive league play. For both virtual and face-to-face competition, ECAC offers exactly what we need to transition into the best of esports.” X-Labs brings together competitive play-
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ers from two established student organizations with a strong network of alumni and industry partners that are passionate about esports, and collaborate to provide unique opportunities and meaningful experiences while competing at the highest levels. Their goal is to establish JMU esports as a competitive powerhouse in the field and create a more inclusive, diverse gaming community by establishing a JMU chapter of *gameHERs, an organization that supports women and the LGBTQ+ community. X-Labs began hosting industry-related professional development workshops in February,
focusing on student communication, interviewing and networking skills. Additional workshops will support the entire player on topics such as nutrition, mental health, physical health and time management. X-Labs will coordinate academic courses focused on the many pathways into esports with interested academic departments. These interdisciplinary courses will align students’ major coursework with their passion for this multibillion dollar industry. Follow JMU esports at http:// twitch.tv/jmuesports or http:// twitter.com/JMUeSports.
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FACULTY FOCUS Spotlighting JMU professors through the lenses of scholarship, awards and service Cathy McKay (‘98) KINESIOLOGY
McKay served as a keynote speaker and research consultant at the Education University of Hong Kong in November. “I love the power of relationships and value the human connections that come with opportunities such as this one,” McKay said. Inclusive physical education and adapted physical education are two strategic research areas the university wanted to further develop. McKay is an internationally known scholar who focuses on changing attitudes and perceptions toward disability, disability sports, and parasports through education and awareness programming. McKay worked directly with the Education University of Hong Kong’s Department of Health and Physical Education, which provides professional training for future physical education teachers, as well as sports and health professionals in Hong Kong.
She shared her passion and interest in social inclusion and changing attitudes, especially those related to disability and disability sports. McKay said she believes that parasports have the power to “change societies and promote inclusion, equity and ultimately peace.” During her virtual visit due to the pandemic, McKay delivered two keynote speeches. She also led a student presentation and held daily workshops, which aimed to promote research collaboration and international connections, and offered scholarly feedback to faculty.
Jennifer Coffman INTEGRATED SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Coffman received a three-year, $1.4 million grant from the Institute for International Education to recruit and train Project GO scholars who will travel to East Africa as part of JMU’s East Africa Field School. Participants will learn beginner to advanced Swahili, under-
“Through effective teaching, health and physical education teachers can support students of all abilities in developing the skills and confidence to lead healthy and physically active lives.” — Cathy McKay, professor of Kinesiology
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take course work focused on human-environment interactions in East Africa, and demonstrate proficiency in Swahili at Interagency Language Roundtable Level 1 or better by the program’s conclusion.
Jim Herrick BIOLOGY
Scientists with the Food and Drug Administration and Virginia’s Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services said a collaboration with Herrick and his students provided critical data to improve food safety. His class collected salmonella (which causes more foodborne illness than any other bacteria) from area streams and provided samples to the state and federal labs. Since the research is offered as a class rather than within a university research lab, it boosted the number of Biology majors who were able to conduct authentic research. “The purpose of this sort of class is to broaden the opportunities for undergraduates who, for whatever reason, don’t get into a research lab,” said Herrick, adding that the training the students received in pathogen microbiology and genomics is good preparation for their futures. “We greatly appreciate the work of Dr. Herrick and his students,” said Marc Allard, an FDA research microbiologist. “Without this primary data and information, we don’t know how a pathogen contaminates produce, entering the food supply and making people sick.”
Mary Kimsey
GEOGRAPHIC SCIENCE
During the Fall 2021 semester, Kimsey’s GEOG 200 class prepared small boxes of basic necessities for Afghan refu-
gees staying in nearby Massanetta Springs, Virginia. Students spent time decorating the boxes and writing welcome notes. The boxes included essentials like toothbrushes, hats, gloves, razors and more. “We are so fortunate to have such incredible young people on campus!” said Kimsey, a finalist for the General Education Distinguished Teaching Award.
Melissa Garber
COMMUNICATION SCIENCES AND DISORDERS
Garber shared her expertise on hearing loss during National Audiology Awareness month in October. According to the American Academy of Audiology, lengthy or repeated exposure to noise above 85 decibels can damage hearing. Garber stressed the importance of having one’s hearing checked. “Hearing cannot be restored once it is damaged,” she said. “Untreated hearing loss can lead to feelings of isolation and a lack of desire for socialization.” Other signs of hearing loss can mimic those of memory loss. The JMU Audiology Clinic provides numerous services to the university community and the general public, including educational audiology, hearing-aid services, hearing-loss prevention, hearing tests, tinnitus consultations and more. Garber believes students should consider audiology as a career. “The profession of audiology is growing and job opportunities are very good,” Garber said. “JMU has the only Doctor of Audiology degree program in Virginia, and it’s consistently ranked among the nation’s best programs.” To schedule an appointment with the audiology clinic, call 540-568-6491 or email csdclinics@jmu.edu.
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First college-wide alumni board launches
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he School of Liberal Arts Alumni efit her fellow 40,000 CAL alumni. As one nication to alumni about the various ways Board, which held its first meet- of JMU’s largest colleges, offering 13 diverse they can give back to JMU through their ing in October 2010, will now majors and more than 50 minors, “the variety time, talent and financial support. Beyond officially represent the entire Col- of departments [in CAL] can make it difficult giving to the Arts and Letters Opportunity lege of Arts and Letters. for alumni to know how to plug back into Fund, which supports first-generation stu“The School of Liberal Arts dents from traditionally under“The variety of departments [in Board was created when there were represented backgrounds, and the three distinct schools [in CAL] CAL] can make it difficult for alumni Liberal Arts Legacy Fund, which that were possibly going to become to know how to plug back into JMU, supports the academic endeavors separate and distinct colleges,” said of outstanding faculty, alumni even if they would like to.” Associate Dean Chris Arndt, who can offer their time and expertise — APRIL ARMSTRONG (’92), board president and CEO serves as the college’s liaison to the through virtual mentoring events board. Since these colleges never and department advisory boards. came to pass, retaining the artificial distinc- JMU, even if they would like to,” Armstrong “Getting involved with JMU again not only tion of schools made less sense, leaving the said. “Many alumni are not aware of the benefits the students immensely, it’s also really board in an ideal position to become some- emerging unity and focus we are now bring- fun and rewarding,” said Armstrong, who thing more: a consolidated representation of ing to engage and connect CAL alumni.” believes any Duke can find an avenue to recona now-unified college. Armstrong, Arndt, Dean Robert Aguirre nect with the JMU community that helped Board President and CEO April Arm- and the board members hope the shift to a them move forward in their lives and careers. strong (’92) believes the change will only ben- college-wide board will streamline commu— Ciara Brennan (’17)
Training and Technical Assistance Center supports area children with disabilities
resources vetted by our coordinators and other VDOE initiatives. The library is located in Memorial Hall and open for visits by request. All items in our art of the College of lending library are free to borrow Education, the Trainand save educators from purchasing ing and Technical Assiseducational books and materials. tance Center provides We work hard to keep our library resources and professional developupdated with the latest resources.” ment to assist school professionals “Our coordinators plan trainworking with children with disabiliing series based on the needs of ties. Students and families can also students. For example, since the Co-directors Amanda Randall and John McNaught use its resources. pandemic, there have been many TTAC collaborates with schools oversee various services for educators. unique needs, so we have worked in Virginia’s Region 5 to support specific students with disabilities. hard to meet the needs of our school divineeds and the implementation of best pracTTAC offers consultations, workshops, sions,” Randall said. “Our coordinators tices in education for students, primarily a lending library, a resource website, news- are all previous school educators and bring letters and free services funded through the a variety of expertise and experiences to “Together we take a Virginia Department of Education. our office. Together we take a collabora“Our programs are open to in-service tive approach to helping schools support collaborative approach and pre-service teachers,” said Amanda all students.” to helping schools Randall, TTAC co-director. “In addition, Learn more about the center by reachsupport all students.” we often have JMU students who use our ing out to Randall or co-director John — AMANDA RANDALL, library and participate in our professional McNaught. TTAC co-director development events. Our library has many — Xixëllonjë Nebihu
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Talking points As loyal Madison readers, you are also brand ambassadors for James Madison University. This feature is a one-stop shop of JMU’s recent rankings and recognitions. Use it to brag about JMU and help spread the word!
J M U W I NS R IC H A R D G UA R A SC I AWA R D
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ames Madison University lors. These values include a comwon the Richard Guarmitment to prepare students for asci Award for Institulives of engaged citizenship; to tional Transformation embrace place-based responby Campus Compact for its sibilities to contribute to the outstanding commitment and health and strength of our comethical leadership to advance munities; to use the full capacity higher education community of the institution to challenge engagement. The Richard Guarsocial and economic inequalities asci Award recognizes four-year that threaten our democratic Block Party in the ’Burg welcomes JMU’s newest institutions that have underfuture; and to undertake this students to the Harrisonburg community. taken comprehensive, planned work through mutually respectefforts to advance the values articulated in Campus ful partnerships. The co-recipient of this year’s Richard Compact’s Action Statement of Presidents and ChancelGuarasci Award is Dominican University of California.
HIGH HONORS #1 in the U.S. for Best Health Care Management Bachelor’s Programs #5 in the U.S. for Best Counseling Master’s Programs for 2022
#8 Democracy Matters podcast in “Best Democracy and Governance Podcasts” #12 Best College Towns in America (24/7 Wall St.)
#25 in the U.S. for Best Nutrition Bachelor’s Degree Program
#50 America’s Best
Online Learning Schools (Newsweek)
Best online grad programs Online education is no longer just an option for many students — it has become the norm. Advancements in technology, course design, highspeed internet availability and more are moving online learning forward. U.S. News & World Report recognized three JMU online graduate programs among the nation’s best in 2022: MBA (No. 24), Computer Information Technology (No. 42) and Education (No. 120).
HEEDing diversity In 2021, JMU was recognized with the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity award from Insight Into Diversity. The publication named JMU a “Diversity Champion” in 2017. Diversity Champions exemplify an unyielding commitment to diversity and inclusion throughout their campus
communities, across academic programs, and at the highest administrative levels.
A leader in student voting JMU is one of America’s Best Colleges for Student Voting, according to Washington Monthly. The rankings are based on voter turnout in the 2020 presidential election. According to JMU Civic, 74.6% of JMU students voted in the election, a 20.5-point increase over the 2016 election and 8.6 points higher than the national average for higher education
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institutions. A record 92% of JMU students also registered to vote in 2020.
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NATION Chase DeLauter at bat during the Dukes’ season finale vs. VCU in May 2021.
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Chasing the Majors
DeLauter near the top of every MLB draft board
BY CHRISTIAN HOWE
s a Dukes baseball player with three seasons under He was a guy we were going to follow — a guy [who] we saw being a his belt, Chase DeLauter typically would have really young prospect.” DeLauter echoed those sentiments, feeling played in more than 150 games and had plenty of that the fit was right. time to bond with teammates and experience the As DeLauter grew to more than 6 feet tall and became stronger typical college life of a student-athlete in their during his junior year, JMU pitching coach Jimmy Jackson noticed early 20s. However, that hasn’t been the case his hitting skills while watching him pitch his way to West Virginia’s for DeLauter. The left-handed pitcher and outfielder was just 16 Gatorade Co-Player of the Year. Ikenberry then noticed DeLauter’s games into his freshman season when the COVID-19 pandemic hit hitting prowess during the summer of his senior year — and knew and canceled the remainder of the 2020 campaign. Over the next two that the Dukes had a special, two-way player coming to Harrisonseasons, DeLauter played in just 42 games for the purple and gold, burg. DeLauter repeated his success as the Gatorade Player of the yet he is one of the most anticipated draft prospects in the nation. Year to cap off his sterling high-school career. When he committed to JMU, DeLauter DeLauter quickly stood out in the lineup could not have envisioned that a pandemic when he arrived at JMU. As a freshman, he hit would impact the majority of his collegiate leadoff and reached base in the first 15 games career. “In the fall of his junior year of high of the season. After his streak was snapped in school, he came to one of our late summer/ Game 16, the pandemic halted all NCAA sports early fall camps as a pitcher,” said Marlin Ikenfor the remainder of the season. In those 16 — MARLIN IKENBERRY, berry, head baseball coach. “We liked his arm. games, DeLauter led the team in at-bats (68), head baseball coach
“He’s got a shot at being a pretty high draft pick.”
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“When it all really started to click in that this is a real thing now … the scouts were showing up in the fall, bringing their squads.” — CHASE DeLAUTER
hits (26), runs (14), doubles (seven), slugging percentage (.559), on-base percentage (.455) and batting average (.382). He was recognized as a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball and earned All-State honors after the shortened season. The majority of college baseball summer leagues did not play in 2020. However, one local league did not shut down: the Rockingham County Baseball League. Playing for the Broadway Bruins of the RCBL, DeLauter put together one of the best seasons in recent history. In 66 regular-season at-bats, he hit .545 with 13 home runs and 39 RBIs while scoring 36 runs, and adding nine doubles and three triples. He won Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year, leading the Bruins to their first RCBL title since 1938. Upon returning to campus in the fall, Ikenberry knew DeLauter had a shot at Major League Baseball. “Just some of the things he did,” Ikenberry said, “how the ball came off his bat, how athletic he was. I saw flashes of it his freshman year, but there were only 16 games,” Ikenberry said. “When playing in our county league and hitting balls with wood and some of the home runs, that’s when I kind of realized, ‘Hey, he’s got a shot at being a pretty high draft pick.’” The 2021 season was difficult to navigate because of pandemic pauses and postponements, lacking the consistency and routine so important to baseball players. Despite the irregularity, DeLauter continued his upward trend from the summer and led the Colonial Athletic Association in hitting with a .386 batting average, with six home runs and 21 RBIs. He ended the season on a 16-game hit streak and reached base in 25 of the 26 games in which he played, including the final 24 games of the season, earning First Team All-Conference The outfielder/ honors. The pro scouts left-handed pit began to trickle in as cher is a sophomore Sport and the success from the Recreation Manseason continued, cul- agement major.
minating in a summer stint in the Cape Cod League, widely considered the best summer league in the country. The Cape was a new experience for DeLauter. “I didn’t really know what to expect going up there. I took it with a grain of salt and just kind of did my own thing,” he said. He enjoyed the routine of playing every day, and it showed on the field as he hit .298 and tied for the league lead in home runs with nine. Exposed to new professional scouts and facing top competition daily, his draft stock skyrocketed. JMU has had multiple players play in the Cape, but DeLauter was the first Duke to win the Robert A. McNeese Outstanding Pro Prospect Award. The summer of 2021 was the beginning of something extraordinary, as D1Baseball chose DeLauter as the winner of its Summer Breakout Prospect Award. When JMU’s fall camp started, the opportunity that was building finally began to sink in for DeLauter. “I think that’s when it all really started to click in that this is a real thing now,” he said.
“Then the scouts were showing up in the fall, bringing their squads.” Since then, DeLauter has been in the top 10 of every major MLB draft board for college prospects and overall prospects, appearing as high as No. 3 overall in Perfect Game’s comprehensive draft board. If that comes to fruition, he would become the highest MLB pick in JMU’s history, passing two Dukes selected 34th overall: Brian McNichol (’95) and Dan Meyer (’02). During the 2022 season, DeLauter was off to a hot start before suffering a broken left foot in early April. Prior to the injury, he posted a .437 batting average with eight home runs and more walks (28) than strikeouts (21). Although he played in just 24 games at the time Madison went to press, his numbers over the course of his collegiate career to date speak for themselves. Ikenberry feels confident about DeLauter’s future. “I think his ceiling is extremely high,” Ikenberry said. “I think he projects as a corner outfielder in the big leagues. How long it takes him to get there? I think we can all be shocked.”
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HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2022
Six student-athletes and three former coaches are the individuals selected for the James Madison Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2022. The induction ceremony will be held Friday, Sept. 9, 2022, in the Festival Conference and Student Center. Samantha Smith Barany (’01) Women’s Swimming & Diving (Athlete 1997-2001, Head Coach 2004-13) A student-athlete and coach for JMU women’s swimming and diving, Samantha Smith Barany is one of just two people in JMU Athletics history to win a conference championship as an athlete and a coach, joining fellow Hall of Famer Shelley Klaes. In 2001, Barany helped lead JMU to its first team title since 1994. She won individual Colonial Athletic Association Championships in 2001 in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke and team titles in the 200- and 400-yard medleys, establishing JMU program records in all four events. She was the first in program history to achieve an NCAA qualifying standard, which she reached in the 100 breaststroke. As a coach, Barany built the program into a consistent top-three finisher in the CAA, emerging with a championship in 2012. She also won CAA Coach of the Year in 2012. Kenny Brooks (’92) Women’s Basketball (Head Coach 2002-16) The all-time winningest head coach in the history of JMU women’s basketball, Kenny Brooks became interim head coach in 2002. He went 337122 in 14 seasons, breaking the previous record in 2015. The Dukes won five Colonial Athletic Association Championships under Brooks with five NCAA appearances. He won CAA Coach of the Year four times, ranking second all-time in CAA Tourna ment coaching victories and victories in CAA games. JMU achieved postseason play every season from 2006 through 2016, including the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2014 and runner-up of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament in 2012. Brooks was a four-year letterwinner for JMU men’s basketball under coach Lefty
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Driesell. He ranks fourth in career 3-point
As a quarterback, Landers set the JMU single-
percentage at 41%.
season rushing record in 2008 while also com-
Dawn Evans (’11) Women’s Basketball (2007-11) One of the most prolific scorers in JMU women’s basketball, in the Colonial Athletic Association and in Virginia, Dawn Evans accumulated 2,667 points for an average of 21.3 points per game over four seasons with the Dukes. Both are JMU records and stand sec-
pleting 63.3% of his passes with just four interceptions. He averaged 126.4 rushing yards per game. As a junior, he ranked 14th in the nation for pass efficiency and 20th in total offense. He rushed for 1,273 yards and passed for 1,678. Among all players, Landers ranks third in career rushing yards at JMU, fourth in rushing touchdowns, sixth in all-purpose yards and sixth in total offense.
ond in CAA history. Evans ranks as the all-
Dave Lombardo
time record-holder for career 3-pointers in
Women’s Soccer
the CAA while also ranking third in career
(Head Coach 1990-2017)
free throws, sixth in free-throw percent-
Dave Lombardo started the
age and 10th in assists. She was a key cog
women’s soccer program at
under Brooks, going 100-35 in her four-year
JMU, and in 28 seasons went 337-222-35 for
journey. Evans was a three-time First Team
a .597 winning percentage, posting a win-
All-State and All-CAA selection, and was
ning record in 23 of his 28 campaigns. Upon
Rookie of the Year in Virginia in 2008. For
his retirement in 2017, he ranked 12th all-time
the 2009-10 season, she was fifth nation-
among NCAA Division I women’s soccer head
ally with a school-record 24.6 points per
coaches with 415 total victories in 35 years as
game. In December 2009, Evans was diag-
a head coach at four-year institutions. He has
nosed with focal segmental glomeruloscle-
12 NCAA appearances as a head coach with 11
rosis. She became an ambassador for The
at JMU. The five consecutive NCAA appear-
NephCure Foundation, which battles kid-
ances from 1995 to 1999 helped JMU post
ney diseases. She earned the CAA’s presti-
the 12th-most wins among all Division I pro-
gious John H. Randolph Inspiration Award,
grams in the ’90s. Lombardo led the Dukes
and was a finalist for the Lowe’s Senior Class
to four CAA Championships and was CAA
Award, the V Foundation Comeback Award
Coach of the Year in 1996, 2007 and 2013,
and NCAA Woman of the Year.
in addition to three state Coach of the Year
Rodney Landers (’09) Football (2005-08) Rodney Landers quarterbacked
honors. His team clinched three regularseason titles, reaching at least the semifinal round of the CAA in 16 seasons.
the Dukes for two seasons in
Jake Lowery (’17)
2007 and 2008, leading one of
Baseball (2009-11)
the best squads in program history in 2008
Jake Lowery anchored a pow-
to a No. 1 ranking and the top seed in the FCS
erful lineup in 2011 to the pro-
playoffs before finishing in the semifinals. He
gram’s second Colonial Athletic
was runner-up for the Walter Payton Award.
Association Championship, an NCAA Regional
He was a Second Team All-American, Colo-
runner-up finish and the second-most wins in
nial Athletic Association Offensive Player of
JMU baseball history. Lowery won the Johnny
the Year and winner of the Dudley Award as
Bench Award as the nation’s best catcher,
the best Division I football player in Virginia.
and was a First Team All-American, College
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Baseball Insider’s National Hitter of the Year, CAA Player of the Year and VaSID State Player of the Year. He ranks fourth in career triples and 10th in home runs. Lowery was drafted by the Cleveland Indians and played nine minor-league seasons with Cleveland and Washington. Anthony Wallace (’03) Men’s Track & Field (2000-03) Anthony Wallace was AllAmerican in track and field with a fifth-place finish in the long jump at the 2001-02 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. At the time of his graduation, he ranked second all-time in the indoor long jump, third in the outdoor long jump, third in the outdoor 100-meter dash and seventh as a member of the outdoor 400-meter relay. In addition to the 200102 NCAA appearance, he was an NCAA provisional qualifier in 2002-03 as the IC4A long-jump indoor champion, his third IC4A title in the event. He was the Colonial Athletic Association champion in the long jump and 100-meter at the 2002 league meet, winning the long jump and placing fourth in the 60-meter at the IC4A indoor meet. He earned a pair of All-East honors in the 2000-01 season with a fifth-place, outdoor showing in the 100-meter dash and a thirdplace, indoor finish in the 4x100 relay.
JMU recognizes 100 seasons of women’s basketball JMU Athletics unveiled a commemorative logo at the start of the 2021-22 women’s basketball season in recognition of the program’s centennial. The inaugural season of women’s basketball at the State Normal School for Women at Harrisonburg was 1919-20. The depart ment previously celebrated 100 years since the program’s inception; however, the 2021-22 campaign was the 100th season in the program’s history due to not competing during the wartime travel restrictions of 1942-44. The commemorative logo was dev eloped in coordination with LEARFIELD’s licensing division, the Collegiate Licensing Company, and used in various in-game, social media and merchandising opportunities. The design thematically aligns
with the logo used in the fall to celebrate 50 seasons of JMU football. The logo features a basketball with the number “100” displayed prominently in the middle, and celebratory ribbons above and below with the JMU logo and the word “Seasons.” The eight sections of the ball each contain a white star, symbolic of the program’s eight all-time NCAA Tournament victories. The outer circle around the basketball features the first and last seasons, ’19-20 and ’21-22 (reading side to side). The bottom of the logo lists 1,000 wins, as JMU was the third program nationally to achieve the all-time benchmark with a home win over UNC-Wilmington in 2015. JMU still ranks in the top 5 all-time, trailing only the University of Tennessee and the University of Connecticut.
Jay Woodson (’04) Men’s Golf (2000-04) Jay Woodson was a three-time All-Colonial Athletic Association and two-time All-State honoree while being named to the CAA 25th Anniversary Team. He was the CAA Player of the Year in 2004, a member of the NCAA East Regional Team and the JMU Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He was the Virginia State Amateur Champion in 2002 and 2003. Woodson turned pro and captured four consecutive Virginia State Open Championships. He became the seventh player to win the amateur and open championships in Virginia. Woodson has competed in two PGA Tour events and spent different parts of his pro career on the NGA, Web.com and Canadian tours.
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ECAC title extends swimming and diving championship streak to five years
J
MU Swimming and Diving took home a team title for the fifth consecutive season, winning the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships in February. Sophomore Jess Pryne was named Swimmer of the Meet, becoming the first Duke to earn that honor since Bonnie Zhang (’20, ’21M). Head Coach Dane Pedersen won Coach of the Meet. The Dukes scored 695 points with Navy taking second at 642.5 points. The Dukes won the championship thanks to the successes of several team members. In the 1650 freestyle finals, Abby Maguire and Sidney Whitfield finished second and
third, respectively. Maguire swam a time of 16:55.92, while Whitfield finished with 17:09.33. Madison Cottrell picked up her third win of the weekend, taking the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:58.50. Also in the 200 backstroke, Cameron Gring finished second with the sixth-fastest time in program history at 1:58.83. Karen Siddoway took home a silver in the 100 freestyle, as she swam a 50.43 for the eighth-fastest time in program history. Pryne and Morgan Whaley placed in the 200 butterfly with Pryne swimming a time of 2:00.58 and Whaley right behind her at 2:00.73. Abby Zindler swam 2:25.21 in the 200 breaststroke to finish 13th.
“The biggest lesson COVID taught me last year was that I coach an amazingly resilient group of women,” Pedersen said. “The CAA’s decision in November, once again, asked more than this group should have to overcome. In 72 hours, they processed, moved on and illustrated resolve beyond their years. I couldn’t be prouder. The championship is great, tangible proof of the success of their efforts, but the memories of laughter, dancing and smiles are the best reward I could hope for. Thank you to the ECAC for hosting an amazing championship event, allowing us to attend and illustrating true class.”
“The championship is great, tangible proof of the success of their efforts, but the memories of laughter, dancing and smiles are the best reward.” — DANE PEDERSEN, head swimming and diving coach
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President Alger joins the Knight Commission
night Foundation President and CEO Alberto Ibargüen and Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics co-chairs Arne Duncan, Len Elmore and Nancy L. Zimpher have announced the appointment of JMU President Jonathan R. Alger as a member of the Knight Commission. Alger, now in his 10th year as president of JMU, is a nationally recognized leader and scholar in higher education law, and has worked actively on legal and policy issues related to college athletics for many years. “Knight Foundation has been proud to support the Knight Commission from its inception through the present,” Ibargüen said. “Its work has never been more important, and we are delighted Jonathan Alger is willing to contribute his expertise.” “It’s hard to imagine anyone being a better fit to help our group address pressing issues in college sports at this pivotal moment than Jonathan Alger,” said Zimpher, chancellor emeritus of the State University of New York. “Not only has Jon been a well-respected leader at James Madison for nearly a decade, but his legal expertise on the college sports landscape will prove to be invaluable to our commission.” Alger has served on the boards of national organizations such as the American Council on Education, American Association of Colleges & Universities and Campus Compact. Since 2018, he has served on the NCAA Division I Infractions Appeals Committee. From 2014-16, he served on the NCAA Division I Board of Directors, including working
with groups related to preparing student-athletes for life after sports and legal issues, and on the Presidential Advisory Group. He has given presentations about the presidential perspective on college athletics at several NCAA events as well as to the Sports Lawyers Association. As a lawyer, Alger has worked extensively on legal issues impacting college sports. In his previous roles as assistant general counsel at the University of Michigan and general counsel at Rutgers University, he provided legal support and guidance for the athletic departments. He is a nationally recognized expert on diversity and inclusion in higher education, previously helping develop national policy on issues under Title IX and Title VI in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Since 2016, he has served as a presidential mentor for five mentees through the NCAA Pathways Program, which focuses on career advancement for participants from senior-level positions at NCAA member schools. Alger began his legal career in the labor and employment group of the international law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, where he worked with clients such as Major League Baseball. He is a graduate of Swarthmore College and Harvard Law School. Earlier this year, the commission released a new report in its Transforming the D-I Model series, titled “Connecting Athletics Revenues With the Educational Model of College Sports.” The proposed CARE Model would require the NCAA, the College Football Playoff and Division I conferences to more closely connect the distribution criteria and spending of billions of dollars in shared athletics revenues with the broad educational mission of NCAA Division I college athletics programs.
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Bright Lights
I
Carrying on his legacy
Proud alumni siblings keep father’s spirit alive
f the late Rodney James Fallon could see everything his family is doing, there is no doubt he would be teeming with pride. An innovator with an entrepreneurial spirit, Fallon created several profitable businesses using his passion for launching new ideas. According to his family, he loved everything about JMU; it’s his family’s favorite university. When visiting his children on campus, his cherished activities were walking on the Quad, dining at what was then called Top Dog and perusing the collection at the Mineral Museum. His three children are all JMU alumni and College of Business products. “Our dad was a teacher, coach, mentor and entrepreneur — but, above all, he was our best friend and hero,” Meredythe Fallon (’12) said.
The Fallon Challenge
The Fallon family has an ongoing partnership with CoB that awards scholarships to teams of student entrepreneurs for the best values-based
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BY KHALIL GARRIOTT (’04)
business ideas. It’s a passion project (L-R): Austin (’15), that all the siblings — Meredythe, Edythe, Meredythe (’12) and Abigail Austin Fallon (’15) and Abigail (’16) Fallon inspire Fallon (’16) — and their mother, students during the annual Fallon ChalEdythe Fallon, greatly enjoy. “This scholarship encourages lenge. (Inset): Rodney James Fallon. students to realize that those big ideas to change the world are realistic with the right plan and the right people,” Austin Fallon said. An annual event that gets bigger and better every year, The Fallon Challenge will host its seventh iteration this fall in Hartman Hall. In partnership with the Gilliam Center for Entrepreneurship, the competitive but friendly contest is open to all majors and class years. “It’s a beautiful sight to see students dream big. We look for outside-of-the-box thinkers. We want to stretch students’ mindsets,” Abigail Fallon said. Recent winners have included students who made their marks on Madison, with names like lacrosse star Halle Duenkel (’20) and
PH OTO G R A PH S CO U RT E SY O F M E R E DY T H E FA LLO N ( ’ 12)
B R I G H T
L I G H T S
Ivan Jackson (’21), former executive “We love to honor our dad feedback from judges in their entrepreeditor of The Breeze, having secured neurial journeys,” Meredythe Fallon said. through setting the stage the $1,000 scholarship. After earning her master’s degree in “The Fallon Challenge helped me for students in their forma- Education from Shenandoah Univerto get out of my comfort zone and in 2016, Meredythe Fallon went on tive years … to share their sity push myself to new levels,” said Katie to work for accounting powerhouses gifts with the world.” Rigione (’22), a Marketing major and Deloitte and KPMG. She’s also been Fallon Challenge finalist. “This chalan award-winning teacher with Fairfax — MEREDYTHE FALLON (’12) lenge reminded me to see the world County (Virginia) Public Schools. Her through the lens of opportunities rather than “Those lightbulb moments are def i- desire for setting students up for success comes problems. It taught me to not take no as the nitely special to see happen in the youthful from her heart — and her father’s influence. immediate answer; instead, continue to work mind,” Austin Fallon said. “I love to see a She does it with a high-energy, positive personhard and strive for a better solution.” young person with a dream raise up the cour- ality all her own; her engaging, personal touch Donations to the Rodney J. Fallon Schol- age to express themselves and their passions.” comes through every step of the way. arship Fund are always needed and appreAll of the Fallons are involved with event “Our dad loved us so much and … gave us ciated. Through the scholarship and The preparation, planning and execution. It’s an confidence to be a light in this world,” MereFallon Challenge, his spirit and legacy have event they anticipate each year. dythe Fallon said. “We’ve implemented and lived on since his death from cancer in 2011 “It’s the memorial for my father, reun instilled the values our dad taught us: faith, at age 59. His family said he brought out the ion with JMU professors and students, and family, love, the truth, hard work, creativity best in others, particularly those who sought the sensation of returning home that I look and fun. We love to honor our dad through friendship or guidance. forward to every year,” Austin Fallon said. setting the stage for students in their formative “I know that my dad would be very proud For Abigail Fallon, it’s a beautiful sight to years … to share their gifts with the world.” of the hard work and fun that students are put- see students dream big. “The Fallon Challenge It’s no wonder Rigione called the Fallons ting into their presentations,” said Meredythe originally started as an idea that our family some of the best people she’s ever met. Fallon, an Honors graduate with a bachelor’s had to honor our father in a fun, competitive “Each one of them is so charismatic, joyful degree in Business Management. “With each and creative way at our family’s favorite uni- and giving of themselves to others,” Rigione event we hold, he’s there with us and having versity! An idea that evolved into a success said. “From the stories I have heard about fun watching students stretch out of their com- story: entrepreneurship at its finest!” their dad and from meeting their mom, it fort zones. We are so blessed to honor him by Her sister agreed. “This event encourages makes sense why this family is so wonderful. awarding a deserving JMU student with the students to have confidence in themselves and Their father might not be here anymore, but Rodney J. Fallon Scholarship each year.” gives them the opportunity to get real-time he is definitely shining within them.” In November 2021, more than 300 students, faculty members, JMU alumni, Washington, D.C.-based business leaders, local Harrisonburg entrepreneurs and Rockingham County high school students attended. “I am sure Rod is beaming from heaven and rooting everyone on to be their very best,” Edythe Fallon said. “I am extremely impressed with all students who have pitched their ideas. They come prepared, engaged and conduct themselves in a very professional manner. I am not surprised at all that they attend JMU.”
A family affair
It’s not a stretch to say that the Fallons directly help JMU students find post-graduation success. Their shared passion lies in creating opportunities for students to bring their ideas to life. For the Fallon family, seeing talented students impress the panel of judges is the best part.
Through The Fallon Challenge, a partnership between the Fallon family and CoB, teams of student entrepreneurs win scholarships for their values-based business ideas.
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A Culture of
Kindness Celebrating the gift that keeps on giving
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By Emma Loscalzo (’22)
Illustrations By Anna Godeassi
At JMU, Dukes not only hold doors, they “reach back and pull others forward,” said Tim Miller (’96, ’00M), vice president for Student Affairs. That benevolent spirit is at the heart of the Madison Experience. Every day, students and employees practice a longstanding tradition of kindness — even toward strangers. These simple acts can have ripple effects throughout the community. “This is a place where strangers become acquaintances, acquaintances become friends, and friends become lifelong friends, and that can start with something as simple as the holding of a door or a smile,” Miller said. Dave Barnes (’05P, ’09P), director of University Unions, has seen this phenomenon firsthand. During his daughter Sarah Barnes Orem’s (’05) first tour as a student ambassador — a highlight for members of the organization — a friend gifted her a dozen roses. “It was very emotional,” Barnes said. “It was beautiful.” A couple from New Hampshire on the tour was so moved by what they witnessed and “how this community loved each other” that they perpetuated another act of kindness. The couple, who did not know the Barnes family previously, found the tour guide’s information and sent her a care package as a thank-you for leading the tour. In those special moments, Barnes feels the essence of JMU — “that community of kindness that touches beyond, in ways we don’t even know about.”
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Jennifer Haller, a member of Friends of Rachel, a student organization that performs random acts of kindness for members of the JMU Family, left notes of encouragement and affirmation on the mirrors in McGrawLong Hall during her freshman year. In the following months, she remembers seeing new notes added by her hallmates. “It made me feel really good that they appreciated it and then went on to do the same thing,” she said. When students returned to campus from spring break in March, they were welcomed with a weeklong promotion of kindness organized by The Madison Society, a group of students and employees dedicated to upholding positive traditions at JMU. The annual event is meant “to put a smile on people’s faces and make them realize that they are wanted and valued,” said Barnes, one of the group’s leaders. During the week, students received two small gifts, one to keep and one to share. The idea was that the gifts — roughly 2,500 total — would inspire the people who received them to be kind, in turn, to others. The week featured activities, giveaways and random acts of kindness both on campus and online, including daily prompts on The Madison Society’s Facebook page. JMU’s culture of kindness isn’t confined just to campus, however. Board of Visitors student representative Xaiver Williams experienced JMU kindness a few hundred miles away in Hampton, Virginia. There, inside a fast-food restaurant, a stranger behind him in line reached out and paid for his meal. The stranger gave Williams no explanation, other than a glance at his JMU polo shirt and a “Go Dukes!” While getting his car washed before beginning his journey from Falls Church, Virginia, to Harrisonburg for his first day as vice president for Student Affairs, Miller heard a stranger call out “J-M-U.” A JMU parent had noticed his purple attire and struck up a conversation, and she even got a picture of
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“This is a place where strangers become acquaintances, acquaintances become friends, and friends become lifelong friends.” — Tim Miller (’96, ’00M), vice president for Student Affairs
them together before he drove off. Miller makes a point to pay it forward. He enjoys surprising others with acts of kindness, which he says are “about the recipient, not the giver.” Recently, Miller and Williams surprised students by placing more than two dozen boxes of Girl Scout Cookies on tables around campus for others to enjoy. Although JMU is known for having a friendly campus, admittedly it can be difficult for Dukes to step out of their comfort zones and approach a stranger. “It’s really hard to get over that [initial anxiety] and do your first random act of kindness,” Haller said, “but seeing them really happy
and knowing you made a difference in their day, it’s all worth it.” In times of grief and despair, Dukes’ love and respect for one another can help the community heal. On Feb. 11, the entire JMU Family came together on the Quad for a “Gathering of Hope” in the wake of tragedies on campus and at nearby Bridgewater College. Those in attendance wrote messages of hope on purple-andgold streamers — a coveted JMU tradition — and held them high while the Marching Royal Dukes performed. Williams, President Jonathan R. Alger, Furious Flower Poetry Center Executive Director Joanne V. Gabbin and others addressed the crowd, offering words of inspiration and compassion. Williams’ hope for the gathering was that it would be “a catalyst for how we work together going forward, how we stand together in times of tragedy and crisis, how we love one another in moments where we don’t feel loved.” In that spirit, Williams was inspired to join the MRDs — the first campus community that felt like family to him — to play “Salvation Is Created.” During a conversation with Mike Davis,
JMU’s chief of staff, Williams was inspired to put the intentions behind the “Gathering of Hope” into action. At the end of his remarks, Williams gave faculty members in attendance a homework assignment. When the last song concluded, he asked them to get to know two students at the event and remind them that they are valued. The goal was to “set up intentional moments for students and faculty to truly take a step toward healing and community reconciliation together,” he said. Even Madison’s secret society, IN8, has taken notice of how Dukes band together in response to crises. Traditionally, at the end of each semester, IN8 places public letters and candles in front of Wilson Hall to recognize the benevolence of eight JMU students who spread kindness while no one was watching.
(Above): Tim Miller and students at the “Gathering of Hope” on the Quad. (Right): Duke Dog’s free hugs contribute to the culture of kindness on campus. (Below): IN8 letter and mirror on display at Alumnae Hall.
“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” — Coretta Scott King In a classic pattern of eights, the secret society made a surprise midterm recognition on March 8 on the eighth step of Wilson Hall. IN8 left a framed public letter recognizing the “outstanding contributions by the Madison community, serving to strengthen connections and amplify our love for one another,” for “recent events have left many with heavy hearts and minds, yearning for growth within one another and this institution.” It also left a new item to accompany the traditional candle and letter — a mirror. The letter ended with a quote by Coretta Scott King: “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” Learn about The Madison Society at https://j.mu/msociety.
(Above): A message inside giveaway bags for students. (Right): Tim Miller attends a Friends of Rachel meeting in March.
“ G AT H E R I N G O F H O PE” PH OTO G R A PH BY J U LI A W E AV E R ( ’ 2 1 ); I N 8 BY C A M E RO N H O U C K ( ’ 22); BAG S BY H A N N A S E A R FOS S ( ’ 22)
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Exercise mentorship program
focuses on all dimensions of wellness
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By Kristen Essex
Savannah Carmichael had been missing in-person connections during the COVID-19 pandemic. Being unable to interact with her classmates during her senior year of high school had impacted her mental health, making the transition to JMU more stressful. The University Recreation Center’s Mentorship Through Exercise program partnered her with a fitness mentor. “Being able to have this connection with someone after all of that time is like a breath of fresh air,” Carmichael said. The program, which combines elements of physical activity and positive mentorship, pairs students with faculty and staff members outside of the traditional classroom setting. Mentorship Through Exercise creators Matt Lovesky (’12M) and Erica Foltz (’14) were inspired by their past mentorships and understood that wellness for college students goes beyond physical health. “This program is a perfect combination of focusing on all dimensions of wellness, which UREC really strives toward to create programs that meet mental, physical and emotional wellness,” Foltz said. The program coordinators, Foltz and Tim Howley (’04, ’05M), foster authentic mentorships when creating educational experiences in a recreational atmosphere. They encourage students to team up with mentors who allow them to interact with someone outside of their social circles.
Savannah Carmichael (left) and her mentor, Sonia Doulamis, enjoy a workout session during their weekly meeting at UREC.
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Carmichael and her mentor, Sonia Doulamis, UREC’s assistant director for substance misuse prevention, have used the opportunity to form a connection and become partners in exercise. The pair’s weekly meetings consist of various workouts and group classes. “Having a mentor on campus has made me a lot more comfortable and confident at the gym,” Carmichael said. Doulamis emphasized that social wellness and physical health go hand-in-hand. “An added benefit is that exercise is a powerful method of dealing with stress,” she said. “The life of a college student is stressful without a pandemic, so the opportunity to connect with others and de-stress is a key component of coping.” Kellen Sweeney (’21), a former UREC employee and previous mentee in the program, said Mentorship Through Exercise offers an opportunity to meet faculty and staff in a way that most students never get to experience. “So much of college, you are talking to professors and faculty members in a strictly professional or academic setting. This program goes beyond that,” he said. “I was able to connect with my mentors, not just as faculty members of JMU but in a personal way through our workouts.” Sweeney and his mentor discussed their backgrounds, jobs, classes and lives. “It was so great to get to know them in this fashion,” Sweeney said. My mentors became more than just faculty members of JMU, but great friends and a wonderful professional support system.” Foltz and Howley underscored the importance of uniting people with similar interests and from different demographics to harness partnerships that will teach lessons for a lifetime. “Ultimately, we learn and grow from one another,” said Ty Greenough (’18), graduate assistant for substance misuse prevention at UREC. “So, if you don’t have a mentor, you might be missing a perspective from an age group and lived wisdom that you might not get anywhere else.”
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Below: Program coordinator Erica Foltz (’14). Right: Tim Howley (’04, ’05M), program coordinator, is passionate about his campus connection with mentee Chelsea Crawford.
“This is a perfect combination of focusing on all dimensions of wellness, which UREC really strives toward to create programs that meet mental, physical and emotional wellness.” — Erica Foltz (’14), UREC assistant director for operations
Above: Howley and Crawford, a Health Sciences major, harness the full benefits of their workout when mentorship meets exercise.
“The number of staff and faculty who seem eager to connect with students and offer their time and knowledge is inspiring,” Howley said. “They legitimately want to be there for students and learn from them.” Participants are often paired based on similarities shared in an online questionnaire upon signing up for the program. Once in the pro-
gram, they meet weekly to engage in activities of their choosing for a 10-week commitment period. Mentorship Through Exercise provides resources and training to equip mentors to be successful in their roles. Mentors and mentees can participate in a variety of activities at UREC ranging from racket sports to weightlifting to rock climbing. Sign-ups for the pro-
gram are available on the UREC website. The program coordinators attribute their passion for the project to their Madison Experience and the connections they made while attending the university — connections that evolved from undergraduate mentorships to now, years later, being co-workers. They hope that students will be open to experiencing these full-circle opportunities themselves. The program provides the educational opportunities and support for students to foster healthy lifestyles and carry those habits forward post-graduation. UREC’s professional staff members are committed to developing that application for students. The coordinators plan to expand the program in coming semesters to meet demand. The Spring 2022 semester doubled their expectations for numbers of participants, and they hope this increased interest continues into the fall. Because of the pandemic, the focus during Spring 2022 was on recruiting students whose college experiences were affected. “We would love to see it grow, as there is a heightened need within the student community for this relationship, especially in person, because the campus community has really had a void of that opportunity,” Foltz said.
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A flowering seed from the West Indies
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Alleyne set to assume leadership of
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renowned Furious Flower Poetry Center
By Becca Evans (’18, ’20M)
A talented Trini-American writer, joyful conversationalist, and award-winning poet and scholar, Lauren K. Alleyne is highly regarded around campus. The English professor and assistant director of the Furious Flower Poetry Center will succeed Joanne V. Gabbin as director of the center this summer. Alleyne didn’t start down her career path from the small,
twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago with the intention of pursuing poetry, but the creativity and joy she exudes make it clear that she embraced it wholeheartedly. Educated at all-girls private schools, Alleyne excelled in
English courses but leaned toward the sciences when imagining her future. She emigrated to the U.S. and enrolled at St. Francis College in New York to pursue radiology. During her junior year, just two hours into her orientation with the radiology department at a local hospital, Alleyne realized a career in the medical field was not for her. She changed her major to English, graduated with honors, and went on to earn a master’s degree from Iowa State and then a Master of Fine Arts degree from Cornell University in Creative Writing. Like seed to f lower, the journey from student to academic took place as Alleyne grew into herself, her culture and the imagination she expressed from an early age.
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Alleyne’s first poems were calypsos written for her sister, though at the time the witty songs and melodies didn’t seem much like poetry to her. Calypso is a folk genre that speaks to topical events and social commentary, full of double entendre and sassiness, and the tradition remains a major influence in Alleyne’s work. “Calypso comes out of a tradition of enslaved Africans singing about the conditions of their lives, speaking back to their masters in song. It remains a part of Trinidad culture, especially around Carnival,” Alleyne said. “Calypso was my first poetic home and, in so many ways, shaped my sensibility. I’ve
never been able to make sense of this discussion that happens in the American academy about whether poetry should be political.” For Alleyne, her poetry, trade and tradition were always political. As an immigrant and a Black woman in America, her work is an extension of the complex social systems she navigates daily. “My work is really invested in encounters,” she said. “When you bring your body to space, that space has history and you have history, and how those histories converse or conflict with each other, how they attract or repel each other, that’s what I’m interested in exploring.”
The classes Alleyne teaches at JMU reflect that approach, allowing her to share her passion and unique approach to poetry. “I tell my students that they are in and of the world, so if they pay attention to the ways they engage the world, they’ll never run out of thoughts or feelings to write about,” she said. Her published and forthcoming works invite readers to explore Black narratives of life, expression and liberation. Alleyne received a 2022 Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, recognizing her accomplishments in teaching, research
“Calypso comes out of a tradition of enslaved Africans singing about the conditions of their lives, speaking back to their masters in song.” — Lauren K. Alleyne, award-winning poet
An associate professor of English at JMU, Alleyne’s fiction, poetry and nonfiction have been widely published in journals and anthologies, including The Atlantic, Ms. Muse, Women’s Studies Quarterly, Interviewing the Caribbean and Crab Orchard Review, among many others.
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and advocacy. Honeyfish, her second poetry collection, won the 2018 Green Rose Prize, was a finalist for the 2020 Library of Virginia Literary Award for Poetry and was nominated for the 2020 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Poetry, among other honors. Alleyne has a limited-edition chapbook launching in April with Kalamazoo Book Arts Center, an essay in a stunning collection about the experience of Black instructors in the classroom and another lyric essay in a forthcoming collection of environmental literature. Her work with Furious Flower is another natural extension of her creativity, and a
desire to share and explore the richness of Black life — its struggles and joys. As editor-in-chief of The Fight & The Fiddle, which features Black poetry as well as critical essays about the works, she builds a resource for poets, critics and educators. When she succeeds Gabbin as the center’s director, she will inherit an immense project: a $2 million collaboration with JMU Libraries, funded by the Mellon Foundation, that will sustain, digitize and make available the extensive, 25-year archive of Black poetry videos (see Page 12). Alleyne is eager to broaden the work of
Furious Flower and is full of ideas about how she can expand its efforts. She’s thought about how the center can take steps to ensure access and representation, encourage and give new poets a voice, and allow people to engage with the work at every level. In her new role as director, Alleyne is sure to leave an indelible mark on an already illustrious center. “It’s not a thing to own. It’s a service, it’s a community, it’s a movement,” Alleyne said. “I’m excited about adding to the legacy that’s been so lovingly and successfully built. It’s an honor.”
Alleyne (center) and her students with copies of Honeyfish, a book that asks: What does it mean to belong to a place? How does one make, find, leave and rediscover home?
“I tell my students that they are in and of the world, so if they pay attention to the ways they engage the world, they’ll never run out of thoughts or feelings to write about.” S P R I N G/S U M M E R
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Local ”celebrities,“ many with ties to JMU, compete at the anticipated event. It’s a night to remember for the performers and spectators alike.
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Taking a shot at mental health
Nonprofit seeks to end stigma for student-athletes By Jim Heffernan (’96, ’17M)
Outside of Kurt (’89) and Dona (’88) Rodgers’ home near Warrenton, Virginia, there is a sitting garden with a stone in the shape of the head of a lacrosse stick. It looks out on the yard where their daughter Morgan, an all-American lacrosse and field-hockey player at Kettle Run High School, spent hours honing her skills with earbuds piping in her favorite tunes. On May 27, 2020 — what would have been Morgan’s 23rd birthday — the Rodgers family invited her closest friends over to share stories and continue searching for answers. “It had been not quite a year since we lost Morgan, and we were all still grieving,” Dona Rodgers recalled. “We were trying to figure out what went wrong. How did we miss this? She never said anything. How come she never reached out to the counselors who were presented to her?” As they talked, the picture became painfully clear: For all the focus on mental health in today’s society, the subject is still out of bounds for student-athletes.
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“You’re watching a game, and the quarterback falls on his throwing wrist or a running back tears his ACL. There’ll be a group of trainers and doctors there within 10 seconds,” said Kurt Rodgers, an avid JMU sports fan. “Or if you say you have a pulled hamstring, you’re on the sideline and it’s expected that you’ll receive medical attention. “But mental health is not treated the same way. If you say, ‘I just need a break. I’m not well,’ it’s like ‘C’mon, you gotta tough it out. Get back in the game.’” His wife agreed. “Mental health challenges are invisible,” said Dona Rodgers, who briefly competed in varsity gymnastics as a freshman at JMU before injuring her shoulder. “You can kind of hide them. But you can’t hide a sore shoulder. You can’t hide a broken limb.” Morgan’s parents and former teammates knew something had to change, so they created a podcast so student-athletes could share their struggles with mental health. “We said, ‘Let’s get these people together,’” Dona said. “‘Let’s tell these stories so that people will realize they’re not alone.’”
Diana Kiser (’18M), associate director of strategic gifts at JMU, and USA Dance member Gred Riddle accept the Judges’ Choice Award for their waltz.
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‘She had that spark’
Asked to describe Morgan, Dona Rodgers said, “In a way, she was your average, all-American girl. She grew up in a loving family with loving parents, a twin sister, a brother, 16 cousins. She was kind, thoughtful, talented, smart and fun to be around.” “She could fling sarcasm with the best of ‘em,” Kurt added. “She was also a great friend and teammate.” Morgan hit the books with the same passion she exhibited on the field. “She had that spark,” her mom said. “We recognized it before she could even walk. She was determined, focused and driven.” As a senior in high school, Morgan had no fewer than 15 offers to Morgan, whose teammates nicknamed her “Mo Ro,” enjoyed play Division I college lacrosse. She spending time with friends and chose Duke University, a premier love ones, including Mo, the family golden retriever. lacrosse program with quality academics and a smallschool feel. Her parents were especially impressed with the team’s down-to-earth coach, who wanted to graduate women leaders, not just lacrosse players. Based on their experiences, they encouraged Morgan to have a backup plan in case her athletic career didn’t work out. In Fall 2015, Morgan enrolled with future plans to attend graduate school and become a sports psychologist. By her sophomore year, Morgan was developing into a standout player on the varsity lacrosse squad and was only two or three votes shy of becoming team captain — an honor normally reserved for juniors and seniors.
The unthinkable happens
In January 2017, 10 days before the Blue Devils’ first game of the spring season, Morgan shattered her knee in practice during a dodging drill. She underwent a surgery, which was followed by 12 months of rest and
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Morgan (right) poses with her twin sister, Aberle, and older brother, Austin.
rehabilitation. “In typical Morgan fashion, she treated the injury like she did anything else,” Dona Rodgers said. “She was committed to getting back on the field.” That fall, her parents started to notice signs of fatigue and personality changes, but they weren’t overly concerned. “She continued to rehab six days a week,” Dona said. “She was still going to team meetings and keeping her grades up.” But one year after her injury, her recovery wasn’t as far along as the team’s training staff had hoped. She could run, but not at full speed. Her grades started to slip. “I could see she was getting discouraged” about the prospect of not being able to play in Spring 2018,” Dona said. Depression began to creep in. In March of that year, Morgan asked to take a semester off and was granted medical leave by the university. She returned to campus in Fall 2018, but could no longer physically compete at the varsity level. Without the schedule, the camaraderie and the thrill of competition, she felt like she didn’t fit in. She closed herself off from friends and loved ones. In 2019, after a family beach vacation over July Fourth weekend, Morgan told her parents she needed to return to her apartment to pick up a few things and would join them at home the next day. But the days turned into a week, and they still had not heard from her. Kurt and Dona began to fear the worst, and they asked local police to do a safety check. Then late that night, they got in the car and drove the four hours to Durham, North Carolina. They were about an hour outside the city limits when they received a phone call that no parent wants to receive. Morgan’s body had been found in her
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apartment. Her death was labeled a suicide. treatment of physical and mental health in high thought it was the perfect way for the team In the weeks and months that followed, school and collegiate athletics, and to normal- to connect to something larger than themKurt and Dona dealt with the grief in dif- ize conversations on the topic. The organiza- selves. And to have the opportunity to try to ferent ways. tion partners with mental health professionals break down that stigma, to say it’s okay to Kurt tried to keep himself busy at his to serve as guest speakers at events and teams talk about it, it’s okay to feel weak. The girls civil contracting firm and at home. “I think up with other student-athlete advocacy organi- just really connected to it.” I probably cut my grass every day for three zations like The Hidden Opponent. The program has twice hosted Morgan’s weeks,” he said. “And my company … the The women’s lacrosse program is among Message games at JMU, with Kurt and leadership team was perfectly capable of the JMU sports teams that have embraced Dona Rodgers serving as honorary team continuing the business without me. But I Morgan’s Message. captains and the players sporting the organeeded to be in the office. I needed the disHead coach Shelley Klaes (’97) tried to nization’s butterfly logo. traction. I didn’t want to have to think about recruit Morgan when she was in high school, Other high school and collegiate athletics what took place 24 hours a day, every day.” and several former and current players, programs in the region have also joined the Dona, meanwhile, went into a cause, including the University of self-imposed exile. “I just wanted “Mental illness fills your brain with Virginia, whose field hockey team to stay home,” she said. “I’ve lies. It told Morgan that what she promoted Morgan’s Message duralways been a very busy person ing a game against JMU in March was feeling was something that [who] needed something from 2021. The Duke University footone minute to the next. That’s she should not share with anyone.” ball team wore the logo on their where I’m comfortable. But that helmets last season. — Dona Rodgers (’88) stopped. … I had a big support For Tarah Markell, a junior system that kept trying to get in, Hospitality Management major and I kept pushing them away.” at JMU, Morgan’s Message is perIn time, she sought out Morsonal. She grew up playing sports gan’s former counselor. “I wanted in the same area as Morgan and to talk to someone [who] knew knew her well. “She was like a big her. I had to talk about what we sister to me,” she said. missed and why we missed it.” Markell, who played club rugby Mental illness fills your brain her freshman year, seeks out stuwith lies, Dona said. “It told Mordent-athletes at club and varsity gan that what she was feeling levels and invites them to engage was something that she should in discussions about mental health. not share with anyone. It told “We have group messages where we her that she could handle it by just talk,” she said. “It’s like, ‘Hey, herself. It told her that she was I’m not feeling great today,’ or ‘My a burden. And then ultimately it seasonal depression is kind of kicktold her that [ending her life] was ing in. What do you guys do to the best route for her.” help cope?’” Markell’s roommate, junior Morgan’s Message Education major Lexi Diaz, would From an idea hatched in the Rodgers’ front including Halle Duenkel (’20) and senior like to see more JMU sports teams — and yard in 2020, Morgan’s Message has grown goalkeeper Molly Dougherty (’22), grew up college students in general — embrace Morinto a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a in northern Virginia and knew about Mor- gan’s Message. “If athletes can see there is staff of 18 dedicated people, a board of direc- gan’s Message. Six players currently serve as help there, and there are people on their side, tors and more than 600 volunteer student student ambassadors for the organization. we [might] be able to minimize the effects of ambassadors in 32 states who advocate for Klaes said the program rallied behind this terrible disease,” she said. mental health on their campuses and in their Morgan’s Message after the spring 2020 sea“Mental illness is not unlike cancer,” Dona communities. The podcast series, The Mental son was interrupted because of the COVID- Rodgers said. “Often times it can be treated. Matchup, is in its third season with more than 19 pandemic. That starts with bringing the issue out into 40 published episodes. “The girls were feeling isolated, and men- the open.” Morgan’s Message seeks to eliminate the tally it was a really tough time,” she said. stigma surrounding mental health within the “The whole concept of mental toughness … For more about Morgan’s Message, visit www.MorgansMessage.org. student-athlete community, to equalize the I mean, we were in it in that moment, and we S P R I N G/S U M M E R
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A CALL TO
RISE Alumna launches organization
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to lift Black voices
By Amy Crockett (’10)
Chanda McGuffin (’93) had all of the pieces in place. She and Sharon Fitz, the NAACP area chair for the Shenandoah Valley, had an executive team, committee chairs and 100 eager members ready to start an NAACP branch in Augusta County, Virginia, in 2017. But McGuffin’s mobilization fell apart — her attempt to charter the branch was denied by the national organization. McGuffin and Fitz were more determined than ever to advance their cause after the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The violence underscored the need for different voices to engage in conversation about ways to bridge the gap, and the word “RISE” came to mind like a premonition. “The time was now and if not us, then who?” McGuffin said. She and Fitz answered the call in 2018, and put their years of experience together to start formulating and building their advocacy organization, RISE, to make space for Black voices and overcome systemic racism.
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PH OTO G R A PH S BY ST E V E A D E RTO N ( ’ 1 9)
Chanda McGuffin’s activism brings awareness of the issues impacting the Black community and holds space for dialogue.
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“The time was now and if not us, then who?” — Chanda McGuffin (’93)
RISE partners with the community to bring awareness and unity to Waynesboro and beyond through its for-profit side, the nonprofit RISE Foundation and a political action committee. McGuffin, a Business and Marketing Education major, lends her professional background in banking and sales to RISE. She is the organization’s chief financial officer, and facilitates race relations, diversity training, conflict resolution and team-building workshops. Fitz draws on her NAACP and lobbying expertise as RISE’s chief executive officer. RISE partners with mayors, politicians and community leaders to acknowledge, identify
McGuffin and Fitz invite others who want to amplify voices that may not otherwise be heard to stand with them.
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and discuss the problems facing the Black community. “We connect with businesses — everyone that we can possibly invite to the table — to make it real and something that people care about,” Fitz said. As co-founders, McGuffin and Fitz care deeply about educating youth, which is where RISE believes social change begins. Its academic coaches offer after-school tutoring every Wednesday evening (pre-K to eighth grade), summer school specialeducation support, Black-history lessons, civic engagement and more. “In a period of a year, we [might] take 100 to 150 students, because they’re differ-
ent students coming to different things,” McGuffin said. “Our anti-racism programming that we have, different students come. We also do things with the older kids where we’re looking at doing college tours and college planning.” The RISE Foundation’s most powerful tool for learning and critical thinking is its library. With more than 1,500 books in all genres, it is the first and largest Black library in Virginia. “It’s a significant amount,” McGuffin said. “Sharon and I haven’t had time to really sit down and even catalog all the books that are here. There’s still a lot of work to be done.”
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McGuffin and Fitz have curated the library into a place of excitement where children feel inspired to see themselves reflected in the pages, a place where a reluctant reader becomes a writer. They organized the library by age and gender. “The reason why we do it that way is to show us a visual to say, ‘Ooh, we need more girl books or teenage books,’” McGuffin said. A Richmond resident gifted the library its most prized collection: a donation of rare, out-of-print books. “Some of them go back 60 The RISE space initially sat abandoned for eight years or more. There’s a lot of histor- years in Waynesboro. Fitz redesigned it and finished renovations in August 2019. ical books in there. [Author] Richard Wright is in there,” Fitz said. “They’re the boro. Speakers touch on topics such as kind of books that you wish you had nothing empowering women, healing, networking but time to read. When we picked them up, and business development. RISE also hosts we were like kids in a candy store.” the annual Community Stakeholder’s ConMcGuffin and Fitz said one of their chal- ference, which is more focused on activism in lenges has been navigating the public mis- the community and local outcomes. conception about their mission and being In 2017, McGuffin ran for Waynesboro labeled as agitators. City Council and believes her Madison Fitz said, “Everything that we do is with Experience helped her campaign. “It was the heart and intention of restoring hope the Black alumni who came through for me back into the Black community. Black with the support and financial backing,” she people are the one group of people who are said. “I did not win the election, but never constantly being harmed in the worst ways. say never to running again in 2022.” There’s a need for healing. Our children are “They’re the kind of receiving hate, hurt, sadness and struggle, and then they’re going into school systems books that you wish you that are not necessarily built for them.” had nothing but time to Another common assumption is that read. When we picked RISE is a Black-only group, but McGuffin and Fitz assure the Waynesboro space and its them up, we were like resources are for everyone. “Parents say, ‘Can kids in a candy store.” white kids come to your program?’ Abso— Sharon Fitz lutely. We have white kids in our program. You just have to be OK with Jack and Jill When McGuffin steps foot on campus looking like me,” Fitz said. today, she instantly recognizes the familiar, Members of RISE’s book club happen to be purple-and-gold spirit that she felt 30 years all white, and at the annual Women’s Summit ago. “JMU was the best four years of my life. on May 20-22, RISE will include male facili- If I could go back and relive it, I would in tators for the first time as well as Will Harris a heartbeat,” she said. Her twin, Channing (’93) and Lolita Breckenridge (’93). McGuffin (’94), also attended JMU. Now in its fourth year, the summit will McGuffin remembers Diane Strawbridge draw women from all over the U.S. to the (’80, ’02M), her academic adviser, as someBest Western Conference Center in Waynes- one she could lean on to be heard. Byron
Bullock (’89M), then-assistant dean of students, and Cheryl Plank, academic adviser, created a sense of family for McGuffin and other Black students at JMU. The Rev. Andrea Cornett-Scott, director of the peerhelper program and instructor of African American religion, encouraged McGuffin to harness the fire within her — a spark that has always been a part of her identity. In 2019, Fitz completed a six-month, paralegal certification at JMU. She sees a partnership opportunity for JMU Pre-Law and the Harrisonburg community. “The legal program could provide education outside of the school by delivering a Know Your Rights campaign,” Fitz said. She and McGuffin can also envision a collaboration between RISE and JMU by establishing a satellite office on campus. But first, they are focused on expanding space at the group’s Waynesboro headquarters. Many of RISE’s programs fill to capacity, waitlisting students and volunteers. In September, McGuffin and Fitz look forward to growing their after-school program aimed at educating youth in the democratic process while teaching them how to use their voices and speak to politicians. “We are building citizens,” Fitz said. “Everything leads back to the kids.” Learn more about RISE and Chanda McGuffin (’93) at https://riseorg 2018.com.
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Alumni Life for
CBD products made with integrity, creativity
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life-changing internship in Oregon opened the doors to the cannabis and hemp industry for Jacob Johnson (’16). After the passing of the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill, Johnson turned his newfound passion into a business, launching a hemp farm with his older brother, Tanner (’15). The company began with 1 acre of hemp under the name Shenandoah Valley Hemp. Since then, it rebranded itself as Pure Shenandoah and implemented stateof-the-art farming processes that follow strict guidelines. Customers looking for the benefits of hemp — a chemical composition different from marijuana — can enjoy a wide selection of third-party, labtested products that are compliant with federal law. “Our main value is integrity, as we go above and beyond to make sure we deliver the best hemp-derived products,” Jacob said. Pure Shenandoah is a dietary supplement-certified facility through the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Ser vices. The company is fueled by research-based decision making and a passion for delivering products that can alleviate nausea, reduce anxiety and ease pain. “This company is on a mission to deliver good medicine with no side effects,” Jacob said. “When you hear a customer thank you for helping them with their illnesses, that’s just the wind in our sails!” Pure Shenandoah also strives to educate the public about the benef its of hemp a nd ca nnabinoids. W hile t he health and wellness company specializes in cannabis, it takes full advantage of the entire plant, including harvesting fiber from the male plants. From cultivation to processing, the Johnson brothers push
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the limits and explore regenerative methods for the betterment of the earth by delivering a fully sustainable line of products. Pure Shenandoah is a trailblazer in the industry: It collects plant data to verify carbon credits from hemp farming. “Hemp is one of the best products out there to reduce our overall carbon footprint,” Tanner said. To fully appreciate the effort and love the Johnson brothers pour into the company, one must give homage to the people who raised and inspired them. They attribute their attitudes and work ethic to the family veins coursing with purple and gold. More than 10 family members proudly call themselves Dukes. The Johnsons’ mother and uncle opened the beloved University
O ut p o s t B o ok- Pure Shenandoah, a store. “JMU was seed-to-sale hemp company, is a true our whole life,” family business for Tanner said. “My the Johnson brothearliest memories ers (L-R): Talbot, are of us wearing Tanner (’15), Jacob (’16) and Abner. misprinted JMU shirts that my mom couldn’t sell. We would run around the bookstore helping college kids shop.” Pure Shenandoah is a genetics provider, selling seeds to other parties. It works with about 20 local farmers in the Shenandoah Valley. In addition, the company offers consultation services to share its knowledge with others. “We do not have secrets! We want this industry to grow, so we need to share this knowledge,” Jacob said.
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“Our main value is integrity, as we go above and beyond to make sure we deliver the best hempderived products.” — JACOB JOHNSON (’16)
Individua ls c a n bring their hemp f lowers to Pure Shenandoah’s facilities to be processed into oil or made into a f ina l product such as a tincture. The needs of its consumers come f irst, which is why the company has developed a host of creative lines specia lizing in providing energy or relieving anxiety. Customers can select from a ra nge of product s such as topicals, smokables, edibles and oils. The Johnson brothers want to give back to the community that raised and inspired them by representing the Shenandoah Valley in the industrial hemp industry. Pure Shenandoah is determined to explore
the unlimited possibilities of the hemp plant. Tanner credits his JMU education for giving him the skill set to serve as CEO. He said it truly comes down to, “What is your passion? What do you love and how can you find a way of making a living doing that?” For Jacob, it was the internship opportunity through his major, Sport and Recreation Management, that put him on the path to business ownership. “Do not take no for an answer when it comes to your purpose and passion,” Jacob said. “You will want to fold and give up at multiple points. It will not be easy, but it will be worth it.”
Thriving hemp plants before harvesting. (Inset): Pure Shenandoah’s CBD oil.
A peek behind the curtain
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hen my career path converged with my Madison Experience, like most alumni, I jumped at the opportunity to return to JMU. More than five years later, I am still proud to serve my alma mater as the associate director of Alumni Marketing and Operations. In this position, I often think of myself as the “Wizard of Oz.” You wouldn’t know that it is me, but you have probably seen my work. I am frequently the one behind the curtain of many alumni social media posts, event graphics, emails, registration pages and event scripts. It is truly an honor to know the JMU community sees and values the work I do. I am privileged to oversee the JMU Alumni Association’s Affinity Partnerships. Affinity Partnerships are strategic relationships between JMUAA and organizations that offer special deals, pricing and opportunities for JMU alumni. In exchange, support received through the partnership is reinvested into JMUAA’s programs and services, and positions the association to philanthropically support university priorities. My unique role as an alumna and employee of the university has given me an even greater appreciation of what these types of partnerships mean to our community, because I have seen the impact firsthand. For example, through our partnership with the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, we offer Dukes two iconic, JMU-branded license plates for their vehicles. These revenuesharing plates annually generate roughly $73,000 to support student scholarships. In 2020, when many Dukes faced financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic and were at risk of not being able to continue their Madison Experience, F&M Bank stepped up as one of our partners and pledged $5,000 toward the Madison for Keeps initiative. Partners like F&M Bank helped raise more than $750,000 to keep 130-plus Dukes at JMU. In November 2020, JMU opened the doors of the Atlantic Union Bank Center. If you have had the opportunity to visit the space, you have likely walked across the JMUAA Plaza — the result of a $500,000 gift from JMUAA. The association was positioned to make this donation in part because of partnerships with organizations like GEICO, F&M Bank, Campus Cookies and more. Affinity partnerships are just some of the many ways JMUAA has opened doors and reinvested in the JMU community. Like me, affinity partnerships are the “Wizard of Oz.” You might not know they are happening or recognize the full extent of their impact, but the next time you see an affinity partner email or social media post, maybe you will think about the person behind the curtain.
Je s sica Savoie ( ’ 14 , ’ 2 0M ),
J M U Office of Alumni Relations associate director SAVO I E PH OTO G R A PH BY ST E V E A D E RTO N ( ’ 1 9)
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(L-R): President Jonathan R. Alger, Mike Battle, Zari Gallahan, Carleigh Johnson, David Meredith, Angela Reddix, Alumni Board of Directors President Dave Urso (‘03, ‘05M) and Director of Alumni Relations Carrie Combs (’07, ’09M)
Distinguished Alumni Award Winners 2022 Ronald E. Carrier Alumni Achievement Award: David Meredith (’93) David Meredith earned a Business Administration degree in Corporate Finance with honors at JMU. During his time on campus, he served as a hall director and resident adviser under the Ronald E. Carrier administration. “Dr. Carrier would host the hall directors at his home for a meal and team building, so winning the award bearing his name has extra meaning for me,” Meredith said. He was greatly influenced by mentors such as Maggie Burkhart Evans and Shannon Russell Hardy of the Office of Residence Life, and he remains close to many of his former residents. An award-winning chief executive, he currently serves as CEO and board director of Boomi, an intelligent connectivity and automation leader with a cloud-native software platform. Boomi serves more than 18,000 customers globally, including Moderna, the American Cancer Society, LinkedIn and American Express GBT. Meredith is associated with the College of Business Learning Complex, which recently celebrated its grand opening. He also had the pleasure of hosting JMU President Jonathan R. Alger as a featured speaker at his last company’s Global Executive Leadership Symposium. Meredith encourages students to pursue their passions. “Hopefully, the next generation of JMU students can find their passion and apply that to make the world a better place,” he said. 48
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Inez Graybeal Roop (’35) Alumni Service Award: Mike Battle (’81, ’83M) Mike Battle earned his undergraduate degree in Communication Arts and a Master of Business Administration from JMU. Former President Ronald E. Carrier nudged Battle in JMU’s direction when he was considering schools. “Dr. Carrier made a commitment to me back in 1977. He fulfilled it. I promised at that point that that’s who I want to be to JMU. I’m trying to impact as many kids as I possibly can,” Battle said. During his time at JMU, he met one of his mentors, professor Ken Williamson. “Dr. Williamson instilled a passion about business in me that was not there before. He helped me understand the business world, and that was the experience that launched into what I was going to do from a career standpoint,” Battle said. Battle was on the Board of Visitors for eight years and is involved with JMU Athletics. Battle currently is CEO of Battle Resource Management Inc. BRMi works with information technologies and provides advisory services for federal and commercial customers, including the Department of Homeland Security and the National Cancer Institute. For current students looking to make an impact, he said, “I have learned that, one, discipline brings freedom, and two, nothing good comes easy. You will fail and you should fail many times a day, and that is the price of growth.” A LU M N I AWA R D PH OTO G R A PH S BY C A M E RO N H O U C K ( ’ 22)
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Young Alumni Award: Carleigh Johnson (’19M) During her time at JMU, Carleigh Johnson studied Art and Early Childhood Education. Johnson had been told her entire life that she should consider teaching, but she originally wanted to be a physical therapist. She decided in her senior year that she wanted to work with kids. Johnson spent a lot of time student-teaching in northern Virginia. She currently works as a second-grade teacher at Forestville Elementary in the Fairfax County Public Schools system. In her free time, Johnson loves spending time at the beach, calling it her “happy place.” She also enjoys supporting her students at their sporting events because “that relationship goes further than the classroom.” Johnson’s advice for her students as well as JMU graduates looking to make an impact: “Find something that you love and do it with all your heart!” She also emphasizes the importance of making meaningful relationships because those connections will help forge a path of success.
Social Justice Award: Zari Gallahan (’08) Zari Gallahan grew up in Burke, Virginia, with refugee parents who arrived in the U.S. from Afghanistan. During her time as a Duke, she was an Accounting major and Human Resource Development minor. The first in her family to attend college, she felt that JMU helped mold her into the successful businessperson and activist she is today. “Going to JMU was already a major accomplishment for me. To receive an award like this from the university was so powerful because it was the school that shaped me,” Gallahan said. Throughout her Madison Experience, Gallahan was a First Year Orientation Guide. She became a student ambassador in the spring of her freshman year. “It was one of the most rewarding organizations that I was a part of,” she said. Gallahan also served as vice president of JMU’s co-ed business fraternity, Alpha Kappa Psi. As an engaged alumna, Gallahan recently joined the Executive Advisory Council of Women for Madison. She works for Capital
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One in northern Virginia as the company’s head of customer experience for commercial cards. Gallahan also incorporated awareness building within the company. She started by writing a blog post on the Capital One website to contextualize her two different upbringings. Gallahan educated others and brought them into the cause by finding different ways to give back to her community. She involved local organizations such as Afghan restaurants and the Afghan Youth Relief Foundation. “We put in the effort to make them feel as welcome as possible as they begin their new life, learn a new language and take on new jobs,” she said. To students interested in making an impact, Gallahan said, “Be intellectually curious. Don’t ever stop wondering. Education is powerful, so if you’re wondering about something, go for it. It’s a very low-risk but high-reward type of thing.”
Presidential Award: Angela Reddix (’90) For Angela Reddix, the Presidential Award represents her transformation from a young student to a businessperson who aspires to provide opportunities for future generations. “I really found my voice, my tribe and my husband. So much of who I am today, I found as a student at James Madison University,” Reddix said. During her time on campus, Reddix majored in Business with a Marketing concentration. Outside of the classroom, Reddix was president of the Black Student Alliance. She remains connected to the university as a Women for Madison executive board member. Reddix credits her Madison Experience for her transformation into a true leader. “I know I’m among excellent individuals, not just academically, but in the spirit that I believe JMU represents,” she said. Her past accolades include making the Ebony Power 100 list as well as receiving the 2021 Innovative Leader Award. Reddix currently holds the positions of president, CEO and founder of ARDX, a health care management and IT consulting firm. She believes to whom much is given, much is required, and that her story — her successes and failures — isn’t for herself, but for others to see the endless possibilities. “This is an exciting time of inclusion, and you want to talk about a sense of belonging? This is what it looks like,” Reddix said.
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MixedMedia BOOKS, MUSIC
Riley Rabbit Learns About Death
BY ASHLEY HALL (’09, ’11M/ED.S.) Mascot Kids (June 7, 2022) ISBN-13: 978-1637550090
& FILM
In the Light of Silence BY LINDA CARRILLO (’79) Resource Publications ISBN-13: 978-1725260689
In the Light of Silence is a novel about a scientist reconstructing her life after an accident and a group of Quakers involved with Salvadoran refugees. Set in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, it is a story of marshaling the courage to begin anew and of the redemptive power of forgiveness. Carrillo taught English in Virginia and North Carolina, and was also a hearing specialist for Harrisonburg City Public Schools.
My Monticello
BY JOCELYN NICOLE JOHNSON (’93) Henry Holt and Co. ISBN-13: 978-1250807151 Tough-minded, vulnerable and brave, Jocelyn Nicole Johnson’s precisely imagined debut explores burdened inheritances and extraordinary pursuits of belonging: a young woman descended from Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings driven from her neighborhood by a white militia; a university professor studying racism by conducting a secret social experiment on his own son; a single mother desperate to buy her first home even as the world hurtles toward catastrophe — each fighting to survive in America. United by these characters’ relentless struggles against reality and fate, My Monticello is a formidable book that bears witness to this country’s legacies and announces the arrival of a wildly original new voice in American fiction. The novella was nominated for the 2021 Kirkus Prize in Fiction and will have a film adaptation on Netflix.
Riley Rabbit Learns About Death helps parents and other supportive adults talk about death with kids in a way they understand. Riley experiences a variety of emotions as he navigates the ups and downs following the death of a loved one. Riley’s mother is his primary support system, and she helps Riley prepare for what to expect at the funeral and cemetery while also validating his many feelings. This book offers suggestions for coping and moving forward from loss as an individual and as a family.
Juliet From Slavery to Inspiration BY JESSE RUSSELL (’75) BookBaby ISBN-13: 978-1543951158
Juliet: From Slavery to Inspiration will make you cry and make you cheer. While researching his family, author Jesse Russell became intrigued with a slave woman named Juliet who, along with her family, had been freed by his third great-grandfather, only to find that his second great-grandfather challenged the manumission clause in his father’s will that led to an eight-year court trial ending with the auction of Juliet and her family. What Russell discovered was an astonishing truth that led to his recent reunion with the descendants of Juliet and the incredible achievements of her greatgranddaughter, renowned as one of our country’s African American pioneers. This historical novel is based on actual events and persons, and will entertain, enlighten and inspire all who read it. Russell recently completed a screenplay based on the book.
DUKE DOG COMIC STRIP IS THE SECOND IN A SERIES FROM JOHN ROSE (’86)
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To show your Madison pride wherever you drive and support scholarships for Virginia students, visit www.dmvNOW.com to get your JMU license plate today.
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DUKE DOG COMIC STRIP BY JOHN ROSE (’86); LICENSE PLATE PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF ALUMNI RELATIONS
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Making magic BY SHAYLA BROWN (’20, ’22M)
a mes Gordon Gordon acknowledged the III (’03) always importance of representing knew he wanted his schools and Richmond’s to work in an eleHillside community in an mentary school. authentic manner. He drew inspiration from “We service students of the h is mot her, who a lway s Hillside community, otherwanted to become a teacher wise known as Hillside projbut didn’t have the opportuects, but I always tell people nity. He also is motivated by Hillside community, because great mentors and through we still have hope for the the work he gets to do with future and for their futures his students. specifically,” Gordon said. While at JMU, Gordon For his dedication to his was a resident adviser and students as well as his judiparticipated in The Impact c iou s m i nd s e t , G ordon Movement through Camwas recognized as a Magic pus Crusade for Christ, Ma ker — one of just 50 campus choirs and minisacross the countr y — by tries, as well as intramural The Walt Disney Co. Magic basketball and football. Ma kers a re nominated He wa s a l so ac c epted by loved ones and admirinto the Honors program, ers who want their hard where he got the chance work a nd ded ic at ion to to hear incredible speakers Principal James Gordon (’03), center, was recently recognized by their communities, schools, like Coretta Scott King and The Walt Disney Co. as one of 50 Magic Makers across the country workplaces and nonprofits for his hard work and dedication to his students and community. Principal Joe Clare. to be recognized. His Madison Experience helped shape Gordon served in several other teaching “It was positive for my school comhis nurturing traits as an educator. “At and administrative roles before becoming munity,” Gordon said of his outstanding JMU, as a part of Impact, I was called a a principal. experience going to Disney World. “Oak foot washer. I facilitated a small group “I got an opportunity to become a prin- Grove-Bellemeade Elementary doesn’t Bible study, and as a foot washer I served cipal at Oak Grove-Bellemeade Elemen- always get positive press. The lens when it’s people,” Gordon said. tary in Richmond Public Schools, and this something that’s positive, it’s for the comAfter finishing student teaching, he is my fourth year as a principal,” he said. munity. It’s about everybody else. Let’s just returned home to Henrico County for his “The difference in the transition when share the love and enthusiasm.” first position in education as a teacher at you’re in the chair as a principal is that you Gordon is pursuing his doctorate at Mt. Vernon Alternative School. are now responsible for the entirety of the Regent University, but for him, the kids “I was their fourth teacher that school school. You’re the person to work through and his community will always come first. year, so I was coming into a pretty tough the ups, downs and anything in between.” “I’m a servant, so anything that needs to environment based upon multiple people Gordon compared his role as a “foot be done, that’s my job, to support my teachalready transitioning out of that classroom. washer” at JMU to his experiences as a prin- ers and my students,” Gordon said. “I try But I was so grateful and up to the chal- cipal. “I’m in that same capacity as a princi- my best to be relatable and approachable. lenge,” Gordon said. “I really just focused pal now. I navigate through issues and prob- Kids see me on the morning announceinitially on building relationships, establish- lems as they arise,” Gordon said. “I support ments and in the cafeteria. Yes, I’m still ing rapport and then working through the teachers, families and students. If a kid wrote the principal, but he’s touchable, he’s academic process of rigorous instruction.” on the wall with a pencil, I’m erasing it.” approachable, he’s in this with us.” PH OTO G R A PH CO U RT E SY O F THE OFFICE OF ALUMNI RELATIONS
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Chapter Spotlight
Highlights from several alumni chapters
Things got a little spooky for the Williamsburg Dukes during JMU at the Park, when the sun went down and Busch Gardens transformed into Howl-O-Scream.
The Philly Dukes logged their Homecoming Duke Dog Dash miles together at Valley Forge National Park in Pennsylvania.
The Connecticut Dukes had nothing but “gourd vibes” during their trip to a local pumpkin patch.
The newly formed Las Vegas Regional Ambassadors got together at a local watering hole.
During their annual holiday party, members of the Houston Dukes collected toys (inset) for their Toys-for-Tots donation. 52
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With more than 250 Dukes in attendance, the New York City Dukes really put the Madison in Madison Square Garden during JMU Alumni Night on Jan. 17. (Inset:) The scoreboard displayed, “Welcome James Madison University Alumni! Go Dukes!” The Denver Dukes hit the slopes for their annual ski trip.
The MetroDukes chapter cracked open some good books AND a few beers during a happy hour at 2 Silos Brewing Co. At the event, the chapter gathered children’s books to donate to Weems Elementary School. PH OTO G R A PH S CO U RT E SY O F T H E O FFI C E O F A LU M N I R E L AT I O N S
The DFW Dukes rolled up their sleeves to unpack, stock and organize food donations at Mission Arlington in Texas. S P R I N G/S U M M E R
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n Feb. 11, students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members came together for a “Gathering of Hope” on the Quad in the wake of recent tragedies at JMU and nearby Bridgewater College. On purple and gold streamers, participants were invited to write and share messages of support, hope and solidarity, and speakers encouraged those in attendance to connect with and lift up one another. The Marching Royal Dukes performed inspirational selections, and JMU Dining Services provided light refreshments. Hundreds of people from the JMU campus and local community wrote uplifting messages on streamers while listening to the Marching Royal Dukes play on the steps of Wilson Hall at the “Gathering of Hope” event on the Quad.
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H O PE PH OTO G R A PH S BY C A R R I E C H A N G ( ’ 20) A N D J U LI A W E AV E R ( ’ 2 1 )
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SAVE THE DATE: OCT. 21-23, 2022
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H O M ECO M I N G PH OTO G R A PH S BY ST E V E A D E RTO N ( ’ 1 9), J U LI A W E AV E R ( ’ 2 1 ) A N D C A M E RO N H O U C K ( ’ 22)
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Class Notes SCHOLARSHIP THANK-YOU 58 STAFF EMERITI 59 CELEBRATIONS 60 FACULTY EMERITI 62 ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT 63
Valley Scholars experience UREC’s Challenge Course in the summer of 2015. A partnership between JMU and local public schools, the Valley Scholars program offers educational and cultural enrichment opportunities for children looking to become the first in their families to earn a college degree.
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Lola Jones Stanco, Frances Dinwiddie Ossman, Katherine Harding Chase and Em Sutton Holland Rusch still get together 65 years after graduation. After accepting their degrees, they said tearful goodbyes, promised to stay connected and went out into the adult world. Through the years, they were true to their promise, keeping in touch with weddings, births, reunions, telephone calls, Christmas cards and now emails. When they each received an invitation to return to JMU in 2006 for induction into the Bluestone Society, they eagerly made plans to return, and this time, upon departure, there were no tears but plans to meet once a year somewhere in Virginia. Over the years, they have met in Williamsburg, Fredericksburg, Yorktown, Reedville (with a cruise to Tangier Island), Richmond, Charlottesville, Lexington, Orange (to visit James Madison’s home) and White Stone, where Harding Chase’s family has lived for generations. Twice, plans to meet in Winchester were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but as the situation improves, they still hope to make the trip. So, Winchester, be prepared — the “Girls of ’56” are coming!
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David Gill passed away in April 2021. In his memory, his widow, Claudia Tyner Offutt Gill, established the David Goodson Gill Memorial Scholarship Endowment in the School of Art, Design and Art History. He received a Distinguished Alumni award in 1990 in recognition of his professional success and artistic accomplishments. An award-winning watercolorist for more than 30 years, Gill’s work is displayed throughout Virginia and beyond. Addi-
tionally, he taught art at Freedom High School in Woodbridge, Virginia, for 14 years until his retirement in early 2021. Those wishing to donate to the scholarship fund may do so by sending a check payable to James Madison University Foundation, Inc, with a memo specifying the donation is for the David G. Gill Scholarship. Checks should be mailed to Advancement Gifts & Records, MSC 3603, JMU, Harrisonburg, VA 22807.
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Gary Michael, longtime JMU sports information director, set the Virginia age-group (65-69) record, completing 101 running/walking miles while competing in the Crooked Road 24-Hour Ultra in Rocky Mount, Virginia, Nov. 20-21, 2021. He was a member of the Athletics Communication office from 1980 to 2010.
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Robert “Bob” Grimesey (’85M) retired as superintendent of North Carolina’s Moore County Schools on Feb. 1. Grimesey served as an educator for more than 38 years and 20-plus years as a school superintendent in Virginia’s Allegh-
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The “Girls of ’56” (L-R): Lola Jones Stanco, Frances Dinwiddie Ossman, Katherine Harding Chase and Em Sutton Holland Rusch
any and Orange counties News-Record and sports prior to becoming Moore editor of The Breeze. County Schools’ chief in 2014. He was a threeJohn Holt, time regional Superinprivate-practice tendent of the Year. From psychologist extraordi1982 to 2001, Grimesey John Holt (’79) naire for many years, served as a social studis not quite retired and ies teacher, football and wrestl still serving local folk. His ing coach, middle-school assisbody clock wakes him at a reatant principal, elementary-school sonably acceptable hour, yet principal, high-school princihe grumbles if he’s called into pal and district administrator in work before lunch these days. Harrisonburg, Manassas, King Holt walks nine on Fridays George County and Rockingham and maybe 18 if he goes low. County. Prior to entering eduHis motto is “think climate, not cation, he was a sports and staff weather.” See if it makes sense writer for the Harrisonburg Daily for you. And be kind; you never
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Bob Grimesey (’78, ’85M) displays his JMU pride on the wall of his Moore County Schools office. S P R I N G/S U M M E R
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worked at studio 98 Fresh in California. n Darlena Ricks was featured John Connor, in the 2021 AARP artifounding partner cle “Enduring Bonds of of Ethos Group, landed on Black Sororities and FraGlassdoor’s annual “Best Vonya Alleyne ternities Last a Lifetime.” Places to Work” list, mak- (’93) A Marketing major, she ing the top 10 nationally. developed strong bonds meeting women on camMary Lisa Giampus and becoming a balvo Howard is member of Alpha Kappa the executive director of Alpha sorority in 1989. the Plymouth CommuFor her and her AKA nity Arts Council. Her sisters, the friendships organization’s smallforged offer support in Patrice John town, pandemic survival son Wood (’93) all aspects of life. story was featured in the April 2021 edition of The Rock. Vonya Alleyne was proHoward graduated with a Bachmoted from vice preselor of Science degree in art. ident of people solutions for Cox Communications’ Virginia Bill Butcher’s Port City region to chief people officer at Brewing Company Segra in October 2021. n Erin won its fourth consecutive Great Gallagher was appointed interim American Beer Festival medal — executive director of This Is My a gold. Optimal Wit is the brewBrave, a nonprofit that seeks to ery’s award-winning, flagship end the stigma surrounding menbeer. “We have always focused tal illness and save lives through on consistency and improving storytelling. The previous execour quality from the beginning,” utive director, co-founder JenniButcher said to Virginia Craft fer Marshall (’01), stepped down Beer. “We’re quite proud to be able Dec. 31, 2021. n David Meredith to use locally grown ingredients in has been appointed CEO and our best-selling beer, which hap- board director of Boomi. Merepens to be one of the best exam- dith has nearly 30 years of experiples of witbier in the USA.” n Kyle ence in senior executive leadership Ritchie started a new career as chief strategy officer at Split Second Sound Entertainment in Charlotte, North Carolina, following a 31-year career in professional sports with the Carolina Panthers, Miami Dolphins, Florida Marlins and Baltimore Orioles.
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Michael McRoberts (’84) attended the PGIM Real Estate conference in Calistoga, Napa, California, on Nov. 17, 2021. (L-R): Conference keynote speaker Jill Ellis, who coached the U.S. women’s national soccer team, poses with McRoberts. Diana Kiser (’18M) gave Ellis a JMU hat on stage that she wore for the rest of the conference.
S C H O L A R S H I P T H A N K -Y O U L E T T E R The Myra Fensterwald Meehan Doherty (’49) Memorial Scholarship Fund
The scholarship was established with the residual estate of Myra Fensterwald Meehan Doherty (’49), who passed away in 2004. Ms. Doherty directed in her last will and testament that the James Madison University Foundation set up a scholarship fund for deserving, in-need students who have no known discipline or substance-abuse problems. Only students who continue to maintain a minimum of a B average will be eligible for scholarship funds. The vice president of Student Affairs and the deans of each department of the university shall be the judges as to the eligibility of the students applying for a grant from the scholarship fund. Dear donors, Hello! I am a senior social work major here at JMU. Thank you so much for choosing me for the Myra Fensterwald Meehan Doherty (’49) Memorial Scholarship Fund award! Growing up in a low-income family, I never expected to attend college. I worked three jobs to put myself through community college and am still working full time while attending JMU. It has not been easy, but I know my hard work will pay off in the end! I have achieved all A’s since transferring to JMU from community college while working up to 40 hours a week at my job. I intend to get my master’s degree after graduating with my bachelor’s degree in social work, then getting my certification to become a licensed clinical social worker. I want to do mental health and trauma therapy for children and families. Mental health is something that is incredibly important to me, as it impacted me and my childhood greatly. I think it does not get talked about enough, though it impacts so many people daily. I want to make a difference in the lives of others by showing them empathy and compassion, and reminding them they are not alone in their battle with their mind. Since I work full time while going to school full time, and I transferred to JMU during the COVID-19 pandemic, I have not gotten involved in any clubs aside from the JMU Social Work Organization, where I am an executive member on the board. Working in SWO has been very fulfilling. This scholarship means so much to me, and I cannot begin to fully express my gratitude. As a student with no financial support from parents or guardians, finances have been extremely hard for me. I live on my own, pay all my bills, and work extremely hard to get through college so I can create a better life for myself and my future family than what I was given growing up. Thank you so much, Lindsey Wheeler (’22) Roanoke, Virginia
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Dale Schalow recently received four gold and platinum music-record awards. He was recognized for his work on House of Pain’s hit “Jump Around,” on a David Bowie album and more. In the ’90s, he
Mary Lisa Giambalvo Howard (’87) on the cover of The Rock.
C L A SS and board director roles Her capstone project across multibillion-dollar focused on the “Grand public companies as well Challenges to Promote as private equity- backed, Smart Decarceration technology-focused firms. and Eliminate Racism,” n Patrice Johnson Wood, a creating a Maine-based College of Business grad- Jill Rizzi (’98) social media program, uate, was recently proand Supporting Human moted to benefits and transacRights and Equality to stop the tions manager at the Virginia dehumanization of immigrants. Department of Medical Assistance Services. She has 28 years Jill Rizzi has stepped of state service. into a new role as manager of digital marketing for Amy Tice (’09M), a forRizco, a statewide creative cammer JMU field hockey paign agency based on the Jersey player, graduated in DecemShore. Rizzi brings more than 10 ber 2021 with a doctorate in years of experience and a wealth social work from the Suzanne of branding, design, merchandisDworak-Peck School of Social ing and social media knowledge. Work at the University of SouthSince graduating with a Bacheern California. The degree is an lor of Arts degree in media arts advanced- practice doctorate in and design, Rizzi has served in social change and innovation. various roles, including assistant
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Jetheda Hernandez was featured on the cover of the Winter 2021 issue of Labora Journal of Entrepreneurship, a publication from Benedictine Schools of Richmond. She is the founder and chief strategist of Consult Square Group.
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Clint Morse, a Brooks Pierce attorney, made the 40 & Under Hot List in the 2022 edition of Benchmark Litigation, which recognizes leaders in their respective practice areas.
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Thomas Rea (’07M) was promoted in January
Jetheda Hernandez (’00) on the cover of Labora Journal of Entrepreneurship
to executive vice president and regional commercial executive at Bank of the James. Rea will lead market presidents in the bank’s newer markets as it continCONTINUED ON PAGE 61 >>>
SEA commemorative bricks
BY TINA UPDIKE (’73), SEA Steering Committee chair
pon entering the Quad promenade at the south end, one encounters the Jimmy Madison statue in front of Varner House. Surrounding the statue is a ring of bricks etched with names. You might ask, “Who are these people and what is their connection to JMU?” That question is answered when you find the header bricks labeled “A&P Faculty and Classified Emeritus.” The header bricks are followed by the names of classified staff and administrative and professional faculty who earned emeritus status upon their retirement from JMU. Under the names, the commemorative pavers include the division where these employees worked during their careers. Follow the rings around the statue, and you will find 270 staff emeriti commemorative bricks along with more than 30 administrative and professional faculty pavers. Retired staff members earn staff emerita(us) status if the individual served full time at JMU for a minimum of 10 years, has a record of noteworthy contributions throughout their JMU career and retired from the university in good standing. JMU recognizes the many years of dedicated service and important contributions these individuals made to the institution with the emeritus
status and with the commemorative bricks. Faculty emeriti commemorative pavers are located at the east end of the Quad promenade around the fountain by Carrier Library. The Staff Emeriti Association extends sincere thanks to Towana Moore, interim vice president for administration and finance, and Gary Shears, executive director of facilities and construction,
S E A P H OTO G R A P H S BY J U L I A W E AV E R ( ’ 2 1 ) A N D C O DY T R OY E R
for their ongoing over- Aerial and close-up sight of the commemo- views of the commemorative bricks rative bricks project.
For more information about the Staff Emeriti Association and upcoming events, visit jmu.edu/staffemeriti or email staffemeriti@jmu.edu.
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5 1 Scott Satchell’s (’92) oldest son, Spencer Satchell (’19), married Katie Evans Satchell (’18) in July 2021. Alma Mater Duke Dog, current and former JMU students along with some alums attended the wedding. 2 Keith Macey (’12) and Kelly (Lynch) Macey (’14) welcomed a future Duke who was given the middle name James to celebrate where her parents met — James Madison University! 3 Katie Culligan (’07) and Derek Boyd (’07) are thrilled to introduce their first 60 60
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child and a future JMU Duke: August Rhodes Boyd, born Dec. 4, 2021. 4 Legacy Duke Sarah Rose (’17) and Travis Moss were happily married at Moss Estates in Eustis, Florida, Jan. 22. Naturally, lots of JMU purple accented the nuptials. 5 Conor Webb (’15) and Carly Munn (’16) were married Oct. 15, 2021, at The Granary by Valley Pike Farm Market in Weyers Cave, Virginia, and they had a nice JMU contingency in attendance.
C L A SS ues to grow in Virginia. His expanded responsibilities will run concurrently with those presently associated with his role as president of the Harrisonburg/Shenandoah Valley market. Prior to joining Bank of the James, Rea held various roles at SunTrust, Rockingham Heritage Bank, and First Bank and Trust. He continues his involvement with various nonprofits and efforts throughout the valley.
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Nora Mitchell (’10M) was added in February as corporate controller to the leadership team at Lumos and NorthState. She oversees financial operations and reporting along with treasury and tax. Mitchell is also an active CPA in Virginia.
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Wesley Hedgepeth (’08, ’09M)
Patrick Crosson, a graduate of the College of Business, is the owner and executive producer of PC Events & Experiences. His company provides full-event support and fulfills virtual conference needs for the corporate world. More at pcexperiences.com.
Wesley Hedgepeth (’09M) was elected vice president of the National Council for the Social Studies, the largest association in the nation dedicated to Nora Mitchell the advancement of social (’09, ’10M) Ashley Brooke studies education. He assumed Grisham was his new role July 1, 2021, and is recently promoted to production in line to become president of supervisor at Walt Disney Animathe association on July 1, 2023. tion Studios. Having completed n Philip Wilkerson III is making an her production assignment on the impact with his podcast, Positive award-winning, animated feature Philter. Focusing on infusing pos- film Encanto, she is in production itivity into everyday life, the podfor Zootopia+ coming soon to Discast is a constant reminder that ney+. After graduating from the every Duke can Be the Change. School of Media Arts and Design and the JMU in LA program, she pursued a career in television and film production in Los Angeles at ABC Studios, DC Comics and Warner Brothers Animation. Grisham is dedicated to assisting JMU students and graduates aspiring for careers in the entertainment industry by coordinating with the JMU in LA program to find internships, alumni mentors and other resources in LA. n Kali Newlen-Burden, Alex Burden, Ashley Sydney (Clark) Webster and Dan Grisham Webster went on a double date (’14) at the Encanto in Sedona, Arizona, in October crew party. 2021. Kali and Dan were hall
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Presidential inaugurations attended by alumni delegates Hofstra University, Oct. 1, 2021, Hempstead, NY Adam Savarese (’99), a College of Business alumnus of Cold Spring Harbor, New York, served as JMU’s delegate for the Ninth Presidential Inauguration of Susan Poser of Hofstra University at the David S. Mack Sports & Exhibition Complex in Hempstead, New York. Strayer University, Oct. 20, 2021, Vienna, VA Donna Honeywell (’71), former JMU employee of Vienna, Virginia, served as JMU’s representing delegate in President Jonathan R. Alger’s absence at the Inauguration of Andrea Backman as the 17th president of Strayer University at The Barns at Wolf Trap in Vienna, Virginia. Honeywell’s remarks following the event: “I had a lovely time at the Strayer University event for Andrea Backman. The very first person I met Strayer inauguration (L-R): Forwas Danny Steeper (’98, mer JMU employees Kirsten Ryan ’00M), former employee Steep er (’94, ’96M) and Danny Steeper (’98, ’00M), Donna Honeyat JMU (now at UVA) and his wife, Kirsten (’94, well (’71) and John Donnelly (’89), friend of new Strayer President ’96M). The speaker was Andrea Backman. John Donnelly (’89). A special, small-world treat for me is Danny Steeper’s mother who was a high-school classmate of mine! With warm regards.” George Mason University, Oct. 21, 2021, Fairfax, VA Tiffanie Rosier (’95), former JMU employee of Manassas, Virginia, represented JMU and President Jonathan R. Alger at the Eighth Presidential Inauguration of Gregory Washington of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Samford University, Nov. 4, 2021, Birmingham, AL Jessica L. Black (’04), former JMU employee of Birmingham, Alabama, represented President Jonathan R. Alger and JMU at the 19th Presidential Inauguration of Beck Taylor at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. University of Redlands, Feb. 23, 2022, Redlands, CA Kristen Croxton (’96), a College of Business alumna of Ladera Ranch, California, served as JMU’s delegate at the 12th Presidential Kristen Croxton (’96) Inauguration of Krista represented JMU out L. Newkirk at the Uniof 46 universities in versity of Redlands in Redlands, California. attendance.
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mates freshman year, week, they knew they and although they didn’t had to spend a day share a dorm, Alex and together! They woke up Sydney connected during early on Oct. 4, 2021, to FROG Week. Their hike up the beautiful red paths crossed in various rocks of Devil’s Bridge ways during their time in Kristen Trail and couldn’t resist Harrisonburg, and they’re Greiner (’17) letting out a “J-M-U thrilled to remain in each Duuuukes” at the top other’s lives 11 years later. of the natural sandstone arch. Kali and Alex said “I do” on Alex, Sydney and Dan conOct. 8, 2017, and Sydney and quered their fear of heights for Dan followed on Oct. 11, 2020. the photo, agreeing that it was When it came time to celebrate worth it. their wedding anniversaries last year, each couple planned a trip Molly (Mary) Harrison won to explore Arizona. After they Teacher of the Year at discovered that they chose the Rosemont Elementary School same location AND the same in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
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(Above, L-R): Sydney (Clarke) Webster (’14), Dan Webster (’14), Kali Newlen-Burden (’14) and Alex Burden (’14)
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Kristen Greiner began her new role as the editorial project associate at Cambridge Associates in Arlington, Virginia.
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Kate Gordon, a former Dukes softball player, was acknowledged by the town of Shenandoah, Virginia, with her own day — Kate Gordon Day — on Sept. 20, 2021. Gordon received a plaque from the town during the ceremony on Oct. 10, 2021.
(L-R): JMU Softball Head Coach Loren LaPorte poses with Kate Gordon (’21), who holds her commemorative plaque from the town of Shenandoah.
Faculty Emeriti Association news Molly Harrison (’15) (center) with her parents, Laurie and Mark Harrison
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The Faculty Emeriti Association celebrated its 20th anniversary with a reception and festive holiday luncheon on Dec. 9, 2021. The event was held in the Bridgeforth Stadium Club room and a live band entertained the large group of faculty emeriti in attendance. For more information about the faculty emeriti organization, contact Sherry King, director of parent and faculty emeriti relations, at kingsf@jmu.edu or by phone at 540-568-8064.
G O R D O N P H OTO G R A P H BY LO R A J E N K I N S ( ’ 0 1 ) ; F E A BY J U L I A W E AV E R ( ’ 2 1 )
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Empowering from the heart
Alumnus leverages partnerships for reciprocal successes
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BY JESS NICKELS (’21)
he Arlington, Virginia-based nonprofit Hearts of Hearts of Empowerment has assisted the Alexandria RedevelopEmpowerment embodies the value of partnerships, ment and Housing Authority with its annual winter coat drive, proand Nkosi Davis (’18) is on the frontlines of execut- vided groceries to families in need through Empowered Mums, and ing its mission: to provide project planning for chari- organized numerous fundraisers at area restaurants and bars. ties through the strength of collaboration. Davis’ passion for community service aligns with Hearts of After completing his degree in Economics with a minor in Sociol- Empowerment’s three objectives: hosting fundraisers, generating ogy, Davis reconnected awareness for a cause and with childhood friend Corbuilding a business model rey Faciane, the founder and for clients. CEO of Hearts of Empow“Whenever a partnership erment. Davis serves as the arises, we look at their speorganization’s director of cific needs and adapt our corporate outreach. methods to help them be Faciane has been giving successful in whatever way back to his local community they need,” Davis said. and volunteering with organiPerhaps the most valuzations since his youth. “After able part of a partnership is I went away to [college],” he the two-way benefit. “The said, “I would visit my homeassistance they are providtown and those organizations ing us by offering their colto see how they were doing. laboration is way bigger Over time, I noticed a general than anything else,” Faciane decline in their resources like said. “Exchanging networks, their buildings, tools and the learning from one another professionals who were trying — you never know where to help them.” that will lead — so we really During his senior year at value these partnerships. Virginia Commonwealth Partnerships are necessary in University, Faciane tried his Hearts of Empowerment team members. (Inset): order to expand and spread hand at event planning, pull- As director of corporate outreach, Nkosi Davis awareness.” ing together a senior send- (’18) helps provide project planning for charities Collaboration is also through collaboration. off for his friends. The event key. When groups unite to netted $20,000. Faciane realized he had a gift for bringing people foster community engagement, everyone benefits. together. He donated the surplus funds to a local organization, and Davis attributes his selflessness to the kind and supportive JMU Hearts of Empowerment was born. Family he experienced during his years on campus. Hearts of Empowerment partners with other nonprofits to uplift “No one is ever shunned away from being a Duke,” he said. “No and support their missions. From global issues like clean water and matter your background or who you are, it’s really inclusive. The hunger to diseases such as Alzheimer’s and cancer, to local endeav- sense of community at JMU really gave me a chance to realize that ors like youth groups and recreational facilities, Hearts of Empower- tribalism can be a good thing. If you believe in something collecment aims to make a difference. tively, having people of all backgrounds come together can really lead “Partnerships are like the lifeblood of this industry,” Davis said. to successful ventures. “Every time we partner with an organization — whether it’s big“Being the Change means setting the example,” Davis said. “At ger than us, smaller than us or the same size — we strengthen and Hearts of Empowerment, we are huge supporters of the idea that if deepen our network. With partnerships, things become exponentially you have the ability to make a change, do it. You have to be the one more successful.” who takes the initiative to be that change you want to see.”
“Partnerships are like the lifeblood of this industry. … With partnerships, things become exponentially more successful.” P H OTO G R A P H C O U R T E S Y O F N KO S I DAV I S ( ’ 1 8 )
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IIHHS IN THE COMMUNITY From July 2020 to June 2021, the Institute for Innovation in Health and Human Services’ programs remained strong.
5,959 clinical encounters at IIHHS sites
14,986 clients received institute services
604 students engaged in IIHHS programs, representing 49 undergraduate and graduate degree programs
34,369
hours of student engagement in direct services, program support, service learning and other collaborative endeavors
216 events coordinated for the community
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faculty members engaged with IIHHS programs, representing 18 academic disciplines
6,817
program outreach visits with a community focus
D E S I G N BY H A N N A H PH I LLI PS (‘ 22); PH OTO G R A PH S BY E LI S E T R I S S E L A N D J U LI A W E AV E R (‘ 2 1 )
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NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Division of University Advancement Madison, MSC 3603, 1031 Harrison Street, Room 3020 Harrisonburg, VA 22807
Permit 4 Harrisonburg, VA 22801
BEATING THE ODDS Doctors didn’t think she’d still be alive. Now she’s thriving. When Leah Evert (’03) was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in 2017 at age 36, she was told she was going to die within the next two years. The cancer, found in her lymph nodes, had metastasized to her liver. Four months of aggressive chemotherapy followed. That’s when she experienced an inflection point in her life. She made a decision to take control of her health. She began researching the connections between nutrition, exercise and mindset to improved cancer outcomes — and found very few studies on the topic. “I knew that by taking control of what I could, I could have some influence over my outcomes,” said Evert, who majored in Kinesiology and Exercise Science. While at JMU, Evert was one of the founding members of the varsity softball team. After graduating, she earned a master’s degree in Sports Nutrition and Exercise Science. She’s now a registered dietitian and certified exercise physiologist. She believes that her physically active lifestyle, prioritizing her personal health and becoming an expert in the industry contributed to her beating the grim odds of survival. “I am certain that my commitment to well-being has made an impact on my success,” said Evert, currently in complete remission.
Evert, author of a book about resilience, cofounded a foundation that raises funds for late-stage cancer research with Janine Klein (’01, ’03M).
“I am certain that my commitment to well-being has made an impact on my success.” — LEAH EVERT (’03) Evert’s inspiring story doesn’t stop there. After learning about the lack of research funding for improved cancer outcomes from healthy living, she again took matters into her hands. Along with her best friend, Janine Klein (’01, ’03M), Evert co-founded The Willow Foundation, a nonprofit that fundraises for late-stage cancer research. Klein, a former assistant coach of the JMU softball team, has worked in fitness and wellness for more than a decade.
She’s also a health technology user experience/user interface designer and, like Evert, an exercise physiologist. “We’ve funded four peer-reviewed projects over the past three years and have raised more than $100,000,” Evert said. “We’ve worked with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, and, most recently, funded a novel study on mindset in collaboration with the Comedy Cures Foundation.”
— Khalil Garriott (’04)
See more inspiring stories at j.mu/beingthechange PH OTO G R A PH S CO U RT E SY O F LE A H E V E RT (’ 03)