Fall 2012 Semester Review Email
To Faculty and Staff
Friday, December 07, 2012
Thank
you for a wonderful first semester. We spent our time together productively,
and in this message I include a brief summary of some of the highlights.
First,
I want to express my great appreciation for all of the efforts of our faculty
and staff, James Madison University’s most important resource. As we are in the
season for giving thanks, please know that I am deeply grateful for your
talents and commitment.
On
a personal note, my entire family appreciates the warm and gracious welcome and
hospitality of JMU and the community. We’ve been getting to know people both on
and off campus and your reputation for friendliness is well earned.
While
a multitude of activities occurring on and off campus represent real advances
for JMU, I want to review nine specific items that I believe are among the most
noteworthy from our first semester together:
- New Board of Visitors
members
- “Why Madison?” Listening
Tour
- Madison Future Commission
- Building on our legacy as
James Madison University
- Budget
- Diversity
- New Facilities
- Accomplishments of this
semester
- Looking forward to next
semester
1.New Board of Visitor
members
We welcomed six new
members to our BOV this year:
- Mr. Michael M. Battle of Clarksville, Md.,
is president of Battle Resource Management, Inc. He is a 1981 and 1983 (MBA)
graduate of James Madison University.
- Ms. Carly Fiorina of Lorton, Va., is
chairman of Carly Fiorina Enterprises and former chairman and CEO of
Hewlett-Packard.
- Mr. David A. Rexrode of Stafford, Va., is a
2001 graduate of JMU and executive director of RPV.
- Mr. Michael M. Thomas of Reston, Va., is
senior vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton. He is a 1976 and 1977 (MBA)
graduate of James Madison University.
- Mr. Jacob Mosser a junior from Woodbridge,
Va., is the non-voting student member of the board.
- Dr. David McGraw is the speaker of the
JMU Faculty Senate and serves as the non-voting faculty representative to the
board.
Also,
Joe Funkhouser of Harrisonburg, Va., was reappointed to another term on the
board, and now serves as Rector. Mr. Funkhouser is president of Funkhouser Real
Estate Group.
As
I am sure you are aware, our Board plays a central role in guiding the future
of James Madison University, and I look forward to working closely with them as
we go forward. For a full listing of our Board of Visitors, visit http://www.jmu.edu/visitors/.
2. “Why Madison?” Listening
Tour
Since late summer, 33
listening tour events have been held on and off campus. Every one has been an
opportunity for us to come together and reflect collectively on our hopes,
dreams and aspirations for JMU. We have discussed our strengths and points of
distinction and identified ways we can build upon that foundation to take our
institution to an even higher level.
The
listening tour also has provided a venue at which to develop ideas and
priorities for consideration in the ongoing strategic planning process and also
for a next comprehensive fundraising campaign.
While
we face many challenges, there has been an overriding spirit of hope and
optimism. Thanks to all of you who have participated so far. Please visit https://www.jmu.edu/whymadison/submit.shtml if you would like to offer your answer to
the question “Why Madison?” For extensive coverage on the “Why Madison?”
Listening Tour, please visit the "Why Madison?" site
3. Madison Future Commission
As I mentioned in an e-mail to you
earlier this week, a group of more than 150 faculty and staff members,
students, former faculty members, alumni, former Board of Visitors members, and
community members are actively working to develop the university’s new
strategic plan for 2014-2020. Their assignment is to create a bold working strategic
plan that will:
- Directly further our mission and vision
- Represent a spirit of fearless innovation
- Be the work of true community
- Align all university planning
Committees
are appointed, and their work is well under way. The process must be as
inclusive as possible, and the committees are working to create several venues
at which to gather input. Please visit the Madison Future site to find out more about the process—you can
even provide your input directly using the website. Finally, an overview of the
strategic planning process will be presented at the Board of Visitors meeting
in January.
4.Building on our legacy as
James Madison University
The towering achievements of the man for whom we are named are as relevant
today as ever. Central to my administration will be an ongoing celebration of
James Madison and the role of the citizen in today’s society.
Early
in November a delegation of faculty and administrators traveled to Montpelier
and had a wonderful conversation with the leadership there about exploring new
ways to collaborate. Building on our ties to James Madison will be central to
Madison Week 2013. For updates please visit http://www.jmu.edu/inauguration/
5. Budget
While the economy continues its long and
slow recovery, James Madison University and all of higher education face
unprecedented fiscal challenges. In a mix of good news and potential
difficulties, the highlights from my perspective are:
- We were delighted to award an extra percent
of bonus (beyond the 3 percent already announced) before the holiday season,
reflecting careful budgeting.
- The Compensation Task Force has been
appointed and asked to provide a broad range of ideas and suggestions for consideration,
reflecting on the short, medium and long term. We are striving to collaborate
effectively, share information, innovate and think broadly as we plan for the
future of JMU.
- We are watching with care the ongoing
federal budget negotiations, as they could have an impact on our own
institutional budgets according to the governor’s office.
- In fact, to prepare for
any eventuality the governor requested in November that all Virginia higher
education institutions prepare a budget reallocation plan of 1.5 percent in the
current year FY13 and 5 percent in FY14. If approved the reallocations will be
reassigned permanently to priorities identified in our six-year plan, including
growth in Nursing, expanded STEM programs, Decreased Time to Degree Completion
efforts, online course development and assessment, and student learning outcome
assessment of academic programs.
6. Diversity
I am appointing a task force and charging
it with taking a comprehensive look at our current diversity efforts and making
suggestions for the future. The task force will comprise two subgroups, one
focusing on diversity among the student body and the other among our faculty
and staff.
7. New Facilities
We proudly cut ribbons on two new
state-of-the-art facilities: the stunning BioSciences Building and the
expansive University Park. For more information on campus construction, please
visit the new campus construction page.
8. Accomplishments of this semester
Every day I marvel at the accomplishments
of our faculty and staff. While there are far too many to mention in this
newsletter, please take a look at the most recent academic accomplishments
report at Madison Scholar.
9. Looking forward to next
semester
Our second semester together promises to be as productive as the first, with
several important activities, including:
- The Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) will be on campus during the spring
for their reaffirmation of accreditation visit. As most of you know, James
Madison University must reaffirm its accreditation every ten years with
SACSCOC, and accreditation is essential for our continued operation. This is an
important time, but I am confident. To find out more about the process, please
visit http://www.jmu.edu/sacscoc/
- Our finished Quality Enhancement Plan will
be presented to SACSCOC in the spring as well. The QEP steering committee has
been working diligently and will present The Madison Collaborative: Ethical
Reasoning In Action to SACSCOC. The plan looks very promising and ultimately
has the potential of becoming a signature university program. For more on our
QEP, please visit http://www.jmu.edu/QEP/
In
closing, I want to wish you a very joyous holiday season. Good luck with the
end of the semester, and I hope to see you at our Commencement exercises at 10 a.m. Dec. 15 in the
Convocation Center. Join me in wishing our graduates well and in welcoming our
commencement speaker Justin Constantine
(’92),
a true hero.
With
best wishes for the holiday season,
Jonathan
R. Alger
President
James
Madison University
