Academic Affairs Highlights

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Spring 2026

Dear Colleagues,

With the Canvas challenges at the end of last week, the last Friday e-mail of the 2025-26 academic year is coming on a Wednesday, and it’s the last Friday e-mail from me.

As you saw from the earlier message, I was not afforded the opportunity to continue serving as Provost. Academic Affairs will be in very good hands with Fletcher Linder as we search for the next permanent Provost. Please know that Fletcher has my full support, and I hope he’ll have yours as well.

Serving as your Provost for the last two years has been an honor and a privilege for me. Learning about and celebrating all of your accomplishments has been a great pleasure, and I enjoyed sharing a little bit every week about what things look like from the Provost’s chair. The Friday missives have been an opportunity to both share and stay connected as we work through the myriad daily challenges of teaching, research/ scholarship/creative activity and service. I’ve heard from many of you that the messages were a nice way to end the week, and to (re)build community.

The last tip of this Provost’s cap is to you. Thank you for everything that each of you has done to make JMU the institution it is. Your passion and commitment shine through in all that you do. I know this year has been long and stressful, but we’ve accomplished a great deal and that’s something to be very proud of. As we move into summer, I hope your endeavors are both stimulating and rejuvenating. I look forward to seeing you at graduation and around campus in the future.

Sincerely,

Bob

Dear Colleagues,

We have found our way to May. I don’t know about you, but I’m torn between “already?” and “finally!”.  We’re in the end game of the semester, and I hope things are wrapping up well for you and your students.

It is a time of conclusion and celebration, and I’m getting to go to a lot of events that acknowledge your great work. Yesterday, I got to host the Academic Affairs Awards and Recognition luncheon where we were able to celebrate students, faculty and staff achievements. Earlier in the week, I was able to go to VMRC to celebrate our reclassification as a Carnegie Engaged University with our many community partners. At each event, the energy and excitement in what’s happening at JMU was palpable.

I also got to spend some time on Wednesday with Dr. Cathy McKay and her students in their Paralympics Skills lab. Cathy brought U.S. Paralympian (and multiple gold medalist) Trey Jenifer to teach us how to play wheelchair basketball. Trey’s interaction with the students was great fun to witness and after some time spent learning wheelchair basketball, I think I’ll stick to hockey! A tip of the Provost’s cap to Cathy, Trey and all of the Kinesiology students.

And now, on to some other recent highlights.

  • Another set of winners was announced this week: Last year, General Education launched multiple new awards to recognize excellence within the program. Congratulations to:

    • Geary Albright, professor emeritus in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, awardee of the Dr. Margaret Mulrooney Lifetime Achievement Award.

    • Professor Karan Deengar, faculty member in the School of Communication Studies, awardee of the General Education Innovation Award

    • Natalie Kerr, professor of Psychology, awardee of the General Education Innovation Award

    • Leonard Richards, assistant professor in the College of Education, awardee of the General Education Award for Early Career Excellence

    • Jonathan Walker, assistant professor of Interdisciplinary Liberal Studies, awardee of the Provost Award for Excellence in General Education Teaching

  • Congratulations to Dr. Lindsey Harvell-Bowman, professor of Communication Studies who has named President-Elect of the Virginia Association for Psychological Sciences (VAPS). VAPS is dedicated to advancing psychology as a science, enhancing the teaching of psychology, and fostering high standards of ethics and training by providing the opportunity for the exchange of experience and research among psychologists through discussions, presentations, and publications as well as by educating the public about the purposes and goals of the science of psychology.

  • Robyn Kondrad, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, and a colleague from UVA were awarded a 4VA grant to investigate children’s developing expectations for epistemic and moral accountability across human and AI agents, addressing theoretical questions about children’s social-cognitive development and practical questions about designing appropriately accountable AI systems for young users. Dr. Kondrad and several collaborators were also awarded a VIVA Open Creation Grant to create an open educational textbook and ancillary materials for Lifespan Human Development, a General Education course that serves over 2,000 JMU students each year.

  • A recent episode of the RCPS Community Partner Café podcast featured World Languages and Cultures American Sign Language (ASL) instructor Melissa Nguyn. She discussed the project she is conducting with Lacey Spring Elementary School to bring ASL to elementary-school students. This community outreach project features JMU ASL students teaching elementary students sign language so they can learn early on to learn how to communicate with members of the Deaf community.

  • Anne van Leeuwen, associate professor of Philosophy, received a grant from the Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization (PLATO) for the second consecutive year to support her WBLE course, Practicing Philosophy with Kids. This course currently meets weekly as an after-school club with twenty elementary students and will continue in the upcoming academic year. Dr. van Leeuwen discusses her project in a recent interview on WMRA's “With Good Reason.”

This wraps up a busy week, but I hope you aren’t too busy to send your accomplishments to provost@jmu.edu.

Sincerely,

Bob

Dear Colleagues,

April is quickly threatening to leave us behind.  I hope the last few weeks of the semester are going well. The Board of Visitors is meeting this week, and we were able to share two major accomplishments at the Academic Excellence Committee meeting yesterday. The board approved the revised Faculty Handbook and also had a chance to see the revised General Education framework.

We’ve had a busy year and gotten a lot done – thanks to each of you.  Your review, comments and critiques have made all of our efforts stronger.  Thanks!

I hope you enjoy this week’s set of accomplishments.

  • The Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for 2026 was awarded to the Fermilab Muon g-2 experiment.  Dr. Kevin Giovanetti, professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, made important contributions to this NSF-funded experiment, which successfully measured a fundamental property of the muon, its magnetic moment. This precise measurement provides a critical test of our best understanding of fundamental physics and a vital constraint on any future insights aimed toward developing a deeper understanding of physics. For over 10 years Dr. Giovanetti and his students developed and built instrumentation for the Fermilab experiment, carried out data collection, participated in calibration and tested key instrumentation.

  • Congratulations to Ben Selznick, associate professor in the School of Strategic Leadership Studies, on his recent publication “Navigating (and Hopefully Avoiding) The College Closure” in Forbes. The article explores the significant academic, financial and emotional disruption students and families face when a college unexpectedly closes. Featuring testimony from JMU faculty members in International Business and Marketing and the School of Integrated Sciences, the article further highlights how closures can upend students’ educational plans, sense of community and well‑being, often with lasting consequences. The author and contributors argue that while closures may be unavoidable in some cases, institutions have a responsibility to manage them transparently and with a strong focus on student support.

  • The Furious Flower Poetry Center is blooming! Gbenga Adesina, Furious Flower post-doctoral fellow in Black Global & Diasporic Poetry, has been shortlisted for the Griffin International Poetry Prize for his work Death Does Not End at the Sea. His work also won the Anisfield Wolf Book Award Prize for Poetry. This award is the onlyjuried American book prize focusing on works that address racism and diversity. Furious Flower executive director Lauren Alleyne was awarded a Rome Prize for Literature from the American Academy in Rome. As part of the fellowship, she will pursue pursue independent work within a transdisciplinary environment with her cohort.

  • Student journalists from the Breeze and Breeze TV took home 25 awards for excellence at the Virginia Press Association annual awards ceremony for journalism and advertising. Their good work is overseen by Blake Shepherd, who serves as the professional PR Marketing Specialist for The Breeze, and Brad Jenkins, instructor in the School of Media Arts and Design and General Manager for the Breeze. You can see the Breeze’s coverage online.

Don’t let the rest of the semester race by without emailing provost@jmu.edu with accomplishments – your own and those of your colleagues.

Sincerely,

Bob

Dear Colleagues,

We had a chance to celebrate our Academic Affairs Administrative Professionals this week.  I want to give a tip of the Provost’s cap to all those that support us administratively. If you have someone that helps support you, please take the opportunity to say thank you. While Administrative Professionals Day is April 22, any day is a good day to say thank you.

The semester is coming to a crescendo, and I relish this time of year, with lots of opportunities to see the great work you and your students have done. From the Grad School and Honors showcases to unit and college events, I'm looking forward to learning from you and your students. This time of the year is not without its unique stresses (there’s no crueler month in the academic calendar than April!), but it also has its own special rewards.  And hey, April 15 is in the rearview mirror for another year...

And that’s not all we have to celebrate this week. Read on to learn more about your colleagues’ accomplishments.

Before heading out of the weekend, send some of your achievements to provosta@jmu.edu.

Sincerely,

Bob

Dear Colleagues,

Happy Friday. Apologies for a slightly later version of the Friday email: We wanted to put it after many of the inauguration activities.  First, a tip of the Provost’s cap to everyone that has been involved in those activities this week (especially the AI panelists from this morning – well done!). This is a rare event on campus (just my third), and we’ve been privileged to have interesting and enjoyable programming over the past several days. It was also great fun, especially for those of us with some JMU miles on our tires, to see former presidents Rose and Alger back on campus. It was a reminder of where we’ve been as an institution as we consider where we’re headed.

As I mentioned last week, I’ve been thinking a lot about change. The events this week have reinforced that, as did my trip to Asia last week. Whether it’s the tremendous changes that South Korea and Vietnam have seen over the last few decades or our own transformation here on campus, I’m reminded that while change can be hard and the process brings anxiety and risk, it also imbues organizations (and organisms) with energy and purpose. We’re stretched to imagine something different, and we realize a lot of satisfaction when we make that our new reality. And then we do it all over again (Is this the human hamster wheel?). 

We’re on the precipice of substantial change at JMU as our new strategic plan comes into focus, and I suspect it will both be daunting and inspiring, in equal measure.  It will also bring us into communion with the JMU faculty that took us from Madison College to James Madison University (Carrier), built out the East Campus and expanded our enrollments (Rose), and brought us to national recognition and built our focus on civic engagement (Alger). I wonder what JMU faculty and staff in 30 years will say about this moment in the institution’s history? 

Okay, back to Earth. Please enjoy this week’s highlights from your peers.

It has been a whirlwind week, which is nothing new for us in April. I hope you are able to relax a bit this weekend and recharge for the push to the end of the semester. Be sure to let us know what you and your colleagues are accomplishing by emailing provost@jmu.edu.

Sincerely,

Bob

Dear Colleagues,

I'm relieved April 1st didn’t fall on a Friday.  I would have been sorely tempted!

Today’s note is coming to you from Hue, Vietnam. I’ve been abroad this week working to bolster our relationships with institutions in Korea and Vietnam. I’ve been reminded of the importance of international collaboration and of the perspective that is gained by interacting with people in other cultures (I’ve also been reminded of the challenge of shifting your biological clock by 13 time zones!). I’m looking forward to seeing us continue and augment our activities in East Asia.

I’ve also been thinking about change over the last couple of weeks, for a number of different reasons. Next week, I’ll pick up that strand in a little more detail.

More locally, my thanks go again to all of the faculty who have been involved in developing our new general education program framework over the last four years. This marks a major milestone for the renewal process!

By the time you receive next week’s highlights, JMU will have inaugurated our seventh president, Dr. James Schmidt. I hope you’ll be able to participate in some of the inaugural events going on throughout the week.

And now, let’s hear about some of the exciting things your peers are accomplishing.

Hope you find some time to get outside and enjoy some of the anticipated beautiful weather this weekend – with or without bees. Be sure to send some accomplishments for you – or your colleagues – to provost@jmu.edu so we can highlight your interesting work!

Sincerely,

Bob

Dear Colleagues,

I hope you've had a successful reentry from Spring Break and the second half of the semester is off to a good start. I’m always heartened to see the tulips start to come out of the ground (must be something to do with my Dutch heritage). In Vermont, it’s currently the start of the fifth season of the year - “mud season”, so yes, please, to spring in Virginia.

I had a chance to spend some time at an academic conference last week (the American Association of Geographers). While the weather was bizarrely hot for San Francisco (800+), I was happy to catch up with some colleagues and share some research results. It was a reminder to me of the power of face-to-face connection – Zoom does not conquer all!

We’re close to the finish line on a number of big projects, and I’ll be sending an update in the next week or two. In the meantime, please join me in commending your colleagues on their recent recognitions. Congratulations to them all!

I hope the week has gone well and the upcoming weekend holds some fun and relaxation in store. Before you head out for the weekend, please email provost@jmu.edu some highlights featuring you and your colleagues.

Sincerely,

Bob

Dear Colleagues,

Somehow, we’re already made it to Spring Break.  Time seems to be moving more quickly this term, but we have made it to the halfway point!  Well done.

As you’ve probably been able to discern from previous notes, I’m a big fan of the arts at JMU, and I’d like to offer a tip of the Provost’s cap to two events I attended at the Forbes Center in the last week. First, I got a chance to see the student production of Pippin late last week.  As always, I’m very impressed with the talent of our students, and the performance was great (the audience was also very into it!).  Midweek, we welcomed International Guitar Night to campus.  These four musicians from around the world were simply amazing.  If you’ve not had a chance to get to the Forbes and see our faculty and staff or the visiting artists perform, please do. This is a wonderful perk of being at JMU.

Best wishes for Spring Break – I hope you can find a chance to do whatever relaxes and revitalizes you.  We’ll have some work to do when we get back.

I encourage you to end the week on a high note by taking a look at some of your colleagues’ accomplishments.

The Friday highlights email will be enjoying Spring Break and taking next Friday off. But you can still email your own highlights to provost@jmu.edu.

Sincerely,

Bob

Dear Colleagues,

I trust everyone has enjoyed a bit of sunshine this week. Remarkably, we’re just a week away from Spring Break – the sands appear to be running through the hourglass a lot faster this term.

I had the pleasure of attending some events at the end of last week that I’d like to share. In quick succession, we had our annual Stewardship Luncheon where we connect scholarship donors and scholarship recipients. This was followed by the annual Le Gourmet event put on by the Hart School of Sport and Recreation Management (a tip of the Provost’s cap to our Hart School colleagues!), and the weekend was topped off by our Alumni Awards dinner. The throughline for me was seeing how the great student work on display ultimately translates to lives of purpose and meaning on the part of our alumni. Our work every day helps to make that happen, and we often only get to see just a small part of a much bigger canvas. It was cool to see the bigger picture.

In the meantime, you and your colleagues have really been making an impression!

  • Congratulations to Dr. Sara Finney, professor of Graduate Psychology, who has been selected as a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science (APS). This honor reflects her sustained and outstanding contributions to the advancement of psychological science and places her in the company of prominent scientists in the discipline. Based on her excellent reputation in the field, she was also invited to deliver the keynote address at the 2026 Elevated Education Exchange (EEE), a campus professional development event where more than 250 Auburn University faculty and staff focused on sharing innovative practices, strengthening collaboration and advancing student success across campus.

  • JMU’s streak of appearances on “With Good Reason” continues! Just in time for Women’s History Month, tune in this week to hear Dr. Maura Hametz, Department of History professor, discuss how “resistance took surprising forms” in the segment “Taking a Stand.”

  • Professor of Philosophy Dr. Andrea Veltman recently published her latest book, Awareness of Suffering. The text was published by Bloomsbury Academic Publishing, where Andrea also serves as co-anthology editor of Evil, Political Violence, and Forgiveness: Essays in Honor of Claudia Card.

  • Think you had a busy February? Last month, Dr. Lindsey Harvell-Bowman, professor in the School of Communication Studies and affiliate faculty in the Department of Psychology, presented four papers focusing on wellbeing and mental health. She gave presentations alongside undergraduate students in the Department of Psychology at JMU and Hiroshima University as well as faculty at the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology at Yeshiva University at the Existential Psychology Preconference at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality & Social Psychology. Additionally, one of those students won the preconference's undergraduate research award.

  • Congratulations are due to Dr. William Lukens, who was awarded a fellowship through the President's International Fellowship Initiative of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) is a program that fosters international collaboration in the sciences. He will travel to Beijing, China, this month and will give two research presentations and collaborate with their paleoclimate researchers. 

I hope the weather holds and you enjoy a lovely weekend. Use some of your time outside to think about the accomplishments you can submit to provost@jmu.edu.

Send news for you and your colleagues to provost@jmu.edu.

Sincerely,

Bob

Dear Colleagues,

It was quite foggy as I walked in this morning, and it got me thinking about a number of things.  We’re at a time of year when spring feels tantalizingly close yet just out of reach, and the semester is still taking shape. The new strategic plan is within sight, but its exact form is fuzzy.  And yet with a bit of patience (and some sunshine), everything will come into focus. Yup, sounds like the end of February!  By the way, the Arboretum is quite pretty and a little spooky in the fog. 

Ready for a look at the array of activities your colleagues have been up to?

  • It seems we introduced a few new fans to “With Good Reason” with last week’s email. Tune in again to hear from another JMU professor on a completely different topic: black holes. Einstein theorized their existence, but it wasn’t until the 1960’s we observed them for the first time. Dr. Anca Constantin, professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy says black holes occur throughout the universe, but we can only see the hungry ones. Tune in to hear more.

  • Congratulations to Dr. Melissa Alemán, professor of Communication Studies, and her co-authors on receiving the top paper award at the Eastern Communication Association Conference, Voices of Diversity Division. The paper, “I don't like to be asking for the basics because the basics are something that should already be in existence, right?” Voices of International Graduate Students’ Academic and Social Experiences at a U.S. University, was co-authored with two of her graduate students.

  • Faculty from the Architectural Design program are getting noticed! A project by instructor Andrew Morrell and visiting assistant professor of Architectural Design Lemara Miftakhova Morrell was featured in the 2026 Winter/Spring Edition of Abode Magazine. They were also highlighted in the national publication VIE Magazine. The article, “A Renovation from the Heart,” speaks directly to their practice, craft and its relevance to pedagogy, specifically mentioning JMU and reflecting on how they teach and approach architecture both in professional practice and in higher education.

  • Maryam Sharifian, executive director of JMU CAREand associate professor in the College of Education, published the chapter “Humanitarian Crisis in Syria,” in the newly released Springer Nature volume Education of Young Children Caught in Disasters: Multidisciplinary Perspectives and Interventions (Vol. 19).

    The chapter provides a rigorous, research‑based analysis of the Syrian humanitarian crisis and its profound implications for young children, educators and schooling infrastructures. Her work advances the global discourse on early childhood education in conflict settings and offers evidence‑informed guidance for program development, educator preparation and interagency coordination.

Monday marks the start of a new month – an excellent time to submit some of your achievements for inclusion in future Friday emails. Send news for you and your colleagues to provost@jmu.edu.

Sincerely,

Bob

Dear Colleagues,

February is flying by, and it has been a busy couple of weeks. Last Thursday and Friday, the Board of Visitors held their annual February meeting. This year, we’ve focused on helping our committee better understand what scholarship/research/creative activity mean at JMU. We’ve done this by featuring students and their collaborating faculty members, with the students giving lightning talks to share their work. It has been a great pleasure to see the students give compelling presentations and make the case for the impact of this work on their education (and yeah, the faculty members have been really good too!). Thanks to all!  We’ll continue to help our board members better understand the work we do every day in Academic Affairs.

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of hosting the IIE/JMU Thai Delegation Reception at our Washington, D.C. center. There were 11 Thai institutions and about 25 U.S. institutions in attendance, and it was exciting to welcome our Thai partners here following two successful U.S. study visits to Thailand. Today, a delegation of five representatives from Thai higher education institutions and the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok are visiting the Harrisonburg campus.  Please say hello if you see them on campus.

You’ve clearly been busy this academic year, and it is rewarding to see the variety of accomplishments you’ve achieved. Take a look at a few of the things I’ve heard about lately.

Messages about your achievements that pop up in my email are always a welcome addition to my inbox. Please continue to send them to provost@jmu.edu.

Sincerely,

Bob

Dear Colleagues,

A happy Friday the 13th to you 😉

If you’re in the neighborhood of Alumnae Hall, please stop by the Provost’s Office (if you enter from the Quad, take a left). We are displaying an array of art by our very talented graduate students on our walls. A tip of the Provost’s cap to Professor Corinne Diop of the School of Art, Design and Art History who spearheaded this effort.

Here are some other highlights from your colleagues in the division.

  • Congratulations to Dr. Jason Fink, professor of Finance and Business Law and the College of Business Wallace/Chandler eminent professor, for his recent invitation to serve on the Journal of Financial Planning’sEditorial Advisory Board.   Fink was first published in the journal in 2016. Since then, he and his wife, Dr. Kristin Fink, professor of Finance, published three more articles in the journal. 

  • More collaboration across divisions: Dr. Lori Gano-Overway, associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology, and Dane Pedersen, JMU Swimming & Diving Coach, just published a co-authored book chapter, “Navigating Motivation with the Talented and Committed Athlete.” The textbook, Case Studies in Sport Coaching and Development: Practice Meets Theory, is designed to assist coach developers in generating dialogue with current and future coaches about integrating evidence into real problems of practices faced by sport coaches while also honoring the role of expertise and the limits of current theoretical frameworks. 

  • Lauren Sarringhaus, assistant professor of Biology, was interviewed about her chimpanzee research on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's As It Happens radio show. You can hear her interview here, at the 18:33 min. mark. She also appeared on Science News, which you can listen to online.

  • Associate professor of German Dr. Holly Yanacek just published a monograph, Rethinking Feeling. The Bloomsbury publication traces a new history of emotions through the German realist novel, demonstrating that long before social media existed, literature and art played important roles in shaping public cultures of feeling. Early reviewers have remarked that Rethinking Feeling“is a significant interdisciplinary contribution to fin-de-siècle studies, affect studies, gender studies, narrative theory, and more” and that it develops “an original account of how literary criticism can advance the work of emotion studies.”

 

Keep sending those highlights! You can email them to me at provost@jmu.edu. And look for more good news next week.

Sincerely,

Bob

Dear Colleagues,

Congratulations, we actually made it through a full week of classes. Here’s hoping we can extend the streak next week...

I want to give a tip of the Provost’s cap to the opening of the Arts at 131 Grace Street facility this week. If you haven’t gotten a chance to see the new home of the Office of Creative Propulsion (thanks Kathryn Nusa Logan) and the Madison Art Collection (thanks Ginny Soenksen), you’re in for a treat. Congrats to Dean Rubén Graciani and everyone in the College of Visual Performing Arts for this exciting addition to the arts on campus.

Start your weekend off with another treat: reading about your colleagues’ accomplishments.

  • The debut poetry collection of Furious Flower Visiting Fellow Gbenga Adesina, "Death Does Not End At The Sea," has been selected as a finalist for the PEN Voelcker Award, and it is the only debut book on the list. Other finalists include past winners of the Whiting Award, Guggenheim Fellowships, the Pushcart Prize, and the American Book Award. Nice work!

  • The teacher/scholar relationship continues past graduation! School of Communication Studies professor Dr. Toni Whitfield and associate professor Dr. Alison Bodkin have a new publication co-authored with a former SCOM grad student. You can find “#MeToo is still on the menu: Reflections and Reckonings on Restaurant Culture” in the latest issues of Food Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal.

  • Congratulations go to Dr. Andy Markelz, associate professor in the Department of Educational Foundations & Exceptionalities, as he begins his term as president of the Teacher Education Division (TED) of the Council for Exceptional Children. With more than 5,000 members nationwide, TED is the leading professional organization for higher education faculty, researchers and teacher educators dedicated to preparing the next generation of special education professionals.

  • Assistant professor in the Sport & Recreation Management program Dr. Jonathan Oliveira is building on his past success. Last fall, he founded the Brazilian Scholars for Sport Management (BRASSM) and recruited more than 15 Brazilian scholars in Sport Management who work in the US and Canada as initial members. This year, he was the PI on a grant proposal with colleagues from multiple institutions offered by the International Centre for Sport Studies (CIES). Their project, “Leveling the Pitch: Women’s Pathways to Leadership in Brazilian Football and the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup Legacy” was awarded the FIFA Research Scholarship, one of the most competitive and prestigious sport grants worldwide.

When you can, please take a moment to send highlights – for yourself and your colleagues – to provost@jmu.edu. And look for more good news next week.

Sincerely,

Bob

Dear Colleagues,

Weather has been front of mind for all of us, and for those of us raised in parts well North, this weather brings a certain sort of nostalgia (and a reminder of why we moved South!). I found myself captivated by moonlit shadows of the trees arrayed across my backyard. I hope you’ve been able to find some things to appreciate amidst the plowed mounds and ice. 

January has somehow managed to come and go and we’ve even got the semester in motion – we will have a full week of classes soon, I’m sure...

Despite the short week, there is no shortage of your highlights to showcase!

I look forward to hearing about all of the exciting accomplishments you and your peers reach this year. Please keep sending them to provost@jmu.edu.

Sincerely,

Bob

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome back! I hope you each had an enjoyable and relaxing break.

The Friday highlights email was so ready to get going for the Spring term that we’re sending it out early!

This is the time of year that I review Tenure and Promotion applications, and I’d like to offer a tip of the Provost’s cap to all those who submitted their dossiers this year. The breadth and depth of your accomplishments in teaching, scholarship/creative activity and service are impressive, and it’s been a pleasure to learn more!

We’ve got a big semester ahead and you’ll be hearing from me about the different initiatives, but let’s kick 2026 off with highlights of some of your many accomplishments:

Make it your new year’s resolution to email highlights featuring yourself and your colleagues to provost@jmu.edu.

Sincerely,

Bob

Fall 2025

Dear Colleagues,

Another semester has come and gone (well almost – good luck with grading!). We managed to get through exam week with only a small alteration to the schedule despite some marginal weather. We’ll celebrate the graduation of almost 1,000 graduate and undergraduate students tomorrow, and the winter break awaits.

I’d like to offer a brief tip of the Provost’s cap to a couple of events I attended last week.  I got a chance to visit with the faculty members taking part in ASPIRE, our new leadership academy for instructional faculty.  We had a great discussion, and I want to encourage any of you that might be interested in taking on a leadership role to consider participating. The Office of Faculty Success will be seeking recommendations to include in the next cohort soon, so please let your dean know if you are interested.

Once again, I was able to enjoy the Holidayfest concert at the Forbes Center. This annual program celebrates this time of year with performances of contemporary holiday favorites. This year we got to hear the Wind Symphony and a number of our choral groups.  If you missed the show this year, you’re in luck: You can view the livestream. Well done Chris Cicconi, Bryce Hayes, Jo-Anne van der Vat-Chromy and all the student musicians. Inquiring minds do want to know about Chris’ sweater choice.

Let’s wrap up this semester with highlights for just a few of your many accomplishments:

  • The Virginia Occupational Therapy Association recognized Dr. Amy Russell Yun, an assistant professor in the Occupational Therapy program, with the 2025 OT Award of Merit, its highest distinction. The award recognizes licensed occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants for outstanding contributions to the profession and is given for significant work in occupational therapy scholarship, education, and/or professional practice.

    The announcement from VOTA stated, in part, “Dr. Russell Yun exemplifies excellence in education, scholarship, leadership, and community engagement. An active member of both VOTA and AOTA, she advances the profession through ongoing scholarship, presentations, and committee service, including her role on the VOTA Scope of Practice Committee.” The awards committee also recognized her community collaborations and research in mindfulness, self-compassion, and co-occupations that reflect her commitment to wellness and inclusion.

  • School of Communication Studies assistant professor Dr. Ebenezer Aidoo saw his co-authored article “Economic Implications of AI on Media Industries: A Systematic Review” published in the last issue of Diginomics, an international, peer-reviewed journal that explores the transformative impact of digital technologies on business models, economic structures and organizational practices.

  • At the 25th Anniversary of Detachment 890 Celebration, Dean Mark L’Esperance accepted an award on behalf of the College of Education for their long-time support of the Air Force ROTC at JMU. The guest speaker was Major General David Gaedecke, prior Vice Commander of 16th Air Force (Air Force Cyber) and JMU class of ’92 alum.

  • Associate professors and instructional designers in JMU Libraries Nicole Wilsonand Elaine Kaye recently received international recognition for their work. They co-authored a chapter in Pedagogy Opened: Innovative Theory and Practice that earned an award for excellence in open education. Check out the JMU Libraries' news page for more about the book and award.

You can send highlights for yourself and your colleagues even during the break by emailing provost@jmu.edu.

All the best to you and your families for the holidays.  I hope you can find time for rest, rejuvenation and celebration. See you in 2026!

Sincerely,

Bob

Dear Colleagues,

Congratulations on reaching the end of another semester of classes. The snow did put a particular exclamation point on the moment this morning. While I know it is a nuisance to get around in this weather, I do have to say that campus looks particularly good in the snow.

I want to take a moment and express my gratitude for all the hard work done by staff and faculty this term. We started the academic year with an ambitious agenda, and we’ve made great progress on advancing the strategic plan, updating the core curriculum, significantly revising the Faculty Handbook and much more, all while continuing to provide outstanding educational opportunities to our undergraduate and graduate students. This doesn’t happen without all of us pulling together, and I want to convey my appreciation.

This is our penultimate edition of the Friday email for the semester, and we’re delighted to share the following faculty accomplishments:

  • Associate professors from the College of Education Dr. Andy Markelz (Editor) and Dr. Ben Riden (Associate Editor) have published the latest issue of the Journal of Special Education Preparation(JOSEP). This open-access, peer-reviewed journal features research-to-practice articles designed for special education faculty. You can also access the journal articles in audio format through JOSEP Speaks, an AI-generated podcast.

  • Stephen Gerome, instructor in the Department of World Languages and Cultures, has a new book! Metaphors of Money Laundering: Teaching Specialized Text Translation with Corpus-Based Methods examines metaphors used to discuss transnational security threats and the role of language in criminal justice processes.

  • Also from the Department of World Languages and Cultures, Wayside Publishing released the third book in Dr. Cynthia Chalupa’s textbook series Interkulturell. The professor and academic unit head serves as lead author.

  • The Daily News Record recently featured a column by Dr. Melissa Svigelj, Justice Studies, and a co-author about their collaborative work creating the Community-Court Connection project in Harrisonburg. The piece, Justice Matters: Local Citizens Can Take Part In Court Observation, highlights the ways a court observation program can provide opportunities to students in local schools and future professionals working in the community.

  • Ben Selznick, assistant professor in the School of Strategic Leadership Studies, in collaboration with Dr. Chelsey Bahlmann Bollinger, associate professor in the College of Education, published an article in Forbestitled “Training Educators, Not Chatbots: Preparing AI-Responsible Teachers.” The piece explores what higher education can and should be doing in the age of AI, particularly how educators can integrate AI into communication and literacy instruction responsibly. The authors emphasize that teacher preparation programs should help future educators strike a balance: leveraging AI tools while preserving human connection, fostering relationships and exercising professional judgment.

There’s still time to make the last email, so please keep sending highlights for yourself and your colleagues my way by emailing provost@jmu.edu. We’ll also continue to gather highlights during the break.

Sincerely,

Bob

Dear Colleagues,

Thanksgiving Break beckons, so I’ll keep this short today. We had a good Board of Visitors meeting last week – we were able to share more about research and scholarship/creative activity across campus and featured the work of a number of students and their faculty mentors. We also got good feedback from board members on the strategic plan work to date. As a reminder, please self-nominate if you’d like to join in on the Vision Teams who will be the critical next step in this process, moving us from concept to concrete plans for implementation. Nominations will be open through 5 p.m. on Wed., Dec. 3.

Best wishes to you and your families for a restful and rejuvenating holiday. See you in December as we wrap things up for the fall term.

Here is some good news to take into the weekend and break.

  • Lori Britt, professor and director of the School of Communication Studies, co-authored Facilitative Leadership: Building Capacity for Divisive Times with Waveland Press. This book introduces a four-phase framework—self-awareness, intention, growth mindset, and responsive behaviors—to guide leaders in building dialogue and collaboration across difference. The volume includes twelve case studies demonstrating facilitative leadership in practice. Congratulations!

  • JMU Department of English faculty continue to be recognized in the academic and popular press. Dr. Sofia Samatar, associate professor in the Department of English, recently had her book The Practice, The Horizon, and the Chain featured in a NY Timespiece on books about Dark Academia.  The book was also cited in the NY Times feature on the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2024. If you’d like to read these or other NY Times articles, remember you can access them at no cost thanks to JMU Libraries.

 

Thanks for sending in highlights for yourself and your colleagues. Please keep sending them my way, and the more details the better! Email me at provost@jmu.edu.

Sincerely,

Bob

Dear Colleagues,

Congratulations on making it to the end of a wind-swept week. I was able to be in the audience for three really interesting events this week, and I’d like to give a tip of the Provost’s cap to each one. I got to hear two Madison Scholar talks – one from Dr. John Guo in the College of Business and the other from Dr. Emily York in the College of Integrated Science and Engineering. These faculty members shared their work in a really engaging way for non-specialists, making their talks really enjoyable. I hope I’ll see you at future Madison Scholar talks in other colleges.

I also had the opportunity to hear the JMU Symphony perform this week in a program developed in collaboration with Communication Sciences and Disorders. Symphony conductor Dr. Kira Omelchenko teamed with audiologist Dr. Melissa Garber to share a program with pieces from composers that were deaf or hard of hearing coupled with Audiology students providing commentary on the composer and hearing challenges faced by musicians. The concert was great, and the interdisciplinary focus was really compelling.

On to this week’s highlights!

  • JMU Graduate Psychology faculty are influencers! The Research & Practice in Assessment (RPA) journal won raves at the 2025 Assessment Institute in Indianapolis. Graduate faculty member Dr. Robin Anderson, founding editor, and Dr. Keston Fulcher, former editor, as well as alums Katie Busby, former editor, and Nick Curtis, current editor, were recognized. The journal, and each editor, was awarded the 2025 Improvement Influencer Award. This recognition honor’s RPA’s outstanding contributions to the higher education sector through their contributions to advancing meaningful, evidence-based improvement in higher education assessment.

  • Duke Biber, associate professor in Health Sciences; Dr. Bob Harmison, professor in Graduate Psychology and Director of the Challace J. McMillin Center for Sport Psychology; and Dr. Sarah Sackett, Professor of Kinesiology, recently co-authored a paper published in the Journal of Sport Psychology In Action. Their work, “Invisible mental toughness for coaches and athletes: A self-compassion coaching approach,” provides a rationale for adopting strategies to promote self-compassion for cultivating mental toughness and general well-being in athletes and coaches.

  • Harmison has been busy as he also presented at the Association for Applied Sport Psychology conference in Montreal. “When the Going Gets Tough, the (Mentally) Tough Get Going: Dimensionality, Reliability, and Validity of the ToughPerson Index” along with alums Kyle Green (Psychological Sciences) and Matthew Best (Psychology and Spanish), and Chris Hulleman (UVA).

  • Three faculty from the JMU School of Art and Art History Architecture program were recently named finalists in the international architecture competition The Field Station. The JMU Architectural Design team, comprised of Jori Erdman, professor; Lemara Miftakhova Morrell, visiting assistant professor; and Andrew Morrell, instructor, developed a scheme for an adaptive R&D field station that fosters innovation, research, and collaboration across disciplines on the Severn River in Gloucester, VA.

  • School of Communication Studies Emeritus Faculty Dr. Bill Kimsey is keeping up with his scholarship! His article “Brain Training for Adults: A Spa for the Mind” was just released in He reflects on his remarkable recovery from a brain hemorrhage and how cognitive training helped restore focus, memory, and mental agility. That explains how he just completed the 2025 Army Ten-Miler, charting his own 10-mile course around the VMI Parade Deck and celebrating with a photo at the Pentagon! 

If you find any of these updates interesting, consider submitting your own! you can send awards, recognitions, publications – almost any highlight – for yourself or a colleague. Email me at provost@jmu.edu.

Sincerely,

Bob

PS – The Weekly Update will be working all the way to Thanksgiving Break, so look for us next Friday

Dear Colleagues,

We’re talking about change a lot these days, as we think about the future and create the university’s new strategic plan. The thought of change can be overwhelming but also can be just the catalyst we need to take a chance on a new idea and re-energize …

I’ve seen a lot change in the 30 years I’ve been at JMU. I spoke with Dr. Eric Magrum, an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology and faculty associate at the Center for Faculty Innovation about my thoughts on change in the most recent edition of the CFI Faculty Lounge Podcast – let me know what you think.

On to this week’s highlights!

  • Frequent readers of this column may remember the March 7 highlight about an article on presidential transitions co-authored by Dr. Raafat Zaini, assistant professor of ISAT. His most recent work – again co-authored with Dr. Kristin Tichenor – builds on their original article. “The Do’s and Don’ts of the Presidential Transition Period,”in University Business, provides a more practical lens, outlining specific actions that help institutions navigate a change in leadership while preserving trust, clarity, and long-term success.

  • Also building on past work is professor and academic unit head of the Department of Political Science, Dr. Kerry Crawford. Her new publication, “Grappling with a Weapon: The Politics and Policies of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence at the United Nations Security Council,” began in 2024 as a book chapter slated for publication by the United States Institute of Peace, prior to the institute’s de facto closure in March 2025. Despite the closure, the Peace Research Institute Oslo and the intrepid scholars of the Missing Peace Initiative found a way to release the planned book as published papers on PRIO’s website. Release of the first tranche of papers coincided with the 25th anniversary of the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and the adoption of the Women, Peace and Security agenda. 

  • Jonathan S. Jones, assistant professor in the Department of History, recently published his first book, Opium Slavery: Civil War Veterans and America’s First Opioid Crisis. Published by UNC Press, which states, “Drawing from veterans' firsthand accounts as well as mental asylum and hospital records, government and medical reports, newspaper coverage of addiction, and advertisements, Jonathan S. Jones unearths the poorly understood stories of opiate-addicted Civil War veterans in unflinching detail, illuminating the war’s traumatic legacies.”

  • A new book by associate professor of Education Dr. Andy Markelz presents and celebrates the many roles of a special education teacher through poetry, personal stories, and expert instruction. From Bloomsbury Publishing, Heart and Science: Teaching Special Education highlights how successful special education teachers require heart, as well as the science of evidence-base practices, to provide services for students with disabilities.

  • McGill-Queen’s University Press recently published the first monograph by Department of History associate professor Dr. Colleen Moore. The Peasants’ War: Russia’s Home Front in the First World War and the End of the Autocracy is based on research conducted in Russian archives now inaccessible to foreign scholars. The text investigates how peasants leveraged their wartime service to negotiate with the state for improved rights and privileges and how they used this power to shape the contours and legitimize the authority of the world’s first socialist state.

  • JMU Libraries publishes the International Journal on Responsibility (IJR), an open access and peer-reviewed journal. Dr. Diana Meza, assistant professor in the College of Education, serves as the journal’s editor. The most current volume, “The Spanish Language, Language Variations, Cultures and Responsibility,” is IJR's first ever semi-bilingual volume. This issue:

    “reflects an intentional and profound commitment to linguistic inclusion, cultural diversity, and the shared responsibility of scholars to broaden the scope of academic dialogue beyond the boundaries of English. The essays collected here invite us to reimagine bilingualism not only as a communicative skill but also as a moral, social, and institutional responsibility.”

    “representa un compromiso intencional y profundo con la inclusión lingüística, la diversidad cultural y la responsabilidad compartida de ampliar los horizontes del diálogo académico más allá de los límites del inglés. Los ensayos aquí reunidos nos invitan a reimaginar el bilingüismo no solo como una habilidad comunicativa, sino como una responsabilidad moral, social e institucional.”

I continue to hear that people enjoy reading about what is going on with their colleagues across campus. If you’ve got something to share from your peers or yourself submit it to provost@jmu.edu.

Sincerely,

Bob

Dear Colleagues,

Somehow October has raced by – I hope you have a chance to enjoy some Halloween festivities.  Having grown up in a place where our costumes often had to go over our coats, I’ve always had just a small bit of envy for trick or treating in the Valley.  

I had a chance to host a number of provosts from Virginia schools this week. It was intriguing to see we’re all talking about and working on very similar issues, and I think there are more opportunities for us to productively collaborate. It was a pleasure to share (and show off) some of what we do here at JMU. On to this week’s highlights – see you in November!

  • Learning isn’t limited to the classroom! Matt Trybus, coordinator of Peer Assisted Study Sessions, recently presented “Trailblazing Success: Peer Coaches at the Frontier of a New Learning Center Initiative” at the International College Learning Center Association Conference, in tandem a JMU student peer academic coach. Their session highlighted JMU’s new Peer Academic Coaching (PAC) program, which fosters student self-efficacy, motivation, and flourishing through evidence-based, relationship-driven coaching. By centering students as partners in learning, the program models how peer leadership cultivates belonging, purpose, and holistic well-being, core elements of JMU’s mission to prepare educated and enlightened citizens.

  • Congratulations to Dr. Colleen Moore, associate professor in the Department of History, on the publication of her first monograph, “The Peasants’ War: Russia’s Home Front in the First World War and the End of the Autocracy,” published by McGill-Queen’s University Press. Based on research conducted in Russian archives now inaccessible to foreign scholars, the book investigates how peasants leveraged their wartime service to negotiate with the state for improved rights and privileges and how they used this power to shape the contours and legitimize the authority of the world’s first socialist state.

  • Last year, the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry was one of eight chemistry programs to be awarded a Jean Dreyfus Lectureship for Undergraduate Institutions. This grant supports chemistry research at JMU and provides funding to host a world-renowned chemistry expert.

    Now, the entire JMU community can benefit from the grant. Dr. Polly Arnold (OBE, FRS), a professor of chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, and director of the Chemical Sciences Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, is globally recognized for her pioneering research in actinide and rare earth chemistry, which advances sustainable catalysis and the safe management of nuclear waste. She will be on campus next week to give talks and interact with our students. She’ll also give a public talk, “Nuclear Now: Time to Look Again,” on Monday, Nov. 3, at 5:30 p.m. at Court Square Theater.
  • Drs. Tom Moran, Executive Director of Empowerment3, and Sara Snyder, associate professor of Educational Foundations and Exceptionalities, received a five-year Interdisciplinary Training Grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). The E3 Training Academy will recruit, educate, equip, and empower graduate scholars across the disciplines of physical education/adapted physical education, special education, and applied behavior analysis to improve services provided to students with disabilities/high intensity needs. In addition to their course work, those enrolled in the academic will engage in K-12 school and community-based apprenticeships, receive mentorship from parents of students with disabilities, and participate in an interdisciplinary learning community with educators and service providers across the commonwealth.

  • Congratulations to Dr. Hilary Campbell and her team in the College of Education on their successful CAEP (Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation) Virtual Site Visit for Educator Preparation Provider re-accreditation this week. The program was reaccredited with no areas for improvement, and the review team praised their narratives and evidence as strong proof of quality and alignment with CAEP standards.

    The team was impressed by the College of Education’s involvement during the visit. The lead visitor initially expressed skepticism about the reliability of the large session attendance lists. Most sessions were fully attended, and the unusual level of commitment did not go unnoticed. The visitors were equally impressed by our students and praised JMU faculty and staff for prioritizing student success.  Well done CoE!

Don’t let the rest of the semester pass you by without submitting to provost@jmu.edu. Be sure to add highlights for your colleagues, too!

Sincerely,

Bob

Dear Colleagues,

Another week has somehow managed to come and go, and Fall Break is soon upon us. This time of year, I find, is one of the most beautiful for the Shenandoah Valley. I think my New England upbringing spawns an abnormally deep connection to the changing colors of autumn leaves (the raking required upon their fall swiftly brings me back to Earth!).

With Fall Break just around the corner, we’re marking the mid-point of the semester. We’ve gotten a lot done in Academic Affairs since August! I want to thank everyone who joined in on the College Town Halls with President Schmidt – we’ve had a lot of great input. We’re making good progress on our ambitious three-headed Fall 2025 agenda items (Core Curriculum Reform, Strategic Planning, Faculty Handbook Revision). Thanks for your continuing contributions to each element.

I think we’re all ready for the break, including the Friday email, which will take next Friday off. I hope the short break gives you the opportunity to do whatever recharges you. Enjoy these achievements until then.

  • Here is a great example of innovation in artificial intelligence and collaboration across colleges! A faculty team was awarded a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to launch Uncovering Potential – Paving Career Pathways to AI with a Special Focus on Rural Areas. This initiative will expand access to AI education and career opportunities for individuals in rural communities, where access to emerging technology careers is often limited.

    The project will be led by associate professor Dr. Ying Jin in the College of Education, with co-investigators Dr. Rhonda Syler, associate professor of CIS/BSAN; Dr. Elham Torabi, associate professor of CIS/BSAN; and Dr. Maryam Sadat Sharifian, associate professor in the College of Education. They will collaborate with the global technology company CGI. The team will design innovative pathways that combine education, mentorship and experiential learning to help rural participants pivot into AI careers.

 

  • The Morrison Bruce Center (MBC), housed in the College of Health and Behavioral Studies, was selected as a host site for the espnW Global Sports Mentoring Program (GSMP) for the first time. Kinesiology associate professor Dr. Cathy McKay, executive director of the MBC; Health Science associate professor Dr. Jill Lassiter, associate director of the MBC; and Kinesiology associate professor Lori Gano-Overway, MBC faculty collaborator for the GSMP program, coordinated the visit this fall.

    The GSMP is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State and espnW, designed to pair emerging leaders from around the world with U.S. host organizations for a month-long mentorship. The program’s mission is to foster cross-cultural collaboration and expand opportunities for women and girls through physical activity, sport and leadership development. During her time here, Jelena Pavićević, JMU’s delegate from Serbia, engaged in professional development, networking and hands-on learning while also sharing valuable global perspectives. She spoke with three academic classes; spent time with JMU coaches, faculty and students; and crafted an action plan focused on building global connections through the power of sport, physical activity and mentorship.

Don’t let the rest of the semester pass you by without submitting to provost@jmu.edu. Be sure to add highlights for your colleagues, too!

Sincerely,
Bob

Dear Colleagues,

It seems September has come and gone in a blink, and we’re nearing the midpoint of the semester – I’m not sure how so much time has passed so fast! I did get the chance to attend the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering and Mathematics conference on AI this week. It was fascinating to hear from scholars from a variety of different fields exploring different aspects of AI. I’m looking forward to wrapping up the week at the 2025 Madison Celebration of Research and Scholarship this afternoon, hosted by our friends in Research, Economic Development and Innovation (REDI), recognizing our colleagues’ research and scholarship. One of the many things I appreciate about JMU is the opportunity to learn about the innovative research happening all over campus.

There are, once again, many examples of your research and involvement to highlight. I hope you enjoy them and enjoy the upcoming weekend.

I know our faculty and staff have many more achievements to share and want to get the word out! Send updates and highlights to provost@jmu.edu.

Sincerely,

Bob

Dear Colleagues,

Apologies for the late arrival – it has been a week full of distinctive and interesting events, programs and activities. In other words, a pretty typical week in Academic Affairs!

I want to give a tip of the Friday e-mail cap to two events I attended recently.  We’re at the end of another very successful I-Week, and I want to acknowledge the incredible staff of the Center for Global Engagement, both for I-Week and their work in bringing the world to JMU and bringing JMU to the world. I-Week is a great time to recognize the important contributions of all of our international faculty, staff and students. Thanks to JY Zhou and everyone in CGE!

Earlier in the week, I attended the grand opening of the Military Science Cadet Physical Development Center in Memorial Hall. Wow.  This innovative facility was designed to support the physical and emotional fitness of over 200 Army and Air Force cadets, but its reach will go far beyond that. Through a partnership with JMU’s Department of Health Sciences, the Department of Military Science will facilitate research that helps guide improvements for cadets’ development. This is a great example of a collaborative partnership between Military Science, the College of Education, the University Health Center, JMU Facilities Management and many others. Thanks to Lt. Col. Andy Bryant, Dean Mark L’Esperance, Vice Presidents Towana Moore and Tim Miller, and AVP Jason McClain for helping make this facility a reality for our JMU cadets. 

And there’s more to share! Let’s get to your highlights.

If you enjoy reading these highlights, send in some for you and your colleagues! You can email provost@jmu.edu any time. And keep an eye out for more teaching, scholarship, awards and other accomplishments.

Sincerely,

Bob

Dear Colleagues,

The year’s first Board of Visitors Academic Excellence Committee meeting was yesterday afternoon, and I could have filled another 90 minutes updating them on the amazing results coming from our division. Committee members heard from three faculty/student research pairs, and several members are still talking about how impressive they were. Four deans were part of a roundtable discussion about what research, scholarship and creative activity look like across their colleges – they all learned a lot.

I have an update on where the division stood on the goals we set for last year. As I shared with you at the opening meeting, we made excellent progress or completed all of those projects. The highlight for me was describing our progress in advancing shared governance. Thank you for your contributions to this important goal.

Now, here are some of your colleague’s highlights.

  • Artificial intelligence was an area of focus for Academic Affairs last year and continues to be a priority. Luckily, faculty in multiple disciplines are already active in this research space. Professor of Communications Dr. Tim Ball and a colleague created a collection of themed materials to help educators develop students’ AI literacy. This resource is available through the UVA teaching hub.

  • On the other side of campus, assistant professors of Integrated Science and Technology Dr. Raafat Zaini and Rod Macdonald co-authored a white paper with other educators, researchers and practitioners as part of the AI in System Dynamics Education Task Force in the System Dynamics Society. Another resource for educators, this paper provides guidance in adapting teaching practices to an AI-enabled world by offering best practices for classroom use, example exercises for various learning levels, and balancing opportunities with risks. The authors are disseminating the paper widely while developing it further as educators use its content and provide feedback. 

  • Faculty/student collaborations continue to succeed in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Assistant professor Hui Chen mentored two undergraduates who won the Certificate of Merit award in the environmental division of the American Chemical Society’s Fall 2025 national meeting for "Aggregation of ultrashort- and short-chain Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances via Donna dialysis.”

  • Congratulations to Dr. Stephanie West, professor in Sport and Recreation Management, for her recent election to the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administrationas a Fellow. In addition to her 20+ years of teaching and academic service, she has contributed over 100 articles and presentations in national and international journals and conferences. Previously, she was also elected as a Fellow in the Academy of Leisure Sciences.

What highlights do you have to share? Please send them – for you or your colleagues – to provost@jmu.edu. And keep an eye out for more teaching, scholarship, awards and other accomplishments.

Sincerely,

Bob

Dear Colleagues,

This week has been a challenging one for higher education, highlighting the critical importance of being able to communicate across differences. As President Schmidt wrote in his note yesterday, “Violence, no matter the speech, is never the answer.”  Thank you for helping our students navigate this moment and continue developing their ability to engage with those whose beliefs differ.

On a brighter note, as always, I’m happy to share great things happening across campus to wrap up this week. And now for today’s highlights!

  • Hyun Kang, assistant professor in the Department of Social Work, recently published three articles based on his work with a community-based project on cognitive interventions through daily activities. While the content is meaningful, as it illustrates how daily activities, when used as a non-pharmacological and multi-component intervention with social engagement, can play an important role in preventing dementia and promoting healthy aging, the work is notable as each article used a different research approach: qualitative focus group interviews, a quasi-experimental design and an experimental design.
     
  • Furious Flower Postdoctoral Fellow Gbenga Adesina 's debut collection, "Death Does Not End at the Sea," has been longlisted for the National Book Award. This is a significant honor, particularly for an author’s first collection. Congratulations!

  • A team of undergraduate ISAT students recently won first place in the American Water Works Association Student Water Challenge at the Virginia Water Environment Association Annual Conference. Teams from across the state were given five hours to study a real-world water quality problem and present a solution. The JMU ISAT team, who were advised by ISAT professor Robert Brent, beat out Engineering majors and graduate students from other Virginia institutions. Brent stated, “This accomplishment speaks to the quality of their holistic problem-solving ISAT curriculum. They were presented with information and design equations, which they had never encountered before. Yet, they had the skills to quickly master new information, find the relevant resources, and propose an accurate, well-reasoned, holistic solution.” Seeing faculty mentor students through this type of activity is always affirming.

  • If you’ve ever wondered when food producers receive prestige for their culinary efforts, Anthropology assistant professor Dr. Di Hu recommends you check out “Multiple Inequalities in Every Meal: Theorizing the Intersectional Erasure of Food Producers Both Past and Present,” which she co-authored with several colleagues, including James Beard Award winner Dr. Psyche Williams Forson, in the July issue of the Food, Culture, and Society Despite its recent publication, the article is already the sixth most viewed article in Food, Culture, and Society in the past year.

Please keep the good news coming in! I look forward to seeing more of the teaching, scholarship, awards and other accomplishments of you and your colleagues, so please send them to provost@jmu.edu.

Sincerely,

Bob

Dear Colleagues,

As we come to the end of another week, I’ve been struck by the beauty of both the campus and our weather (and being able to walk across campus without self-laundering my shirt has been much appreciated!). I hope you can take a moment this weekend and detach from work and relax.

With the Fall semester starting to unfold, I wanted to share something from the opening Academic Affairs meeting—a reminder of where we’ve been and where we’re headed. 

You may remember that in my annual evaluation last spring, you were asked to respond with 2-3 words that described the culture of Academic Affairs.  While some of you were a bit more generous in your contributions (57 words was the longest!), this word cloud gives us a sense of where we were last May. 

Word Cloud for Highlights

To me, it shows both that we made some significant progress and that we’ve still got things to work on, and we are engaging in that work. Now on to this week’s highlights.

It is great to see so many staff and faculty participating in professional development.

Fun fact: Every highlight featured this week was submitted by someone other than the person recognized. Send your own teaching, scholarship, awards, and any other accomplishments to provost@jmu.edu, too! I look forward to sharing more next week.

Sincerely,

Bob

Dear Colleagues,

As we see the end of August and September beckons, there are lots of things happening on campus. Last week, I got a chance to see the renovated space for our Young Children’s Program (YCP) in Memorial Hall and it is in a word – amazing! It combines start-of-the-art educational spaces with research opportunities for our College of Education faculty.   Congrats to YCP Director Amy Taylor, Dean Mark L’Esperance and all the folks in CoE that have contributed. A special tip of the provost’s cap to Towana Moore and our Facilities Management folks for all their help.

In the coming weeks, President Schmidt is going to have college/unit meetings across Academic Affairs. Their purpose is two-fold: to better get to know President Schmidt and to contribute your ideas to the strategic planning process. I hope you can attend your college/unit meeting or one of the Idea Forums. We can’t include your ideas if we don’t know them, so please be on the lookout for more information on how to contribute.

It’ll be fall before we know it, but in the meanwhile, take a moment to read about some accomplishments of your colleagues.

  • Minah Oh, professor and chair of Applied Math in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, received the Meritorious Service Certificate from the Mathematics Association of America (MAA). According to the MAA, Minah received the award honoring exceptional dedication and contributions in part due to leading numerous initiatives supporting women in mathematics and her organization of the region’s first-ever virtual meeting during the pandemic, which was called “both inspiring and effective.”

  • Congratulations to Karina Kline-Gabel, CGE Director of Global Partnerships and Spanish Lecturer, who has been appointed to the Virginia Public Media (VPM) board. VPM’s mission is to use the power of media to educate and inspire connecting nearly two million people across Central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley to free insightful programming in news, education, arts and culture.

  • Shraddha Joshi, Associate Professor in Engineering, was awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Award to explore students’ ways of experiencing prototyping in the context of engineering design projects. You may have read about Shraddha’s research when it was featured in the May issue of Madison magazine.

  • The National Institute for Unification Education of the Ministry of Unification in the Republic of Korea invited College of Education Professor Dr. Shin Ji Kang to offer international perspectives and become an academic liaison around the Korean peninsula issues. During her visit, she led seven seminars with professors, government officers, NGO staff, pre- & in-service teachers and university students of other disciplines regarding the role of education in building sustainable peace within and beyond South Korea. While global experts on international relations, human rights and economy have been invited by NIUE of South Korea, Shin Ji was the first visiting scholar in the education field.

  • Have you heard of the POGIL Project? Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning is a student-centered, group-learning instructional strategy and philosophy developed through research on how students learn best. I recently heard from the associate director of the POGIL National Office with praise for Dr. Chris Mayfield, Professor of Computer Science, who stated “By mentoring new educators, sharing his expertise through workshops and conferences, and modeling reflective practice, Dr. Mayfield has helped expand the reach and integrity of POGIL pedagogy. His efforts have strengthened our network and inspired others to lead with purpose and passion.” What a great example of our teacher-scholar model in practice. Congratulations, Chris.

  • Last week, I recognized three Academic Affairs staff members who completed the Advanced Administrative Assistant Certificate Program. This week, I’d like to acknowledge five staff who invested their time in the Administrative Assistant Certificate Program (AACP) and recently received their certificates.

    Congratulations to Ali Berg, Office Manager, Hart School for Hospitality, Sport and Recreation Management; Hannah Evans, Office Manager, Faculty Affairs and Curriculum; Ingrid Garcia de Lazo, Administrative Assistant, College of Education TTAC; and Nicole Gray, Administrative Office Specialist, Department of Health Professions.

    I’m proud of our division’s high participation rate in these professional development opportunities and will recognize other AACP completers next week.

Ready to see your name in this list? Send your teaching, scholarship, awards, and any other accomplishments to provost@jmu.edu. Highlights aren’t limited to just publications and awards – let me know what you think is important! I look forward to sharing more next week.

Sincerely,

Bob

Dear Colleagues,

The Friday e-mail is fit and tan (what SPF is appropriate for an anthropomorphized digital communication?) and ready for the new term. Congratulations, we’ve reached the end of the first week of the new academic year, and it has been great fun seeing the campus come back to life, bustling with new student energy and excitement.

As we welcome our nearly 5,000 new students, I’d also like to let all our new faculty and staff know how glad I am you’ve chosen to join us at JMU. We’ve got new faculty and staff in all of our colleges and over 35 different academic units and areas. You come from a wide variety of backgrounds, disciplines, geographical locations, types of institutions, and research and scholarship interests, and I couldn’t be more excited for you to join us.

I told our new students at their convocation on Sunday afternoon the secret to academic success was simple: Go to class. I’m sure they listened intently and have been showing up! As they start their course work and so many other academic activities, they will quickly learn what I have known for years: Our faculty are brilliant and engaged teacher-scholars who will impress them every class, and our staff are friendly, efficient, and supportive professionals who will help them to make the most of their time at JMU.

In future weeks, I’ll share more about our priorities for the year. In the meantime, I do hope you’ll engage with the core curriculum reform process (please reference yesterday’s email).

For now, let’s end what I hope was a great first week by highlighting some accomplishments from across Academic Affairs.

Please send teaching, scholarship, awards, and any other highlights and accomplishments to provost@jmu.edu. Send yours and those of your peers! I look forward to sharing more good work next week.

Sincerely,

Bob

Previous Academic Affairs Highlights

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Office of the Provost
Alumnae Hall
91 Alumnae Drive
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807