Campaign Update: A shining moment for JMU

The following communication was sent to Unleashed: The Campaign for James Madison University donors on Nov. 13, from President Jonathan R. Alger.

Dear Unleashed Donor,

Thank you for being an important contributor to Unleashed: The Campaign for James Madison University. The support of donors like you means so much to me and many others at JMU. And given that we are all facing difficult times, it’s wonderful to share a shining moment for JMU and Unleashed with you!

In just a moment, I’ll be joining a call with our Campaign Steering Committee, and I will share the details of an exciting announcement we made last week: JMU has received the largest philanthropic gift in its history. Valued at $16.8 million, the formerly private and absolutely stunning Peter L. Via Collection now resides in the JMU Mineral Museum, where these 314 gem and mineral specimens will be available to the public for the first time, and studied by our  students and faculty. The Via collection lends even greater renown to our exceptional geology and science education programs, which serve our students and faculty, the public and mineralogists around the world.

Our business programs, too, received a signature gift recently. The naming of Hartman Hall,announced on Oct. 16, recognizes a gift from a family who has been deeply associated with the university for more than five decades. Jim (’70,'00P) and Carolyn ('00P) Hartman’s generosity will have a significant, lasting impact on generations to come, not just on business students, but also on the college’s faculty, staff and, even more widely, the entire JMU community.

Donors drive campaign success

With the addition of these two gifts, 55,510 donors now have given more than $196.7 million to Unleashed since 2014 — an amazing total for a $200 million campaign that still has more than a year and a half to go. And this level of support reaffirms what we all know about JMU: Our community cares deeply about the success of our students.

The Hartmans’ gift, for example, heads a list of almost 2,500 alumni, parents, faculty, staff and friends of JMU who have given to ensure our students have a building that matches the quality of our business programs. When you enter Hartman Hall, donor names adorn laboratories, classrooms and offices. A display honors dozens of “2020 Visionaries.” Never before have so many given so much to support a capital project on our campus.

Everywhere you look

Gifts to the Unleashed campaign have touched every corner of campus. For example, the new Atlantic Union Bank Center will host its first men’s and women’s basketball games later this month, thanks in part to hundreds of contributions from alumni and fans.  

Early in the campaign, G. J. (’84) and Heather Hart’s 2015 gift created the Hart School of Hospitality, Sport and Recreation Management — our very first named academic program.  And from that same year, I always will remember Richard “Dick” Roberts’ words of encouragement at our opening faculty meeting. He topped it off by announcing a seven-figure endowment for faculty excellence in honor of his wife, Shirley (’56).

We celebrated many generous gifts at our public campaign kickoff during Homecoming in 2018, including the naming of the Leslie Flanary Gilliam (’82) Center for Entrepreneurship; an endowment for faculty who prepare graduates to educate children with special needsby Pam (’76) and Joe (’76, ’77M) Damico; and the Eric (’91) and Lara Parker (’92) Major Laboratory for Innovation, Collaboration, Creativity and Entrepreneurship.

Scholarships have been a primary focus of the campaign, and we are thrilled to have 47 first-generation Shenandoah Valley students attending JMU (as well as 14 at other schools) today because of the Valley Scholars program. Twenty-five endowments have been established by donors through the Dukes Pay It Forward scholarship program founded by Mike (’76, ’77M) and Kathy (’78) Thomas. And just this past spring, more than 2,000 donors contributed to Madison for Keeps emergency scholarships to help 130 Dukes stay Dukes during the pandemic.  

Dukes from all over

Women for Madison has become a champion for philanthropy at JMU. And other groups, such as the Parents Council, the advisory councils for our colleges and numerous alumni chapters, have made giving a high priority. Our Giving Days have broken records annually.

The Unleashed list of accomplishments simply goes on and on. The success of this campaign stems from the same level of commitment people expressed when I traveled the country during my “Why Madison?” Presidential Listening Tour right after I arrived. And many of those same people rolled up their sleeves and helped create the six-year strategic plan we announced in 2014. The comprehensive fundraising campaign (which we later named Unleashed) was a major goal of the strategic plan. And now the work that so many have done and the generous gifts that have been made are providing tangible benefits for our students that will help prepare them to lead productive and meaningful lives. We did what we said we were going to do, and all of us should be exceedingly proud.

What’s next?

Although the pandemic has caused us to pause the in-person Unleashed tour events, please register to join us for a virtual campaign event on Wednesday, Dec. 16, at 7 p.m. EST.  We’re looking forward to giving you an inside look at recent campaign developments, hearing from students and connecting around the topics that make us all proud to be part of the JMU community.

Again, I thank you for your participation in Unleashed. What a difference you have made! And with 19 months to go until the campaign concludes in mid-2022, we will continue to dream big!

Go Dukes!

Jonathan R. Alger
President