http://www.jmu.edu/bethechange/

James Madison University - Index

James Madison University - Madison Magazine - Summer 2008 - Index

‘It will be the constant endeavor of those in charge of the institution
to maintain the highest standards of life and character and to create
a desire among the students to lead exemplary lives and render the
greatest possible service in the world.’
BE the changE
When President Julian A. Burruss arrived in Harrisonburg in July 1908, he faced a daunting task — to make a college materialize on an empty field.
But Burruss had the vision and all the magician’s tools he needed. Though only 33, he was a decisive man with excellent executive skills. How else could
one man generate in only a dozen weeks the blueprint for what would become a major university? After visiting other normal schools, Burruss, an engineering
graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute, authored a 22-page document for the Board of Trustees in which he outlined every detail of the new
school. Then he moved with vision and precision to fulfill the board’s ambitious goal for opening in September 1909. Without exception his decisions
were excellent ones with ramifications that would ring throughout the Madison Century.
Learn how all five JMU presidents embraced the Be the Change spirit www.jmu.edu/BeTheChange/
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—President Julian A. Burruss
inaugural issue of the Bulletin
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