Greetings from the President

In my message in the last issue of Montpelier, I touched on the high quality of the JMU faculty. In this issue, I want to tell you a bit about the exceptional abilities of our students - the inseparable partners of our faculty in making JMU the best institution of its type in America.

Wherever I go, one of the first things that I invariably hear about our university is the observation that "your students certainly are happy at JMU." This is a valid statement. JMU students are happy. They like the university. They like the incredibly close faculty-student relationship, the student-centered campus, the friendly attitude of the JMU community, the challenge that they face academically coupled with steadfast support from the faculty and staff. Surveys repeatedly show that well over 90 percent of our students are satisfied or very satisfied with JMU.

Our students excel as scholars. Only about 3,500 new freshmen and transfer students can enroll each year at JMU from more than 15,000 applicants. The average SAT score for an entering freshman this fall will be around 1,180, and there are 17 National Merit Scholars in the entering class, as well as dozens of other high school leaders.

After enrolling, students maintain that high quality of scholarship: JMU students have an overall average of 2.9 on a 4.0 scale, and more than half of our students plan to extend their education beyond the bachelor's level. Usually, one or more students will graduate with perfection from JMU - all A's. This year's class had three co-valedictorians, all with 4.0 averages: Gretchen Margaret Eckard of Falls Church, a psychology/special education double major; Duy Tran Nguyen of Fairfax, a biology major; and Adi Raz of Charlottesville, an economics major.

One of the things that makes JMU's academic program stand apart from most universities is its emphasis on undergraduate research. Research is an important part of most great universities, but generally research efforts are concentrated on graduate students.

At JMU, the undergraduate is a full partner in research. This fact was underscored this spring when three JMU students were among 40 undergraduates to win research grants from the Material Research Society. JMU was the only university in the country with three recipients. Institutions like Cornell, Vanderbilt, Princeton and Johns Hopkins had one or two winners, but only JMU had three.

The JMU recipients were all chemistry students: Blaine C. Butler of Richmond, Connie J. Rossini of Fairfax Station and Andrew M. Skolnik of Springfield. In addition, 18 other JMU undergraduate students presented their research findings at the annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research.

As you know, JMU students learn outside the classroom as well as inside the classroom. Students grow at our university - not just intellectually but also as individuals. There are a multitude of programs throughout campus - in the residence halls, the student centers, the dining halls - that are directed toward learning and growing. Our Center for Leadership, Service and Transitions helps students expand their leadership abilities and guides them toward becoming better citizens.

Our students have shown a great propensity to help their fellow human beings through work in volunteer organizations. JMU has been cited in at least three national studies of colleges that stress volunteer work by their students. Last year, for example, nearly 1,400 students took part in volunteer work through JMU's Community Service-Learning program.

Finally, JMU students also excel on the athletic field. At least six JMU students were named to All-America teams: Mike Coyle, a wrestler from Phillipsburg, N.J.; Ben Cooke, a cross country runner from Floyd; and four members of the lacrosse team - Jess Marion of Davidson, Md.; Alivian Coates of Charlottesville; Amy Brew of Annapolis, Md.; and Julie Martinez of Willow Grove, Pa. Caleb Heller, a member of the archery team from Wilton, N.H., won the national men's title in compound bow. Many students won regional and conference honors.

There are many success stories at JMU. Any way you turn on our campus, you find another example of a student excelling in whatever he or she is undertaking. JMU has a proud heritage. Today's students, along with our faculty, are creating a proud future for our university.

Linwood H. Rose, President