President's Corner

April 22, 2008

Dear JMU Alumni,

I am so refreshed and energized from the Black Alumni Reunion Weekend! Thank you to all of those who were able to attend and my hopes for those that were unable to attend is that we see you at the next reunion. The weekend was fantastic. The energy and enthusiasm from those in attendance was contagious and I think everyone who was there would agree, that it was great to reconnect and share a few laughs with our classmates. The current JMU students were also excited to have us on campus and really had some thoughtful questions for each of us. They were most appreciative to have the opportunity to interact.

As we move forward from the weekend, I wanted to share a few tidbits from our informative meetings on campus with the President and various faculty/staff members. Did you know?

• African-American, first-time freshmen applications increased from 605 to 1,073...a 78% increase from 2003 to 2007;
• the Black Alumni Chapter has awarded more than 35 scholarships to deserving students since the early 1990’s from its endowed scholarship fund;
• 6 out of 8 historically Black Greek letter organizations are back on campus (Highest number since 95-96);
• NAACP, BSA, SMO and CGS have seen recent growth and established themselves as vital JMU campus organizations;
• JMU currently has a Professor in Residence Program which sends JMU faculty members into high schools in Virginia which have a diverse student body and in the past have served as strong feeder schools for JMU. Faculty work with students and teachers on academic issues, college preparation and student leadership initiatives. The schools include: in Richmond – Huguenot High School & George Wythe High School, in Tidewater – Booker T. Washington High School, in Northern Virginia – Wakefield High School and Washington & Lee High School. They have also begun work with two middle schools in Richmond -- Lucille Brown and Thompson. Dr. Oris Griffin heads up the Professor in Residence Program;
• Art Dean, ‘92 now serves as Special Assistant to the President for Diversity and Monyette Foreman Martin, ‘93 serves as the Regional Recruiter for the Richmond area;

JMU continues to make incredible strides and the Black Alumni Chapter is proud to say it has played an integral role in many of these accomplishments. So, if you ask yourself what you can do, here are a few simple things:

1. Update your info so that we may keep you abreast of all of the happenings at JMU.
2. Give to the JMU Black Alumni Scholarship and join the campaign to give $100 for the 100th year celebration; Be sure to designate your gift to the JMU Black Alumni Chapter Scholarship in the Gift Designation box.
3. Get involved with the JMU Black Alumni Chapter and play a more active role. Any role is never too small. To do so, please contact BlackAlumniChpt@alumni.jmu.edu;
4. Mark your calendar now to attend Homecoming, Oct 31 - Nov 2, 2008;
5. Share your experiences at JMU with a prospective student!!
6. Visit the BAC website for upcoming events and to stay informed.

Thanks again to each of you for your excitement and care for James Madison University. It takes all of us to make JMU the best JMU it can be! I look forward to your involvement.

With warmest regards,
Vanessa M. Evans, ’93,’97
JMU Black Alumni Chapter President