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Let The Festivities Begin: JMU Primed To Celebrate 100 Years of History

By Bill Wyatt, JMU Public Affairs

Relatively speaking, James Madison University at 100 is pretty young when it comes to higher education. After all, Harvard and the College of William and Mary were both founded in the 17th century.

While a centennial celebration may be ancient history to the Crimson or the Tribe, the Dukes are absolutely giddy about their school's milestone.

March 14 marks the 100th anniversary of JMU's founding. Many events and programs throughout the academic year have drawn attention to the significant anniversary. But a weeklong celebration is planned to culminate the special year. And as the Centennial buzz begins to rise around campus and around town, the behind-the-scenes machinations are reaching a fevered pitch.

Fred Hilton, director of JMU's Centennial Office, has been planning the year's activities since 2004 and is excited to see everything come together.

"The Centennial [celebration] has been a major undertaking with a lot of different parts. It's great to see it finally come together," Hilton said. "The biggest challenge has been figuring out how to involve as many people as possible in the process."

JMU's Centennial Week celebration will feature a series of events designed to bring the entire university and surrounding community to not just celebrate our rich history but to foster excitement about where the university is going in the next 100 years.

The capstone event for the Centennial celebration will be a convocation to be held on Friday, March 14. Governor Tim Kaine will begin his day in Harrisonburg to celebrate JMU's centennial. He'll then travel to Fredericksburg to participate in the University of Mary Washington's centennial festivities. JMU and UMW were founded on the same day when Governor Claude Swanson signed into law legislation creating the two State Normal Schools for Women.

More than 25 teams from 19 schools will square off in one of the nation's premier collegiate debate tournaments. The annual Madison Cup Debate will feature schools such as Yale, Johns Hopkins, Brown, Harvard and JMU. Debaters will tackle the issue of whether the U.S. should alter its policy in the Middle East. The finals of the Madison Cup debates will be held Thursday evening, March 13, at 5 p.m. in Wilson Hall. Additionally, JMU will play host to the National Debate Tournament Friday through Sunday featuring upwards of 96 teams from around the country.

Even JMU students abroad are getting into the mix. Students enrolled in the Semester in London program will host a centennial birthday party at the Madison House in the Bloomsbury area on Tuesday, March 11. JMU alumni in and around London have been invited to celebrate this milestone event.

Back home in Harrisonburg, JMU students are organizing the formation of a human 100 on the Quadrangle for Wednesday, March 12 at 2 p.m. The "Altogether 100" photo opportunity will feature thousands of students, faculty and staff corralled into the shape of a 100. Once in formation, photographers with the aid of a bucket truck and airplane will document the event for all posterity.

Other highlights of the week's activities include the dedication of a new James Madison statue on the east side of campus. The statue, said to depict a younger Madison, will be rather imposing at 10 feet tall and will be erected near the flagpoles in front of the ISAT/CS building.

While the students are away for Spring Break, many support offices throughout the university are working diligently to make this celebration of a lifetime memorable. Representatives from JMU's catering, facilities management, parking services and many others have been meeting regularly for three years to ensure that things run smoothly.

Spencer Narron, special events coordinator for parking services, estimates at least an additional 2,000 parking spaces will be used throughout the course of the Centennial Week celebration.

"The challenge is to ensure that our daily constituency faculty, staff and students are properly served and provided for while also giving excellent customer service to the guests coming to campus for the events," Narron said.

The Centennial celebration continues through the May commencement ceremonies where JMU will confer its 100,000 degree and graduate its first 4-year class of Centennial scholars. Planners say they'll take a much deserved break before beginning to plan for the school's 150th anniversary.