James Madison University - Index

James Madison University - Madison Magazine - Summer 2008 - Index

slated to open in fall 2008, the
new east Campus Library will double
the university’s library capacity.
supplementing the main campus’
Carrier Library, the new facility will
house science, technology and health
science collections. at 106,000
square feet, roughly the same size as
Carrier Library, the new library is
designed with and for the technology
of the next century. it will provide
computer workstations, large group
study areas and wireless coverage
throughout the five-story building.
east Campus Library will be home
to the Center for Faculty innovation,
a faculty-driven center to promote
professional development and to
support the teaching mission so long
an important emphasis of the university.
While the center had the president’s
enthusiastic support from the
beginning, his support also translated
into a significant benefit for students,
a fact underscored by improvement
in the student to faculty ratio to
16:1, making JMU competitive with
schools with far fewer students.
By 2001, steadily rising student
enrollment topped 15,000; faculty
and staff numbered more than 2,000
and the campus covered 495 acres. By
2006, enrollment would hit 17,000,
but Rose maintained his inaugural
promise to make certain that adequate
facilities, faculty, staff and other
resources were available to meet the
needs of any additional students.
expansion was not limited to growth in faculty and new
construction. Like sam duke, Rose looked to the city to find
opportunities for campus growth.
Purchase of the former Harrisonburg High school building
in 2005 provided new classroom space in the renamed Memorial
Hall, along with additional sports and recreation venues.
JMU’s assumption of the building meant a continuation of the
educational purpose of the city’s beloved old high school.
The same year, Rose agreed to a future purchase of Rockingham
Memorial Hospital, which borders JMU to the north.
When the hospital moves to new quarters in 2010, the hospital
complex will offer significant opportunities for academic
expansion and, with two parking decks, ease the parking problem
that faces any major university.
The finer things in life
one of the most visible changes during the Rose years has been
expansion of the arts. support for business programs, communications
and the sciences had all increased dramatically. it was
now time for the arts. Rose’s commitment to the arts is appar-
This overhead view of an architect’s rendering of
the new Performing Arts Center shows a soon-to-be
reality. The new 167,000-square-foot complex will
feature a center for theater and dance, a center for
music performance and a concert hall.
ent in new galleries throughout the
campus. The Madison art Collection,
housed in the Festival Conference
and student Center, is one.
The modern art gallery in the renovated
Whitesel Building is another.
The most eagerly anticipated
addition to campus began in 2007.
Building on a foundation of the
arts that had produced accolades
from grammy nominations to rave
Kennedy Center reviews, plans
were drawn in 2004 for a new Performing
arts Center — an item
that had been near to the top of
the university’s wish list for more
than two decades. Rose’s commitment
to the arts and his success in
raising private funds finally made
the dream a reality.
The new Performing arts Center
will be built across Main street from
campus and feature new venues
for theater and dance, a center for
music performance and a new concert
hall. The 167,000-square-foot
project will unify the performing
arts and provide a facility to properly
showcase the talents of JMU to
the community and campus.
adding it all up, with new construction,
pending acquisitions and
ongoing renovations, the campus in
2008 has 102 buildings spread over
675 acres, well above the 419 acres
that Rose inherited. With the addition
of the new facilities, assignable
space at JMU will increase to more than 3,000,000 square feet
— a 50 percent increase during the Rose administration.
The challenge of support
one of the glaring needs for colleges and universities in the
new century is private support. no longer can universities fulfill
their potential by depending solely on the legislature for funding.
While Carrier was a master in tapping the state legislature
for funds, Rose would be unsurpassed among JMU presidents
in developing private sources of funding. Rose made his commitment
to private funding clear in his inaugural address, and
it would become a hallmark of his administration.
To this end, JMU launched its first comprehensive capital
campaign in 2006, the Madison Century: A Campaign for James
Madison University, to raise $50 million. The campaign, which
closes in June 2008, supports faculty chairs, professorships and
teaching, as well as scholarships, improved facilities and the
university’s endowment.
standing at just over $23 million in the first year of the Rose
administration, JMU’s endowment has now grown to more than
$50 million, more than half coming from individual donations.
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