Dr. Richard F. Whitman, Dean

Dr. David K. Jeffrey, Associate Dean

Dr. Marilou M. Johnson, Associate Dean

Dr. Ann-Janine Morey, Associate Dean

Jerry Weaver, Executive Assistant

Mission Statement

The College of Arts and Letters serves multiple vital needs of JMU students. First, it offers high-quality  programs of specialized study in the social sciences,  humanities, communication and the arts, and in several pre-professional and interdisciplinary areas. Second, the college provides a challenging array of courses designed to promote lifelong learning by sharpening analytical abilities; improving computational and communications skills; cultivating a facility with written expression; enhancing cultural awareness, intensifying moral and aesthetic sensitivity and fostering awareness of the contingent nature of knowledge. Linking these two missions is a college-wide commitment to free but  rigorous and controlled inquiry into human nature.  Finally, the college provides a variety of rich cultural opportunities for JMU students and the entire university community by sponsoring gallery exhibits and dozens of performing arts events, including Masterpiece Season, a series of programs featuring local and touring artists.

Goals

In addition to the special goals of each major, all  programs in the college are committed to helping the student achieve the following common objectives.

§ Improve foundational skills fostered by general education courses: writing, critical thinking, information access through technology and, where appropriate, foreign languages.

§ Develop the ability to use writing to acquire knowledge and to communicate ideas effectively through writing-intensive courses required in the major.

§         Enrich cultural perspectives essential to effective citizenship in the 21st century; global awareness and appreciation of American cultural diversity.

§         Provide significant active-learning experiences through field courses, research projects, internships, studies abroad and simulations.