Saying farewell and remembering those we've lost
College of Arts and Letters
SUMMARY: Goodbye and best wishes to those who retired this year, and remembering Professor Emeritus George Johnson.
Our best wishes to those who retired this year:
- Dr. Shelley Aley, Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication
- Dr. Frances Flannery, Philosophy and Religion
- Dr. Sharon Mazzarella, Communication Studies
- Dr. William O’Meara, Philosophy and Religion
- Dr. Elizabeth Pass, Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication
- Beate Warden, World Languages and Cultures
- Dr. Jim Zimmerman, Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication
Remembering Professor Emeritus George Johnson
School of Media Arts and Design (SMAD) Professor Emeritus George Johnson passed away on January 24, 2025.
George first came to JMU in 1984, left for a few years to teach at the University of Tennessee, then returned to JMU in 1988 to teach journalism, telecommunications production, and mass communication law classes in what was then the Department of Communication.
He would later become one of SMAD’s founding faculty members in the 1990's and serve as the program’s first director after it became its own school.
George retired in 2019 after 31 years at JMU. The College grieves his loss, celebrates his legacy, and offers our deepest sympathies to his family and friends, as well as the faculty, staff, students, and alumni of SMAD.
