Traci Zimmerman, professor in the School of Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication (WRTC), came to JMU in 2000. She earned her Ph.D. in English from Case Western Reserve University, and is a CAL Alum, earning her M.A. and B.A. in English from James Madison University. In 2017, she completed a Master of Science in Jurisprudence (MSJ) from Seton Hall School of Law with a concentration in intellectual property. Her research focuses on authorship, intellectual property, and digital literacies and is informed by her interest in privacy, technology, and the public domain. She was born and raised in Newport News, Virginia and loves living and working in the Commonwealth. She enjoys spending time with her family, especially with her rescue pup, Lily.

Traci is responsible for providing academic, intellectual, administrative, and budgetary leadership for the college; facilitating innovation, communication, and coordination of the college’s initiatives; championing all of its disciplines; and creating inclusive work and scholarly environments for faculty, staff, and students.  The college has approximately 300 full-time faculty and staff in 10 academic units; 14 undergraduate majors, 50+ minors, and 6 graduate programs; approximately 3100 undergraduate majors and 150+ graduate students; and offers substantial contributions to the General Education program, making the college the leader in credit hour production: 183,269 CHP in 2023-2024, representing 28% of total CHP at JMU. 

In addition, Traci works to support the college, division, and institution through her service on a number of key committees, including but not limited to:

• Voting Member (Appointed by the president) to the JMU Intellectual Property Committee 
  
• Voting Advisory member, Core Curriculum Task Force  
  
• Voting Member, Committee on Academic Programs 
  
• Liaison (with Shannon Wilson) to the CAL Alumni Advisory Board 
  
• Member Pell Grant Initiatives Study Task Force 
  
• International Journal on Responsibility (IJR) Editorial Board