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Fall 2008 Madison
Always keen to collaborate
Periodically throughout the year, the staff of Madison gets together over pizza with small groups of professors from across the many departments of JMU. Administrators from each college bring these faculty members to share news about their teaching, research and service. Because these professors hail from so many disciplines, their activities are diverse and wide ranging.
The activities they bring to the staff's attention are exciting -- the accounting program's highly successful CPA Exam Boot Camp, for instance, the professor-in-residence programs that encourage underserved high-school students in several Virginia cities to reach for a college education, the geology field school in Ireland that offers a discipline-based international experience students wouldn't ordinarily receive in a geology program at another university.
They report on debate team tourna-ment victories and awards that signal a renaissance on the national scene, the brand new doctor of musical arts program, renowned guest artists who infuse students' artistic milieu with new creativity, and the College for Kids program for local schoolchildren.
Some of these activities make their way directly onto the magazine's pages, while other news is shared in other ways.
While the Madison staff has become accustomed to this exciting level of achievement at JMU, what we find so remarkable is that at least once at every get-together, one professor reaches out to another with an offer to explore their common interests.
Last spring, for instance, Maria Papadakis, a professor in integrated science and technology and director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Sustainability, spoke about JMU's work with alternative energies like wind, biodiesel and solar. She lamented that many viable ideas that could have a positive impact on the environment don't get off the ground because the financial world is slow to back them. She then went on to speak of several projects she and students were researching at JMU. Pam Drake, the new head of finance in the College of Business, who also was in attendance, said that she'd be interested in getting together to discuss how they might do something together to change the status quo.
While i don't know the outcome of that particular conversation, it is illustrative of the interdisciplinary collaboration that President Rose discusses on Page 14 as one of the hallmarks of JMU. It is a habit we see almost every day at the university.
A new academic year promises to bring new collaborations that enrich all of the Madison campus.
Pam Brock
Executive Editor
Fall 2008 Madison
Ready for download
Download the pdfs to the Fall 2008 issue of Madison, the university magazine for alumni, parents, friends and the campus community. Find the table of contents on Pages 2 and 3. It’s your guide to the entire issue.