General Assembly of Virginia passes legislation that creates the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg and the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Fredericksburg (now Univ of Mary Washington).
Mr. Julian Burruss is hired as the first president.
Cornerstone laid in porch of Science Hall, the first academic building, with President Burruss, the first faculty members, local dignitaries and a large crowd attending.
The first student to set foot on campus, Nannie Sword of Lee County, arrives. Classes for the first quarter begin in Science Hall (Now Gabbin Hall) the next day. The cost of tuition, room and board for a full year was $126. 110 women enroll in order pursue high school diplomas and two-year certificates.
14 men enroll as day students during the first summer session and commute to campus for classes.
Harrisonburg is incorporated as an independent city separate from Rockingham County.
President Burruss closes campus during the Spanish Flu pandemic; he became so ill that Dr. James Johnston, Chemistry professor and secretary of the faculty, served as acting president for three weeks.
Dr. Samuel Page Duke becomes the 2nd president.
The 19th Amendment affirming women’s right to vote is ratified.
After much lobbying by educators, the General Assembly votes to allow the state’s four normal schools to award Bachelor of Science degrees in education; this institution’s name changes to the State Teacher’s College at Harrisonburg, sometimes called Harrisonburg Teacher’s College or HTC.
Men students, still restricted to summer session, are assigned dormitory space and allowed to eat in the dining hall for the first time.
Ana Violetta Haddock y Navarro of Guayama, Puerto Rico, is the first Spanish-speaking, Latina student to graduate.
HTC is renamed Madison College in honor of James Madison. Commonly known as the fourth U.S. president and Father of the U.S. Constitution, Madison was honored because he advocated for the education of women and for publicly funded higher education while serving as rector of the University of Virginia from 1826-36. President Duke felt the new name better reflected the institution’s changing identity as more liberal arts degrees became available here. He also hoped it would attract more men as day students.
Madison Memorial Library opens.
The GI Bill promotes enrollment at Madison College by returning veterans; more men enroll in regular sessions as day students and establish men’s athletic teams, a men’s honor council, and new clubs.
Yuri Nemoto, a Japanese American woman from Los Angeles, California, becomes the first Asian American graduate. Nemoto received a scholarship that allowed her to study dietetics while her family was incarcerated in a camp in Arkansas.
The Madison College men’s basketball team call themselves the Dukes hoping to flatter President Duke and secure funding for uniforms and equipment. (It didn’t work, but the name stuck.)
Full co-education arrives as 222 young men are allowed to live in the dorms while attending classes. Desegregation also arrives. The first Black women enroll as degree-seeking students; one lives on campus but withdraws after two semesters.
The University of Virginia Board of Visitors agrees to a phased implementation of full co-education for women, though women had been completing graduate and professional degrees since 1920.
Sheary Darcus, a library science major from Harrisonburg, graduates from Madison College, the first African American student to do so. James Rankin of nearby New Market became the second, graduating in 1971. Desegregation increased in the 1970s.
Dr. Ronald Carrier becomes the 4th president.
The Marching Royal Dukes take the field under director Malcom Harris.
ROTC program launches.
Madison College becomes James Madison University.
First study abroad program—in London
Madison Memorial Library is renamed Carrier Library in honor of Dr. And Mrs. Carrier.
JMU expands east of I-81 with the opening of the arboretum. Construction of a bridge/overpass over I-81 begins.
President Carrier announces the establishment of the innovative College of Integrated Science and Technology (CISAT); the new building is dedicated five years later.
Dr. Joanne Gabbin organizes the first Furious Flower Poetry Conference.
JMU celebrates its 100th anniversary; East Campus library opens.
Jonathan Alger becomes the 6th president.
The nonpartisan Madison Center for Civic Engagement opens to foster awareness of James Madison’s political legacy and strengthen students’ citizenship.
James Schmidt becomes the 7th president.
