JMU Alumni Association

2024 Presidential Award: Frances Weir ’49

The late Colonel Frances Weir (’49) served as a commander in the Women’s Army Corps for 27 years with stations in Europe, Vietnam, the Department of Defense and across various U.S. bases. A fierce critical thinker, Weir oversaw transportation and logistics in Saigon during the Vietnam War, ensuring soldiers had what they needed at all times, and was awarded the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star for her exemplary service. In 1973, she became “the first WAC to lead a mostly male brigade,” per the Pentagram. Prior to her retirement, Weir was one of about a dozen female colonels in the Army, not including nurses, and the highest ranking woman officer in Hampton Roads, Virginia. At the end of her career, Weir told The Virginian-Pilot, “I don’t think I was a dedicated career woman. It just turned out that way.”

After enrolling in the WAC, Weir attended Officer Candidate School (OCS) at Fort Lee, Virginia (now Fort Gregg-Adams) and later attended the prestigious Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: a 20-week associate course open to only four WAC officers per year. At Madison, she majored in business, joined Pi Omega Pi and Pi Kappa Sigma Business Club and routinely made the dean’s list. A Winchester-Virginia native, Weir worked to pay for her Madison education, an experience that shaped her philanthropy for the rest of her life.

Before her death, Weir was a Women for Madison Amethyst Circle Founder and donated $240,000 to JMU to establish her scholarship endowment. Upon her passing in September of 2023, she donated the university’s largest cash gift and largest gift solely for scholarships. At more than $6 million, the Frances Weir (’49) Endowed Scholarship will enable the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships to award approximately $240K annually in scholarship funds in perpetuity. Her endowment will support students who demonstrate financial need and who maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher with scholarships that are renewable for three years. After retiring to San Antonio, Texas, the Colonel formed close relationships with her neighbors and stayed active—golfing, playing poker and tending her yard despite the blistering heat.

History of the Inez Graybeal Roop (’35) Alumni Service Award

Inez Graybeal Roop ('35) Alumni Service Award

The Inez Graybeal Roop Distinguished Alumni Service Award recognizes alumni who have performed notable service to the university and/or the alumni association. Created in 1971, the award is given on an annual basis to an individual on the basis of distinguished service, meritorious achievement and/or meaningful contributions in promoting the mission of either James Madison University and/or the JMU Alumni Association. This includes, but is not limited to, serving on official university boards and providing effective support of the university, its students, faculty, staff and alumni. All JMU alumni — with the exception of current university students, employees and trustees — are eligible.

The award is named in honor of Inez Graybeal Roop (’35), a former member of the JMU Board of Visitors and the JMU Alumni Association Board of Directors, who in 1977 made the formal motion to change the name of Madison College to James Madison University. A State Teachers College alum who graduated with degrees in English and History, Roop’s public service work included serving as chair of the Alumni Fund Drive, president of the Richmond Chapter of the JMU Alumni Association and an officer in the Bluestone Society. In 1994, the university named Roop Hall in her honor. Aside from participating in almost every university milestone — including representing the Class of 1935 at JMU’s centennial celebration in 2008 — Roop and her husband, Ralph (’05H), demonstrated their commitment to JMU through a lifetime of giving, providing funds for student scholarships and faculty advancement. At the time of her death in Nov. 2010, 142 Roop scholarships had been awarded to students.