CAPITAL GIVING, CORPORATE GIVING MORE THAN DOUBLE.

Charitable giving to JMU reached $6.1 million by the end of February. That's almost double the gifts received at the same time last fiscal year, when the total was $3.5 million. “This shows wonderful momentum as we embark on JMU's first capital campaign, which will be announced next week at James Madison Day,” says Weston Hatfield, associate vice president for development. The yearly celebration of James Madison's birth and of the university's founding in 1908 will fall this year on March 15.

The largest jump in giving this year is in capital giving, which skyrocketed more than 100 percent to almost $2.4 million from almost $900,000 last year. “The commitment of alumni and other Madison friends is leading the way through a great fundraising year,” Hatfield says “The loyalty of these individuals is making all the difference. Several six-figure gifts establish endowed scholarships and support the future Fine and Performing Arts Complex. A growing base of major six-figure gifts is a healthy sign that a culture of giving is taking root at JMU,” Hatfield says.

Not far behind capital giving is corporate and foundation giving, which also has more than doubled. So far, giving from these commercial and private organizations stands at $1.3 million, up from $400,000 the year before. “This is a dramatic increase in support for our academic programs and shows JMU's increasing importance to the marketplace in a variety of fields.”

Planned giving is up significantly as well, to $375, 700 from $321,600, while giving to the Madison Fund remains steady at $1.7 million. Giving to WMRA, the public radio station housed at JMU, also increased substantially, from $180,000 to almost $326,000.

WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD? TUNE IN ON MARCH 15.

While this year's positive fundraising news will fuel the kickoff to JMU's first-ever comprehensive capital campaign next week, a provocative question is circulating around campus.

“There's something going on,” one student was overheard saying to another as they prepared to leave for spring break. “There are these posters [of people], and I know a couple of them, a student and another one is a professor, asking me if I want to change the world.”

In a separate instance, another student said, “My parents were wondering about it. They saw it in Madison. What's that about?”
“That's the big question,” says Andy Perrine ('86), associate vice president of communications and marketing. He'll offer only faint clues: “It ties naturally into James Madison's legacy, and Madison people live it every day.”

The answer will be revealed, appropriately, during James Madison Day festivities on March 15, which celebrates the Father of the Constitution as well as the university's founding.

The effort is part of a communications campaign to capture the attention and imagination of the entire Madison community. “Now that the pace of fundraising is picking up, our challenge is to reveal the great sense of Madison pride and identity and help the growing culture of giving to thrive,” Perrine says.

Keep your eyes on http://www.jmu.edu/bethechange.

RICHARD DREYFUSS, MICHAEL BESCHLOSS, SCHOLARSHIP LUNCHEON AND MADISON CUP DEBATE HEADLINE JAMES MADISON DAY.

A close encounter with Oscar-winning actor and Oxford University senior fellow Richard Dreyfuss, a Madison Day lecture by award-winning historian and best-selling author Michael Beschloss and a scholarship luncheon of special significance headline James Madison Day festivities on March 15.

Dreyfuss brings his passion for American history and civic engagement to Madison's Endowed Scholarship Luncheon at 11:30 on March 15. His appearance is part of a special announcement by JMU. Dreyfuss, star of Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Mr. Holland's Opus, has also produced specials and documentaries about the Constitution and the lives and times of the nation's founding. He is a senior fellow researching democracy at St. Antony's College, University of Oxford in England. Luncheon attendance is by invitation only. Call (800) 296-6162 or (540) 568-3863 for more information.

Beschloss, the Madison Day lecturer, speaks at 2:30 in Wilson Hall. Beschloss is an award-winning historian on the U.S. presidency and the author of eight books, including the bestseller, "The Conquerors: Roosevelt, Truman and the Destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1941-1945." He is a commentator on PBS' "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," and a contributor to ABC News and "Newsweek." Like actor Dreyfuss, Beschloss was a senior associate member at Oxford in 1986-87. He is a trustee of the White House Historical Association, National Archives Foundation, Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Urban Institute and the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs. The event is free and open to the public. Call 540-568-1644 for more information.

MORE ON MADISON WEEK EVENTS.

In addition to Richard Dreyfuss and Michael Beschloss appearances and the Endowed Scholarship Luncheon, Madison Week activities continue with a 19-college debate on teaching intelligent design in biology classes and additional lectures and events.

Special events of Madison Week include guest lectures on George Mason and on intelligent design Tuesday, March 14, and, on Wednesday, March 15, a lecture by author/historian Michael Beschloss and the bestowing of an honorary doctorate on former U.S. Sen. Harry F. Byrd Jr. during the James Madison Day ceremony, which begins at 2:30 p.m. in Wilson Hall Auditorium.

An admirer of James Madison and strong supporter of education (who portrayed teachers in "Mr. Holland's Opus" and the CBS-TV series, "The Education of Max Bickford"), Richard Dreyfuss will speak at the luncheon for scholarship recipients and donors, deliver the Madison reading at the James Madison Day ceremony and judge the finals of the Madison Cup debate.

At least 19 universities will field debate teams to vie for the Madison Cup — including Liberty University, whose debaters were profiled in the Feb. 6 issue of "Newsweek" — to argue for and against the resolution: "That the theory of intelligent design, in both its historical and its contemporary versions, has a proper role in America's high-school biology classes."

Other teams that have committed to debate at JMU are from Cornell, Yale, George Mason and Wake Forest universities, as well as two-time defending champion Towson University, JMU, and the universities of Richmond, Maryland, Mary Washington, Pittsburgh and Virginia.

The preliminary debates will begin Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. in Taylor Hall. For more details, visit the JMU Debate website.

As an introduction to the issue of intelligent design, Dr. John A. Campbell, a professor of rhetoric in the department of communication at the University of Memphis, will speak on intelligent design and science Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Memorial Hall Auditorium. Campbell, who is on the faculty of the Center for the Study of Rhetoric and Applied Communication at Memphis, has written numerous scholarly essays on Darwin and the rhetoric of science.

Dr. Robert Hawkes, an assistant professor of history at George Mason University and GMU's 1996 Faculty Member of the Year, will lecture on "George Mason: An Uncommon American Hero," Tuesday at 11 a.m. in Room 404, Taylor Hall. Hawkes, who earned his Ph.D. in U.S. history at the University of Virginia, is working on a film on Mason. He also has written and lectured on Harry F. Byrd Sr., father of JMU's honorary degree recipient.

Other events of James Madison Day include a wreath-laying ceremony at 10:30 a.m. at the James Madison statue off Bluestone Drive, and the kickoff of an "Anti-Apathy Campaign" spearheaded by the OrangeBand Initiative that will continue through March 31 at JMU.

JMU WEBCASTS RECREATION OF POET NIKKI GIOVANNI'S GROUND-BREAKING RECORDING.

Nikki Giovanni at Wilson Hall Auditorium with gospel choir singers from five Virginia colleges and universities.

The re-creation of a ground-breaking recording first made in vinyl by poet Nikki Giovanni was available around the world via live webcast and will soon be available for download later via JMU's first-ever podcast.

The JMU event was the first time Giovanni has reproduced the album in concert. She joined the voices of five Virginia college gospel choirs in concert in Wilson Hall on Feb. 27.

The concert commemorated the 35th anniversary of the release of Giovanni's 1971 album, "Truth Is On Its Way" — a first-of-its-kind recording, which combined traditional gospel spirituals with Giovanni's own contemporary poetry and powerful speaking voice.

Giovanni, who is a University Distinguished Professor of English at Virginia Tech, is a world-renowned poet, writer, commentator, activist for civil rights and equality, and educator. She has written more than two dozen books and received more than 20 honorary degrees.

A best-selling album in 1971, the original recording included the New York Community Choir. "Truth Is On Its Way" was chosen Best Spoken Album by the National Association of Radio and Television Announcers in 1972. Still available on CD, "Truth Is On Its Way" was an inspiring, much-loved recording of many who owned it. A critic reviewing the recording in 2005 wrote: "It's about time we give Nikki Giovanni her due as a godmother of hip-hop."

NOTE TO SUBSCRIBERS:
By subscribing to this online publication and providing James Madison University with your e-mail address, it is understood that you are directing the University NOT to share your e-mail address with any parties outside the University community.

To subscribe to Advancing Madison email newsletter please complete the following form.