Academics

1-3:30 p.m.
Frances Plecker Education Center, Edith J. Carrier Arboretum

Artist Jewel Yoder Hertzler leads the workshop. For information check http://www.jmu.edu/arboretum.

University closed.

8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Montpelier Estate in Orange County

Celebrate James Madison’s birthday with a unique field trip. Travel with faculty, staff and friends to tour Montpelier, home to President James Madison, father of the Constitution and architect of the Bill of Rights, and Dolley Madison, America’s first “first lady.”

Guests will receive a guided tour of the Madison mansion, and may then proceed with a self-guided tour of the mansion’s second floor exhibits (including the War of 1812 exhibit), cellars and grounds. Visit the duPont Formal Garden, South Yard slave quarters, cemeteries, forest trails, Mr. Madison’s Temple and more.

In addition, you’ll have the opportunity to meet “Mr. Madison” as well as participate in a wreath-laying ceremony.

Cost is $7 per person with JMU JAC Card. There is a café at Montpelier where guests may purchase food, or bring their own meal.

Call University Events at (540) 568-7787 to reserve your spot today on the JMU charter. Part of Madison Week at JMU.

Noon-1 p.m.
Frances Plecker Education Center, Edith J. Carrier Arboretum

Children and adults are welcome for a reading of stories about fairies and building fairy houses or gnome homes. Bring a brown-bag lunch to enjoy during the story.

For information, check http://www.jmu.edu/arboretum.

Carl Lee, Professor of Mathematics and Chellgren Professor, University of Kentucky

“The Place of Mathematics and the Mathematics of Place”

Monday, March 16, 3:30 p.m.

404 Madison Union

3:45 p.m.
Room 404, Madison Union (formerly Room 404, Taylor Hall)

Carl Lee, professor of mathematics and Chellgren Professor, University of Kentucky, presents “The Place of Mathematics and the Mathematics of Place.”

Sponsored by the College of Arts and Letters. For information, call (540) 568-6472. Free.

4:30-8 p.m.
E-Hall and D-Hall

Theme dinner based on colonial menu. Part of Madison Week at JMU.

Open to faculty, staff and families at a discounted rate of $7 per person.

5-5:45 p.m.
Jurney Stage Garden, Edith J. Carrier Arboretum

Bring lawn chairs or a picnic blanket and a picnic dinner for a free performance featuring Jenna Marie Dennison on Highland pipes and Katherine Hummel on Celtic fiddle.

Inclement weather cancels this concert.

For information, check http://www.jmu.edu/arboretum.

6-8:30 p.m.
Frances Plecker Education Center, Edith J. Carrier Arboretum

Dr. Amy Goodall, associate professor of geographic science at JMU, speaks on how citizen science and recent technologies support collecting data for birds and butterflies, which is influencing knowledge and has even led to the discovery of new species. Enjoy fine, genuine Irish cuisine and brew. For information, check http://www.jmu.edu/arboretum.

4-5 p.m.
Third floor, Warren Hall

A celebratory tea party to recognize and remember the Madisonian Era. Bring your etiquette and prepare to mingle over flavored tea and scones, a James Madison University favorite.

11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Mrs. Greens

Theme lunch based on a colonial menu. Part of Madison Week at JMU.

8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Throughout campus

JMU faculty, staff and students wear purple. Snap a picture of yourself, your friends and/or coworkers and post this image to the Madison Week Facebook page for chance to win a JMU prize pack. Winners will be notified via email by 4 p.m. on Friday, March 20.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., stop by The Commons or the Student Success Center and take a photo with Duke Dog. Anyone showing their Purple Spirit will have a chance to win LOTS of prizes.

Part of Madison Week at JMU.

A lecture presented by Professor Michael J. Smitka
Washington and Lee University
Taylor 405
Refreshments provided

China can learn much from Japan’s economic experience. In China most farmers now receive modest cash subsidies; in Japan subsidies did not stay small, and have proven costly to both consumers and the government yet ineffective in making agriculture sustainable. China has a large, unregulated “shadow” finance sector that undermines monetary stability; in its process of financial deepening Japan successfully transformed that sector into formal financial institutions. The rapid drop in Chinese fertility will lead to an aging population; Japan’s demographic transition began in 1950, and its baby boomers have already hit retirement age. China can learn from that as it develops its own pension and healthcare systems. Finally, Japan’s transition from high to low growth has not gone well. Understanding what took place could help China avoid making the same mistakes as its own growth slows. 

Dr. Michael Smitka is a professor of economics at Washington & Lee University. His specialty is in East Asia, and he has written on the Japanese automobile industry as well as other subjects.

Parking will be available in the C4 Lot and the Grace Street Parking Deck. Please contact Dr. Yongguang Hu (hu2yx@jmu.edu) or Dr. Michael Seth (sethmj@jmu.edu) with any event questions. This event was organized by the Asian Studies Program and sponsored by the Office of Cross Disciplinary Studies and Diversity Engagement.

Noon-1 p.m.
Frances Plecker Education Center, Edith J. Carrier Arboretum

Diane Lepkowski, avifauna notable and photographer of Blue Ridge and Shenandoah Valley avian species, lectures on songbirds to raptors in partnership with the Rockingham Bird Club.

For information, check http://www.jmu.edu/arboretum.

4-5 p.m.
Room 301, Carrier Library

Emily Hancock, a poet and letterpress printing at St Brigid Press, presents “A Life in Letters: Traditional Printing in the 21st Century.”

Sponsored by Special Collections of JMU Libraries and Educational Technologies. Free.

1-5:30 p.m.
Room 107, Wilson Hall

The conference focuses on Gödel's Incompleteness Theorems. Speakers are Andrea Pedeferri of George Washington University, Eric Pacuit of the University of Maryland-College Park and David Auerbach of North Carolina State University.

Kurt Gödel, mathematician, logician and philosopher, is responsible for what may be the most important mathematical result of the 20th century: his famous incompleteness theorem, which states that within any axiomatic mathematical system there are propositions that cannot be proved or disproved on the basis of the axioms within that system. This proof established Gödel as one of the greatest logicians since Aristotle. Its repercussions continue to be felt and debated today.

Co-sponsored by the Cohen Center for Technological Humanism.

Bob Marshall, Journalist, The Lens

“Losing Ground: Louisiana’s Coastal Crisis”

Monday, March 30, 7 p.m.    

2105 Harrison Hall

7 p.m.
Room 2105, Harrison Hall

Journalist Bob Marshall of “The Lens,” presents “Losing Ground: Louisiana’s Coastal Crisis.”

Sponsored by the College of Arts and Letters. For information, call (540) 568-6472. Free.

2-3 p.m.
Highlands Room, Festival Conference and Student Center

Twenty JMU graduate students, representing all seven colleges of the university, present their research and creative endeavors. The session is part of the all-day showcase, “Celebrating 60 Years of Graduate Education at James Madison University.”

All members of the JMU community, including undergraduate and graduate students, are encouraged to attend.

Free.

Andy Clark Lecture

Natural-Born Cyborgs? Reflections on Bodies, Minds, and Human Enhancement

Andy Clark, Professor of Logic and Metaphysics, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.

Appointed Chair in Logic and Metaphysics, 2004. Former Director of the Philosophy/Neuroscience/Psychology Program at Washington University in St Louis, and Director of the Cognitive Science Program at Indiana University. Author of critically acclaimed Natural-Born Cyborgs: Minds, Technologies and the Future of Human Intelligence (2003) and Supersizing the Mind: Embodiment, Action, and Cognitive Extension (2011).  

ABSTRACT: We are entering an age of widespread human enhancement. The technologies range from wearable, implantable, and pervasive computing, to new forms of onboard sensing, thought-controlled equipment, prosthetic legs able to win track races, and on to the humble but transformative smartphone. But what really matters is the way we are, as a result of this tidal wave of self- re-engineering opportunity, just starting to know ourselves: not as firmly bounded biological organisms but as delightfully reconfigurable nodes in a flux of information, communication, and action. This gives us a new opportunity to look at ourselves, and to ask the fundamental question: Where does the mind stop, and the rest of the world begin?

When: April 3rd, 11:00 am - 12:30 pm

Where: Madison Union Ballroom

Call Larry Burton, Director, Cohen Center (540-568-4090) or email (burtonlw@jmu.edu) if you have questions.  

4-5 p.m.
Room 301, Carrier Library

Emeritus and current members of the Student Government Association and Mary Ann Mason, graduate student in the JMU history department, present “SGA at JMU.”

Sponsored by Special Collections in JMU Libraries and Educational Technologies. Free.

Judith Jellison, Mary D. Bold Regents Professor in Music and Human Learning; University Distinguished Teaching Professor, University of Texas at Austin

“Too Much Stuff, Not Enough Time: Essentials About Inclusion”

Monday, April 13, 6 p.m.

2105 Harrison Hall

6 p.m.
Room 2105, Harrison Hall

Judith Jellison, Mary D. Bold Regents Professor in Music and Human Learning and Distinguished Teaching Professor, University of Texas at Austin, presents “Too Much Stuff, Not Enough Time: Essentials About Inclusion.”

Sponsored by the College of Arts and Letters. For information, call (540) 568-6472. Free.

6 p.m.
Room 1302, Health and Human Services Building

Alice Butler-Smith, assistant professor, School of Advanced Military Studies, presents "Designing Operations, Designing Futures: The Practice of Military Art and Science in the Asymmetric Present."

Sponsored by the College of Arts and Letters. For information, call (540) 568-6472. Free.

Alice Butler-Smith, Assistant Professor, School of Advanced Military Studies

Topic TBA

Thursday, April 16, 6 p.m.

1302 HHS

Elzbieta Gozdziak, Research Director, Institute for the Study of International Migration, Georgetown University

“Dreams Deferred: Undocumented Children and Children of Undocumented Parents”

Thursday, April 16, 7 p.m.

Madison Union Ballroom

7 p.m.
Madison Union Ballroom

Elzbieta Gozdziak, research director, Institute for the Study of International Migration, Georgetown University, presents “Dreams Deferred: Undocumented Children and Children of Undocumented Parents.”

Sponsored by the College of Arts and Letters. For information, call (540) 568-6472. Free.

Noon-1 p.m.
Frances Plecker Education Center, Edith J. Carrier Arboretum

Children and adults are welcome for a reading of stories about fairies and building fairy houses or gnome homes. Bring a brown-bag lunch to enjoy during the story.

For information, check http://www.jmu.edu/arboretum.

8 a.m.
Meets at the Pavilion, Edith J. Carrier Arboretum

Greg Moyers, birding expert and photographer, leads the walk through the arboretum.

For information, check http://www.jmu.edu/arboretum.

The JMU Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Band were founded in 1971. JMU jazz groups have performed at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts' Terrace Theater, Montreux International Jazz and Blues Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival and Virginia Music Educator's Association annual convention.

For tickets and further information, visit http://www.jmu.edu/forbescenter/events/2015/04/22-jazz-ensemble-jazz-band.shtml

Philip Davies, Director, Brunel Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies, Brunel University, UK

“Intelligence, Politics and Government: National Intelligence Cultures and National Intelligence Systems”

Time and location TBA

7 p.m.
Convocation Center

For complete commencement information, check http://www.jmu.edu/commencement.

3 p.m.
Bridgeforth Stadium

Lindsay Czarniak, co-anchor for ESPN’s SportsCenter and a 2000 alumna of JMU, speaks to undergraduates and their guests.

For complete commencement information, check http://www.jmu.edu/commencement.

7 p.m.
Bridgeforth Stadium

For complete commencement information, check http://www.jmu.edu/commencement.

9 a.m.
Various campus locations

College of Arts and Letters on The Quadrangle

College of Education and University Studies in the JMU Convocation Center

College of Health and Behavioral Studies in Bridgeforth Stadium

College of Integrated Science and Engineering at UREC East Campus field

College of Science and Mathematics at Alumni Centennial Park

College of Visual and Performing Arts at the Duke lawn.

For complete commencement information, check http://www.jmu.edu/commencement.

Noon-1 p.m.
Frances Plecker Education Center, Edith J. Carrier Arboretum

Children and adults are welcome for a reading of stories about fairies and building fairy houses or gnome homes. Bring a brown-bag lunch to enjoy during the story.

For information, check http://www.jmu.edu/arboretum.

University closed.

University closed.

Event Content

Nov. 26-27

University closed.

University closed.