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James Madison University - Index

James Madison University - Madison - The Magazine of James Madison University - Spring 08 - Index

DiRECTiOnS
100 years in the making
Come, celebrate — we’re just getting started
In a matter of days, the entire
James Madison University
community will officially celebrate
its centennial anniversary.
Weeklong festivities will
commence just as students and
professors return from spring breaks of
fun, of research and of service to others.
This grand occasion has been 100
years in the making. it commemorates
our annual observations of Founders
day and James Madison’s birth date and
the momentum of our Madison Century
Capital Campaign all wrapped into one.
Virginia gov. Tim Kaine will deliver
the keynote address at the Centennial
Convocation on March 14. on that
date in 1908 gov. Kaine’s predecessor,
gov. Claude swanson, signed the bill formally establishing the state
normal and industrial school for Women at Harrisonburg.
richmond — the Virginia general assembly — is where JMU
was born. Thanks to the wisdom of area leaders like sen. george B.
Keezell, del. p.B.F. good and adolph snyder, editor of the local
newspaper, the community successfully rallied to locate the institution
here in Harrisonburg.
richmond is where we return annually for continued state support of
the JMU mission. as you read this, the general assembly is considering
Madison’s budget for the upcoming biennium. With subprime mortgage
losses affecting economies around the globe and talk of a recession
in the United states, the economic outlook is troubling here in Virginia.
Last fall, we had to return $4.78 million in state support, which
rolls back our recent gains in the commonwealth’s base adequacy funding
level to the equivalent of that received in 2000. We don’t know yet
how the university’s budget will fare in house and senate bills, nor in the
governor’s budget, for the upcoming biennium. The picture changes
daily. it is a suspenseful time for JMU. our goals, as always, will be to
maintain the academic integrity and the faculty and staff of JMU.
of great importance to JMU is the governor’s $1.65 billion higher
education bond package. The proposal designates more than $96
million for JMU projects. The projects include the construction of a
new biotechnology building ($44.8 million), renovation and expansion
of duke Hall ($43.4 million) and the final payment ($8.6 million)
on the purchase of rockingham Memorial Hospital.
The biotech facility would bolster our faculty’s work and reputation
in the sciences. as a key component of the science corridor on the east
side of campus, Centennial Hall would help solidify JMU’s leading
role in undergraduate research and be a great complement to JMU’s
new partnership with sri international.
The renovation and addition to duke Hall would enable us to
complete our vision for the visual and performing arts. as the future
performing arts Center comes online as expected in 2010, Latimershaeffer
Theatre in duke would be transformed into space dedicated
entirely to visual and fine arts.
photograph by diane elliott (’00)
When it all began — Virginia legislators toast Mary
Washington and JMU’s 100th in Richmond with Presi-
dent Emeritus Ron Carrier and President Lin Rose.
in order for these exciting plans to
move forward, the governor’s higher
education bond proposal must be
approved by the general assembly this
session and by voters in a general referendum
in november 2008.
as you read this, the Virginia legislature
and the governor’s office are debating
the budget and bond issues i bring
to your attention. i ask for your continued
support as you speak with legislators
and in conversations with your
fellow Virginians. please help them see
the value of a financially strong James
Madison University. our preparation
of enlightened and educated citizens
benefits all of Virginia, which was
exactly what the Virginia legislature had
in mind when they established JMU 100 years ago. i believe those
legislators would be impressed today to see that JMU’s contributions
have grown over the century to affect the nation and the world.
during Centennial Week, we also will celebrate our Madison Century
Capital Campaign and report progress toward our $50 million
goal. over the last seven years we have received outstanding support.
i am confident that we will exceed our goal, bringing to a successful
conclusion JMU’s first capital campaign on June 30. i have spoken
often about the vital role of private giving to JMU. From the budget
picture i have outlined, you can see how a healthy endowment can
make the difference for our people and programs.
one of the other goals of our capital campaign was to start building
a culture of philanthropy here at JMU. i believe that culture is
beginning to take hold, with private giving rising steadily each year to
$12 million, 400 new gifts and 45 new endowments for scholarships,
professorships, student awards and athletics last year. These gifts, plus
the JMU Foundation’s stewardship of the investment portfolio, have
raised our endowment past the $50 million mark.
i have outlined many great reasons to celebrate. please visit www.
jmu.edu/birthday to learn more. i hope you will join us on campus
for this momentous occasion. The normal, Madison, JMU — we
all — have been preparing for this celebration for 100 years. immediately
after, we will start preparing for our 200th anniversary. i’m
confident that, on that date, the students, professors, alumni and staff
members of the James Madison University of the future will look
back from the position of greatness that we helped make possible.
We’re just getting started.
Linwood H. Rose
President
James Madison University
spring 2008 7