Judy Cohen
Assistant Director, Study and Volunteer Abroad
Judy Cohen graduated from Wellesley College with a major in French and worked for the administration at Duke University before coming to Harrisonburg in 1973. When her husband, Ralph Cohen, began establishing JMU’s study abroad program, she provided him with secretarial support, primarily helping to set up the semesters in London and in Paris. As part of the faculty family in residence, she accompanied her husband to London for five semesters and to Florence for two terms, where she helped provide administrative assistance. She is an avid supporter of the arts and has contributed in a variety of ways to the growth and success of the American Shakespeare Center. She is currently on the Board of the Bach Festival through Eastern Mennonite University and serves as president of the Friends of Carrier Library here at JMU.
Her experience abroad led to her work as a private tour guide and later a travel agent specializing in custom European trips. Her first fourteen years at JMU were devoted almost entirely to directing the JMU/Commonwealth of Virginia International Internship Program and to managing bookings for Madison House, JMU's student residence hall in London. Her professional travels have taken her chiefly to Europe, where for a number of years she regularly visited internship sites in London, Brussels, Paris, and Madrid. She still runs the internship program but is increasingly involved in advising students on non-JMU study abroad and internship programs, in guiding students through the application process for a number of scholarships and fellowships for educational opportunities abroad, and in supporting the office’s efforts to involve students in service learning and exchange experiences. |
