President Linwood H. Rose

James Madison University's new president, Dr. Linwood H. Rose, has dedicated his presidency to leading the university into a position of national prominence.

Only the fifth president in JMU's 91-year history, Dr. Rose's aspiration is for JMU to become the gold standard for the undergraduate educational experience. Since being named president a little over a year ago, Dr. Rose has said repeatedly that JMU can be the prototype university in America for delivering the total undergraduate experience -- a combination of a liberal arts foundation with professional preparation in an environment that encourages personal and intellectual growth.

The new president also plans to more closely align James Madison University with President James Madison. JMU is the only university in America named for the fourth U.S. president, and Dr. Rose has called on the university community to reflect and incorporate the legacy of James Madison on campus in as many ways as possible. In moving to achieve that goal, JMU recently entered into a cooperative agreement with Montpelier, the ancestral home of Mr. Madison in Orange County, Virginia.

As the university's chief executive, Dr. Rose is emphasizing expansion of the institution's revenue base. Traditional funding sources are not expected to increase sufficiently to meet the university's requirements, and JMU must enhance its private giving to ensure the achievement of its goals.

Dr. Rose has been at JMU virtually his entire professional life. He joined what was then Madison College as its assistant director of residence halls in 1975. The following year, Dr. Rose became associate director, then in 1979, director. In 1981, he took an educational leave from the university to complete work on his doctoral degree.

He was named assistant to the president and director of special projects at JMU in 1982, assistant vice president for university relations in 1984 and executive assistant to the president in 1985. In the fall of 1985, he took leave from JMU to serve as Virginia's deputy secretary of education.

On his return to JMU in 1986, Dr. Rose was named vice president for administration, with the position expanding the following year to vice president for administration and finance.

In 1994, he was promoted to executive vice president; the responsibilities of chief operating officer were added in 1995. As chief operating officer, Dr. Rose oversaw all of the university's major divisions: academic affairs, administration and finance, student affairs, university relations and athletics.

Dr. Rose served as acting president in the fall of 1997 and was chosen as JMU's fifth president in September of 1998 following a national search that resulted in some 100 applications.

All of Dr. Rose's predecessors as president of JMU had long tenures in office. The university's first president, Julian Ashby Burruss, served from JMU's founding in 1908 until 1919 when he became president of Virginia Tech. Burruss was followed in the presidency by Dr. Samuel Page Duke (1919-1949), Dr. G. Tyler Miller (1949-1971) and Dr. Ronald E. Carrier (1971-1998).

Dr. Rose has been active in a number of community activities, including serving as board chairman of Rockingham Memorial Hospital and as president and campaign chairman of the Harrisonburg-Rockingham County United Way.

Born in Daytona Beach, Florida, Dr. Rose grew up in Staunton, Virginia, where he graduated from Robert E. Lee High School. Dr. Rose earned his bachelor's degree in economics from Virginia Tech, his master's in educational administration and supervision from the University of Tennessee and his doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Virginia.

September 9, 1998 President, James Madison University

July 1997-January 1998 Acting President, JMU

December 1995-August 1998 Chief Operating Officer, JMU

May 1994-August 1998 Executive Vice President, JMU

June 1991-May 1994 Senior Vice President, JMU

May 1987-June 1991 Vice President for Administration and Finance, JMU

May 1986-May 1987 Vice President for Administration, JMU

January 1986-May 1986 Executive Assistant to the President, JMU

August 1985-January 1986 Deputy Secretary of Education, Commonwealth of Virginia

May 1985-August 1985 Executive Assistant to the President, JMU

May 1984-May 1985 Assistant Vice President for University Relations, JMU

August 1982-April 1984 Assistant to the President and Director of Special Projects,JMU

September 1981-July 1982 Educational Leave

June 1979-August 1981 Director of Residence Halls and Commuting Student Services, JMU

July 1976-May 1979 Associate Director of Residence Halls and Commuting Student Services, JMU

August 1975-June 1976 Assistant Director of Residence Halls, JMU

February 1974-July 1975 Residence Hall Director, University of Tennessee

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