2008-09 Annual Accomplishments

Academic Affairs

College of Arts and Letters

• During the past year, the faculty in the college published 16 books, 157 scholarly papers, and over 250 scholarly presentations.
• Numerous faculty won awards from their professional organization for their outstanding scholarly and professional productivity.
  These included Professor Rusty Green, Dr. Peter Pham, and Dr. John Woody.
  In particular, Dr. Peter Pham was awarded the 2008 Nelson Mandela International Prize for African Security and Development.

College of Business

• Business Week again ranked the College of Business among the top 5% of business programs in its third annual ranking of
  undergraduate business programs. However, this year the College of Business moved up 10 spots in the rankings coming in at 44th.
  As a result, James Madison University was among the top 50 programs in the country and therefore included in the published edition of the magazine.
• Business Week also ranked the College of Business No. 3 on the public schools list and fourth out of all business schools for
  demonstrating a high return on investment in the 2009 Business Week “50 Best Undergraduate Business Schools” rankings,
  which are calculated by comparing annual tuition and median starting salaries for 2008 graduates.
• The traditional MBA program was significantly revamped in both its focus and its delivery. The program developed innovative
  leadership as its predominant theme and distinguishing characteristic, and hence the program is now generally referred to as the “Innovation MBA” or the “iMBA” for short.

College of Education

• The new fifth-year Integrated Early Childhood Program (IECE) was approved by the university and SCHEV for implementation in the spring of 2010.
• Professor-in-Residence program continued to expand with the addition of two new PIRs from the College of Education.  
  New schools served include Skyline Middle School in Harrisonburg and Ruffner Academy Middle School and Long Elementary School in Norfolk.

College of Integrated Science and Technology

• More than 25 initiatives were facilitated through the JMU-RMH collaborative and several other initiatives were developed
  through informal connections that were nurtured through the collaborative. Examples include: development of a chronic illness
  strategies effort; production of training DVDs; on-site medical imaging for JMU athletes; voice and swallowing center;
  functional mapping of Emergency Department and Operating Room; research and education in integrative health; joint simulation center.
• The dual-degree master’s degree program in Sustainable Environmental Resources Management (SERM) with the University of Malta
  was approved by both SCHEV and SACS and was subsequently declared eligible by the Department of Education for financial aid.

College of Science and Mathematics

• Two concentrations have been developed in environmental science related areas—ecology and environmental biology
  and environmental and engineering geology.
• The Department of Chemistry/Biochemistry received $500,000 in funding over five years from the Research Corporation.
  The departmental development award addresses diversity and has three thematic areas for development—environmental chemistry,
  materials science, and biochemistry.

College of Visual and Performing Arts

• Diversity curricular enhancements were proposed and approved for five courses in the School of Art and Art History: African Art: The Sahara and Northern Sahel;
  African Art: Sub-Saharan; Topics in African Art; and American Art to 1870 and American Art from 1870.
• The School of Music produced well over 200 performances and lectures by students, faculty, and guests.
• The School of Theatre and Dance presented approximately 30 productions for an audience total of 20,000.
• The Madison Art Collection presented arts integrated learning opportunities for 51 middle and elementary school classes,
  serving over 3,500 students. The Masterpiece Season events served a total audience of 11,946.

Graduate School

• A new concentration for the MPA in Public and Non-Profit Management was approved.
• A New Masters in Communication Studies was approved at the university level.
• The Board of Visitors approved the Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP).
• The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia approved the Ph.D. in Strategic Leadership Studies.

Engineering

• Recruiting the first class of engineering students was by all measures very successful. An initial freshman class of 120 students
  was enrolled in the fall of 2008 with an original target of 50. Of the 120 students, 95 were retained in engineering
  (better than 75% retention, compared with a national average of about 60%). For Fall 2009 we have 98 incoming freshmen enrolled in engineering.
• Engineering faculty submitted 12 proposals for external funding. Of these 12 proposals, 5 were successfully reviewed
  and funded in excess of $750,000. Combined with the existing external grant funding of $335,000, these new grants
  bring the total active external grant funding in the School of Engineering to more than one million dollars.

Center for Faculty Innovation

• Over 2,300 faculty members participated in CFI programs in 2008-09 with 573 attendees at the annual May Symposium and
  680 faculty attending Faculty Workshop Series. Additionally, 119 faculty and 817 students participated in Take Your Professor to Lunch/Coffee.

Educational Technologies and Libraries

• There were 456,705 visitors in the new CISAT library during it’s first 30-weeks of opening during the academic year
  with 2,516 visitors utilizing the 24-hour study lounge.

International Programs

• International Programs were cited again this year in the Open Doors, the Institute for International Education’s publication
  reporting study abroad numbers. JMU maintained it’s ranking as sixth in the country among master’s institutions regarding the
  number of students studying abroad. The Study Abroad program sent 845 students to 59 countries all around the globe.
  The four major semester-long programs in London, Salamanca, Florence, and Antwerp are at capacity.
• The Office of International Programs continues to support the recruitment of international students and faculty and welcomes
  them to our community through orientations, social activities, immigration and employment advice and visa/green card support.
  JMU supports 64 international faculty members on visas and an additional 100 faculty on green cards.

Research and Public Service

• The Office of Research and Public Service (RPS) established James Madison Innovations, Inc. as a separate 501(c)3 corporation
  in November 2008. The university entered into an Affiliation Agreement with JMI, Inc. to manage university intellectual property
  licensing, legal work related to intellectual property, and create spin-off companies.
• In terms of externally sponsored activities, JMU experienced an increase in federal support but a predictable decrease in industrial,
  private foundations, state, and local funding for sponsored programs occurred. JMU faculty, students, and staff submitted a total
  of 332 proposals for external funding. During the same period, 221 funding applications were selected to receive external funding,
  maintaining an impressive 66% funding success rate and gaining $23,144,484 during the period July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009.
• RPS facilitated the development of the 25 x ’25 State Alliance and implementation of the 25 x ’25 Demonstration Project in the
  Shenandoah Valley through the Office of Research Development.
• RPS nurtured the SRI project in conjunction with local, regional and state economic developers, which will be a transformational
  research and economic development project for the entire region.
• JMU was named as the eighth member of the university consortium focused on advancing innovation in the Mid-Atlantic Region.
  RPS facilitated JMU participation and membership in Chesapeake Crescent Initiative, a select consortium focused on improving
  the region’s global competitiveness and economic prosperity by advance regional innovation and energy independence using new
  models of federal, state, and local government, university and private sector collaboration.
• The Office of Outreach and Engagement increased the number of events offered and revenue generated. Programs conducted
  enrolled 1,838 students in credit activities. Events increased in the past year with 227 credit courses offered as compared to 207
  in 2007-08. Additionally, Outreach and Engagement experienced an increase of nearly 15% in gross revenue for credit activities.

University Studies

• In 2008-09, University Studies collaborated with the Center for Faculty Innovation to lead a year-long study focused on general
  education teaching. Four different workshops were offered:
  1) Strategies for Bringing GENED Objectives to Life in Large Classes;
  2) Building on Cluster One Skills in Your Upper Division Courses;
  3) How JMU Students Approach Writing Assignments; and
  4) What do You Really Want Your Students to Learn in Your Classes?
• Every incoming freshman was preregistered into nine or more credits based on major and indicated areas of interest from the
  GENED selection sheet. All classes were relevant to graduation.

Administration and Finance

Level II

• The legislation for the restructuring of Virginia’s public institutions of higher education extended JMU the ability to apply
  for increased autonomy in areas such as procurement, human resources, capital and information technology. There are
  three levels of autonomy with each institution starting at Level I. The university chose to attempt Level II autonomy in the
  areas of information technology and procurement.
• In the past several years, JMU has led the state in small company purchases with almost 70% of expenditures, met our
  women owned business expenditure targets, and achieved a 1.1% spend in minority numbers.

Facilities Management

• Redesigned lighting in Varner and Jackson Halls to lower energy use.
• Purchased four hybrid passenger cars, two all-electric utility vehicles, and one hybrid refuse hauler.
• Increased the bio-diesel blend from 5% to 20%.
• Planted 173 trees on the campus grounds.
• Participated in Recyclemania and placed 3rd in the state for waste reduction.
• Installed waterless urinals in several buildings as test sites.
• Installed sustainable flower beds and rain gardens.

Human Resources

• Eliminated sending hard copy letters for A&P Faculty renewals citing commitment to efficiency,
  environmental stewardship and sustainability.

Surplus Property

• Worked with various FM departments to ensure the successful removal of the Memorial Baseball Field and football lights,
  bleachers, and other fixtures. The Town of Shenandoah received the majority of the items and the local training center for
  members of law enforcement received a portion of the bleachers. The Town of Shenandoah will use the lighting and equipment
  to serve the community in their new baseball park. For the Town of Shenandoah, this was a community effort, with volunteers
  providing the labor to dismantle and remove the items to their new field. The local law enforcement-training center benefited as well.
  These items could have ended up in a landfill instead of providing benefit to the local community.

Accounts Payable

• Has begun scanning payment documents into the Nolij imaging system.

Dining Services

• Removed the trays in Gibbons Hall, resulting in a substantial reduction of approximately 528,000 gallons of water used to wash
  them after each use
• Purchased 10-15 percent of produce products locally out of season and 25-30 percent locally in season
• Assisted in design of the first LEED Silver building on campus, the East Campus Dining Hall
• Partnered with The Greener Oil Company to recycle fryer oil into biodiesel
• Offered re-usable shopping bags in all food courts

Service Training

• The university police received a grant to install in-car computers and all officers have received certification on using VCIN/NCIC
  through the in-car computers.
• Began the first JMU Professional Book Club.

e-Campus

• Implemented student photos for the faculty class roster and the advisee roster.
• Enhanced registration so that the incoming freshmen are able to swap sections of the same class without adviser approval
  and with the adviser hold in place.

Diversity

• The Ways of the World, developed by Training & Development, inaugural year finished with great success.
  This 12-month series focused on the differences (and similarities) of numerous cultures and countries represented here at JMU.
  We had 43 people complete the program. They each received a framed certificate of completion signed by Dr. Rose.

Other Financial Information

• The university’s executive management team was able to minimize the impact of a 7 percent budget reduction or $5.4 million loss
  in general funds in FY 2008-09.
• JMU received interest in the amount of $1.6 million on deposits with the Commonwealth due to compliance with the
  Commonwealth Management Standards.
• JMU received additional one-time tuition moderation incentive funds in the amount of $1.26 million.
• The university was able to moderate in-state tuition increases for FY 2009-10 with $7.3 million in federal stimulus funds.
  In-state tuition increase was 5 percent.
• The General Assembly approved the following capital projects and equipment which included a $15.0 million property acquisition,
  $5.9 million in equipment for the Performing Arts Center and Music Recital Hall, and $2.17 million in additional detail planning funds for the
  Duke Hall Renovation and addition.

Intercollegiate Athletics

JMU Athletics

• JMU Athletics reported an 80% federal graduation rate for the six-year cycle 2002-03 to 2008-09. The rate for the general
  JMU student body during the same time span is 81%. The NCAA Graduation Success Rate, which includes those who transfer
  to an institution and graduate, for JMU student-athletes during the comparable time period is 85%.
• NCAA Public Recognition Awards – Seven teams received the NCAA Public Recognition Award for academic achievement
  based on the NCAA’s Academic Performance Rate benchmark for Division I teams: Cross Country, Women’s golf, Women’s Tennis,
  Men’s Tennis, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field, and Volleyball.

Baseball

• Eight players received All-CAA honors.

Men’s Basketball

• Team reached the semifinals in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, the team’s 21 wins equal the second most in a season in program history.

Women’s Basketball

• With a record of 99-33 during the last four seasons, the team has advanced to postseason play during each of those years.

Field Hockey

• Team finished with an 18-3 overall record, the best winning percentage in program history.
• They won the CAA with an 8-0 league record and won their third straight conference tournament to advance to the NCAA Championships.

Football

• The team reached the semifinals of the NCAA Championships and had nine wins over teams that were nationally ranked.
• Mickey Matthews was CAA Coach of the Year and National Coach of the Year by The Sports Network and Liberty Mutual.

Women’s Soccer

• The team reached the third round of the NCAA Championships as an at-large tournament invitee and was ranked 19th nationally.

Softball

• Won the CAA Tournament for the first time and made the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance.

Student Affairs

University Planning and Analysis

• Successfully completed IPS requirements and approved by SCHEV.
• Completed 5-year Interim Report for SACS.
• Initiated Six-Year Plan for SCHEV.
• Completed Enrollment Projections for SCHEV.

Students/Services/Innovation

• Sixteen Innovation grants were awarded ($104,420 total).
• Created Dux Leadership Center and launched the Kijiji Leadership Program.
• Piloted an Honors Program Living-Learning Center.
• Piloted two-year housing contract. 50% of freshmen indicated interest in staying on campus a second year. The program worked very well.
• UREC’s upper turf project was completed.
• Forty-two Alternative Break Programs were offered.
• Supplemental Instruction supported 1,200 students in 23 high-risk courses. Participants averaged 20% higher grades than their course peers.
• 17,335 sign-ins were recorded for the Science and Math Lab (22% increase over last year).

Sustainability

• Dashboard program installed in Village Residence Halls.
• Created Madison Eco Learning Community in Hoffman Hall.

Safety and Health

• Conducted Safety Summit with apartment owners/managers.
• Responded effectively to national Swine Flu outbreak that began in April.

Alcohol Education and Awareness

• Hired a new BASICS alcohol education coordinator.

University Advancement

Advancement Information Services

• Acquired data system to support the more complex environment of advancement activities.

Development

• Completed a steady year in fundraising, closing overall with more than $8 million in new gifts and pledges,
  including annual giving holding strong at last year’s $4 million level.
• Following campaign results analysis, submitted the report covering ‘next steps’ to prepare for the next,
  higher level campaign.
• Awarded 6 Greater Madison Scholarships to high school students from 5 of the local 6 high schools.

Communications & Marketing

• Increasing the number of publications and news mentions of JMU. JMU appeared in 3,769 news stories.
  Favorability of the 3,769 news stories is 85% positive (3,188), 14% neutral (556), 1% negative (25).
• Increased our presence on social media sites. During the 08/09 academic year the JMU home page received
  roughly 1.2 million hits per month (about 40,000 visitors per day).

Constituent Relations

• The official JMU Facebook site currently has 5,349 fans. The JMU Alumni Association Facebook site has 2,401 fans.
  The Alumni Association Linkedin group has 4,805 members.

Executive Assistant to the President

Admissions

• Record number of applications: 24,111 freshmen and transfer applicants; 9% increase over 2008; transfer applications increased by 16%; 12,839 in-state applications was the largest received by a Virginia institution.
• Applications from under-represented groups were the largest in JMU history: Black applicants 1,145-1,346 (17%); Hispanic applicants 766-898 (17%); Asian applicants 1,331-1,414 (6%).
• Philadelphia market campaign for admissions: initial venture supported the 24% increase in applications from Pennsylvania (83% or 234 applications from 3 targeted counties of the marketing campaign)
• Electronic notification of admissions decisions and financial aid awards was initiated this year with great success. More than 14,200 applicants viewed their admission decision letter on line during the first 48 hours after decisions were posted.

Diversity

• An agreement has been signed with Study Group to enhance the preparation of eligible students for their English proficiency and admittance to JMU, as well as the recruitment of international students.
• Established MOU with Howard University and Morgan State University for future faculty placements.

Institute for Stewardship of the Natural World

• Creation of the Institute for Stewardship of the Natural World and five committees: Awareness, Accessibility, Education & Research, Operations and Policies & Practices.
• No Drive Day, Campus Sustainability Day-Earth Week, Trash Sort, RecycleMania (3rd Place in Waste Minimization); Building-to-Building Waste Minimization, Village Green Wars (using Dashboard) and Sustainability Business Competition were managed by ISNW
• Worked with consultant O’Brien & Gere on Greenhouse Emission Inventory and development of recommendations.

Financial Aid and Scholarships

• Transitioned from Federal Family Education Loan Program to Federal Direct Lending program.
• Developed and implemented Financial Aid Estimator on webpage.