Dr. Linwood H. Rose
President, James Madison University
Letter to Alumni, Parents of Students and Friends
September 2002

Dear Alumni, Parents of Students and Friends,

Those of us whose lives are directly connected with higher education have two New Year's celebrations annually. Like everyone else, we salute the passing of one year and welcome the next as December 31st becomes January 1st. But we at JMU have a second New Year - one that falls in late August or early September as the new school year begins. It is annually a literal rebirth for the University as thousands of bright young men and women return to our campus, eager for the knowledge and wisdom they will gain from our dedicated faculty.

As we begin this New Year, it is an appropriate time to look back on the previous year at James Madison University.

The start of the 2001-02 school year at JMU was clearly marred by the terrible events of September 11. Our students responded patriotically and unselfishly, demonstrating again the quality and compassion of our student body.

The remainder of the year was a series of positive events and activities for JMU. I would like to take this opportunity to summarize some of the high points of the past year.

NATIONAL RECOGNITIONS CONTINUE

Again, JMU was cited repeatedly in independent studies as one of America's finest colleges or universities. For the eighth year in a row, the highly publicized U.S. News & World Report ranking listed JMU as the best public master's level university in the South. Yahoo! Internet Life said JMU ranked 53rd among the nation's largest universities in preparing students to deal with a computerized society. Kiplinger's Personal Finance ranked JMU as one of the country's 30 best state university values. One of the authors of The Unofficial, Unbiased, Insider's Guide to the 320 Most Interesting Colleges summed things up nicely when he wrote:  "JMU is almost too perfect to be believed."

In addition, many other surveys and publications cited JMU's quality and several academic areas - including speech-language pathology, audiology, management, business and accounting - were singled out for national recognition.

ENROLLMENT STABILIZING

At my inauguration in 1999, I announced that JMU's enrollment would stabilize after reaching previously agreed-upon enrollment projections of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.  Our current enrollment is slightly more than 15,000 with relatively modest increases during the last few years.

It is noteworthy to point out, however, that while our enrollment is relatively stable, demand for admission to JMU continues to grow. While this popularity does allow us to continually enhance the quality of our student body, it also puts us in the difficult position of having to decline many outstanding applicants. This past year, we received more than 16,000 applications for an entering freshman class of around 3,300. We also received another 2,000 applications from transfer students.

A recent study showed that JMU is the most popular college or university among Virginia high-school graduating seniors. According to the survey, 12.9 percent of college-bound high-school students in Virginia applied to JMU. Virginia Tech was second on the state list and the University of Virginia was third.

BUDGET SHORTFALL

A variety of factors have combined to create a major budget shortfall in Virginia.   Cuts were necessary in the budgets of all state agencies, including the public colleges and universities. Virginia higher education will enter the 2002-03 fiscal year with almost $160 million less state support than the year before. Budget cuts for the colleges were based, in large part, on the level of funding the institution had received in the past. As one of most underfunded colleges in the state, JMU's budget reductions were less severe than many other universities in Virginia. Consequently, we were able to offset most of the budget cuts at JMU with tuition increases. Even with the tuition increases, JMU remains a bargain, with a total cost of $4,288 per year for tuition and mandatory fees for in-state students. JMU has been cited by many national publications as a "bargain" for the educational dollar. However, the state budget picture remains increasingly pessimistic for the 2002-04 biennium and we are developing plans for expected additional cuts in our budget.  It is certainly our hope that the state revenue picture improves but no immediate end to the budgetary problem is in sight.

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

In addition to the University's repeated recognitions in national publications, there are a multitude of other activities and recognitions that point out the excellence of JMU's academic programs.

With the development of the College of Integrated Science and Technology, JMU has quickly become a national leader in the field of technology. JMU is one of 36 universities in the nation recognized by the National Security Agency as Centers of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education. Partnered with George Mason University, JMU is carrying out a $6.5 million project to help address the legal, technical and policy issues involved in protecting the United States' vital computer systems from cyber-attack. In addition, JMU is home to the Commonwealth Information Security Center and the University offers a variety of innovative academic programs in information security.

Researchers and teachers at JMU attracted a total of $18.3 million - a 31 percent increase over the previous year - in external funding for research and for instructional and service programs. The amount of external contracts and grants at JMU has increased more than 500 percent in the past eight years.

JMU's first Ph.D. program, a research doctorate in communication sciences and disorders, was approved during the year by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. The new program will begin this fall. Doctor of Psychology degrees (Psy.D.) in assessment and measurement and in clinical, school and counseling psychology are already offered.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the accrediting body in education for 11 Southern states, completed an extensive review of the total operation of JMU and we expect reaffirmation of accreditation at the Association's meeting in December. SACS reviews are held every 10 years, and I believe this was the finest evaluation JMU ever received.

Faculty members from throughout the University Community received a multitude of individual honors and recognitions during the past year. This list is far from all-inclusive and certainly omits many outstanding honors awarded to our teachers and researchers, but it does give you a good idea of the quality of our faculty:

• Dr. Virginia Andreoli Mathie, professor of psychology, was selected by the American Psychological Association as winner of the 2002 Distinguished Contributions of Applications of Psychology to Education and Training Award.
• Dr. Nicholas Bankson, professor of speech-language pathology and head of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, received Honors of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association in November.
• Dr. Lennis Echterling, professor of psychology, received the Counseling Vision and Innovation Award by the National Association for Counselor Education and Supervision.
• Dr. Karen A. Ford, assistant professor of social work, was named Social Work Educator of the Year by the Virginia Consortium on Social Work Education.
• Dr. Reginald Foucar-Szocki, program director and Marriott Professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management, is serving as president and chair of the board of the Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education.
• Dr. Laura Lewis, associate professor of anthropology, received a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship.
• Dr. Gina MacDonald, associate professor of chemistry, received the 2002 Margaret Oakley Dayhoff Award from the Biophysical Society.
• Dr. Conley K. McMullen, assistant professor of biology, was elected a fellow of the Linnean Society of London, the world's oldest continuing naturalist society.
• Dr. Jonathan Monroe, associate professor of biology, received the 2001 Excellence in Teaching Award from the American Society of Plant Biologists.
• Carole L. Nash, adjunct assistant professor of anthropology, received the Virginia Professional Archaeologist of the Year award from the Archeological Society of Virginia.
• Dr. Alice Philbin, director and professor in the Institute of Technical and Scientific Communication, received the Jay R. Gould Award for Distinguished Teaching.
• Gregory R. Versen, associate professor emeritus of social work, received the 2001 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Virginia chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.
• John M.Woody, professor of media arts and design, was selected to join the Apple Distinguished Educator Program for 2001-2002.

In addition, JMU faculty were widely quoted as experts in their academic fields by the national news media. JMU faculty members were quoted in such varied media outlets as Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, The Washington Times, The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Charlotte Observer, The Orlando Sentinel, The Orange County Register, St. Louis Times-Dispatch, The New York Times, The Miami Herald, USA Today, The Chronicle of Higher Education, United Press International, Associated Press, Reuters International News Service, The New Republic, U.S. News & World Report, CNN, The History Channel and CBS-TV's "60 Minutes II."

STUDENT INVOLVEMENT

As always, JMU students demonstrated that the learning process continues outside the classroom. In the aftermath of 9/11 and throughout the year, our students clearly showed the "All Together One" spirit of the University.

As a prime example, more than 300 JMU students forewent their spring-semester break and instead volunteered for JMU's Alternate Spring Break - a program that allows college students to help others. The JMU program has been cited as the Program of the Year by a national organization that promotes community service. These students volunteered as tutors, health workers, teachers, cooks, carpenters and laborers at homeless shelters, AIDS hospices and community-outreach centers in the United States, the Caribbean and Central America.

Clearly the spirit of volunteerism carries beyond graduation from JMU. With 39 of its alumni serving as Peace Corps volunteers in developing countries, the University is ranked 18th in the country among colleges and universities whose alumni serve overseas with the volunteer organization. Further, JMU alumni have paid their own way to do community service work in the poor Caribbean island nation of Dominica. The third Alumni Service trip there will take place in November 2002.

NEW FACILITIES

Shortly after the 2001-02 year began, we opened a new facility that may not be glamorous but is one that certainly has been on the top of the wish list for faculty and students for many years - a parking deck. Located behind Bridgeforth Stadium, the new five-level deck can accommodate 500 vehicles and is a welcome addition to the campus.

As the year ended, we opened two more new facilities. A major addition, a conference center, was added to the College Center on the campus area east of Interstate 81. The expanded center gives us a long-needed facility to hold major gatherings, banquets and meetings.

Also, the Leeolou Alumni Center opened, giving our Alumni Association - for the first time ever - a major facility to call its own. I know that alumni will be pleased with this outstanding facility. The new center is named for two of JMU's most loyal and dedicated alumni, Steve and DeeDee Leeolou, both members of the Class of 1978. (Mr. Leeolou was recently named to the JMU Board of Visitors by Governor Mark Warner.)

This fall, JMU will unveil its first full statue of the University's namesake, James Madison, a gift of the Forbes family of Harrisonburg. The bronze life-sized statue is located in a plaza on the south end of the walkway that runs in front of Wilson Hall. In the near future, a replica of the Temple at Mr. Madison's Montpelier will be constructed on the north end of the walkway through funds donated by the Class of 2002.

PRIVATE GIVING INCREASES

The generous gifts from the Forbes family and the Class of 2002 were characteristic of a very successful year for the University in raising private funds. With intensified competition for public funds and a shortfall in state revenue, the need for private funding has become even more critical for JMU. As always, solid private support is necessary for the University to achieve the level of excellence that is deserved by our students and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Generosity began at home for the JMU Community. In addition to the gift from the Class of 2002, JMU faculty and staff contributed more than $51,000 to their University last year. More than $161,000 was left to the University for a scholarship fund from the estate of Jean D. Acton, a retired biology professor. A retired 25-year employee, Thelma K. Branch, left a bequest of $120,000 to establish the J. Leonard and Thelma K. Branch Scholarship.

Total private giving to the University in 2001-02 increased by 7 percent over the previous year - from $5.6 million to a record $6 million. Considering the sluggish national economy and a declining stock market, this increase is even more significant. Annual private support for JMU has more than doubled in the last five years.

Among the many major private contributions last year, there was an $832,162 gift from the estate of H. Lawrence Batschelet II of Front Royal. Mr. Batschelet died last year and his wife, Beverley Thomas Batschelet, a 1955 Madison graduate, died in 1995.

Alvin V. and Nancy Chappelear Baird ('40) contributed $325,000 to establish the Alvin V. Baird Attention and Learning Disabilities Center. Peter D. and Phyllis Stancill Pruden gave JMU $200,000 to establish honors scholarships in elementary education.

We are grateful for the donations that have come from alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff, corporations, foundations and friends of the University.  Without this support, JMU's present success would not have been possible. Continued private support is essential for maintaining the position of national prominence that the University now enjoys.

FUTURE FACILITIES

There is a strong possibility that the future will bring a number of major, much-needed, new facilities to JMU. Virginia voters will be asked on November 5 to approve a $900.5 million bond issue to improve capital facilities at colleges, universities, community colleges and museums in every part of the state.

The new facilities are necessary to expand educational opportunities for the people of Virginia. Repeatedly, studies have demonstrated that education is truly the key to a better life and a better world. The bond issue will not raise taxes and will not affect Virginia's coveted AAA bond rating.

JMU projects account for $99.9 million of the higher education bond issue - 11 percent of the statewide total and a larger amount than any other college or university.

Among the proposed JMU projects are a Center for the Arts and a Music Recital Hall. JMU's programs in the arts and music are among the finest in America and our students deserve facilities that will match the quality of their academic abilities. (Private funds are also being raised to cover a portion of the cost for the arts and music facilities.)

A new library is planned with bond issue money for the campus area east of Interstate 81. The library will allow space for specialized science and technology resources and will augment the resources at Carrier Library.

Other funds will go for much-needed renovations to Harrison Hall and Annex and Miller Hall; for making our centralized heating facilities more efficient; and for improving handicap accessibility.

These renovations and new facilities are needed now by JMU - not for future expansion but to fully meet the needs of today's students.

The projects in the bond issue are vital to the future success of JMU and other colleges and universities in Virginia. JMU needs the "yes" vote of all our Virginia alumni and parents on the higher education bond referendum. Please do your part in helping assure a bright future for students at JMU and other Virginia public colleges by supporting the bond issue on November 5.

A BRIGHT FUTURE

I have been a part of James Madison University since 1975 and I remain excited about the University's past, present and future. Still, it is not a perfect world. Our funding is far less than it should be. We need additional faculty, staff and facilities to fully support top-quality programs for our outstanding student body.

Even with the needs that we have, I am extremely optimistic about our University and continue to have great pride in JMU and all the people associated with it. The Academic New Year invigorates us all at JMU and we are eagerly anticipating another wonderful year for the University.

I appreciate the opportunity to share my thoughts and observations with you.

Sincerely,

Linwood H. Rose

President, James Madison University

P.S. The rapid expansion of e-mail usage has made it possible for the University to contact its alumni in a quick, easy and cost-effective manner. If you are an alumnus or alumna and would like to receive occasional e-mail messages from JMU, please enter your name and e-mail address at the following Web site:  http://www.jmu.edu/alumni/email