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Spring 2009 Madison
Anatomy of a brainstorm
As you read this issue of the magazine, you'll find several references to the tough economic times we are all facing. Madison, just like everyone else, will have to deal with these economic realities.
Naturally, we will be enacting conventional cost-cutting methods -- printing and mailing fewer copies of the magazine. Please make sure you share your e-mail address with JMU (see Page 14) so that we can continue to reach you as we explore new ways to continue communicating with you and the growing JMU alumni population.
We also will be looking to slay the budget dragon in more innovative (and characteristically JMU) ways. Our team is consolidating this year's Viewbook (the traditional print vehicle sent to high school seniors) with the August issue of Madison. Reaching out to prospective students with Madison makes perfect sense. The magazine offers the evidence high school students and their parents need to help them make an informed decision about what college or university is right for them.
"Brochures traditionally tell a story, but the magazine is so much more powerful because it shows what's so great at Madison," says Michael Walsh, director of admissions for JMU, now buried under a record 21,250 freshman applications.
In fact, it's this kind of collaboration, this impulse to solve a problem and throw in on a good idea, that's so great about JMU. The idea -- that prospective students, alumni and the rest of the JMU community could find common cause in the pages of Madison -- was Andy Perrine's. "We have a responsibility to tuition and tax-payers to be innovative and responsible with how we spend money. Using Madison to also recruit new students kills two birds with one stone," he says.
And, I know our readers -- JMU alumni and parents -- will be our best recruiters. They can personally pass along their magazines to the top-performing high school students they know personally and tell them about JMU.
You, the expert, can start helping now. As we get ready for that special August issue of Madison, tell us what to tell prospective students and their parents about why JMU is the best university on earth. (See ads on Pages 4 and 60). After all, you know best.
Pam Brock
Executive Editor