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James Madison University - Index

James Madison University - Madison Magazine - Summer 2009 - Index

‘Here at my firm, I’m the
only non-Ivy League or
Stanford graduate. It’s
a very elite education
environment that I work
in, but I brag to everyone
about some of the
things JMU is doing.’
— Paul Holland (’82),
Foundation Capital venture partner
Captain of
sustainability
Spring 2009 Commencement brought
both a new tradition and a captain of
sustainability to campus. For the first
time, JMU offered two commencement
ceremonies. On Friday, May 8,
480 graduates received academic
hoods for their master’s, educational
specialist and doctoral degrees. The
next day, 3,314 undergraduates celebrated
their accomplishments and
were challenged by the speaker to
meet the future energy demands in
environmentally responsible ways.
College of Business alumnus Paul
Holland (’82) has tackled the same
challenge throughout his career. In
March he was selected as a representative
of the nation’s CleanTech industry
to deliver an address at the White
House event “Investing in the Clean
Energy Economy.”
In helping steer one of the nation’s
leading venture capital firms, Foundation
Capital, Holland also leads
the charge for investment in sustainable
and clean technologies. “I’m really
fortunate now,” he says. “Here at my
firm, I’m the only non-Ivy League or
Stanford graduate. It’s a very elite education
environment that I work in, but
I brag to everyone about some of the
things JMU is doing. ... the entrepreneurship
and sustainability programs.”
As pleased as Holland is with his
own Madison Experience, he says he
envies the opportunities available to
current students. To stay in touch, he
serves on the JMU College of Business
Advisory Committee and leads study
missions for business students to visit
JMU alumni at companies including
Apple, Google and salesforce.com.
“What I think is inherent in a place
like JMU are people who’ve got the
interest, aptitude and ability to do
something that’s one or two standard
deviations above the norm and to do
something like create new companies,
new businesses, even new industries,”
he says. “I’d like to see more JMU
grads take those paths, some of the
roads less traveled.”
M
✱ Listen to Holland’s speech and see
more commencement coverage at
www.jmu.edu/news
PHOTOGRAPH BY DIANE ELLIOTT (‘00)
SUMMER 2009