To realize our 2040 vision, we must begin with steady, strategic progress. The first milestone is our 2030 strategic plan, which outlines the key pillars that will guide our priorities over the next five years. Through targeted strategies and initiatives, we will advance these pillars and lay the foundation for continued momentum toward our bold long-term goals. 

Delivering a Transformational Student Experience: Enhancing the Value, Purpose, and Impact of a JMU Education through the Madison Promise

Anchored in pathbreaking education, discovery-driven innovation, and real-world application, the Madison Promise is our guarantee that JMU graduates will develop the skills, purpose, and confidence to create the future through learning that meets the changing demands of today and tomorrow. The Madison Promise is a shared commitment between the university and its students, families, employers, and society. It affirms that JMU will provide a dynamic, future-focused education that develops the knowledge, skills, and character graduates need to thrive. Students commit to pursuing academic excellence and personal development, engaging fully in the academic and co-curricular life of the university, and contributing to a community grounded in curiosity, collaboration, and civic responsibility.

Charting a New Path as a National Research University

JMU will become a preferred research partner and catalyst for innovation throughout the Commonwealth and in select fields of opportunity nationally. To do so, it will create a distinctive, new model for national public universities by accelerating opportunities for graduate and undergraduate research, and also expanding focused, impactful scholarly innovation and graduate education. Faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates will collaborate as partners in discovery, linking teaching and research to address pressing challenges and enhance JMU’s national reputation for excellence.

Fostering Partnerships to Meet the Needs of the Shenandoah Valley, Commonwealth, and the Nation

JMU will be the Commonwealth’s most trusted, responsive, innovative, and preferred university partner, linking students and faculty with industry, government, and nonprofit collaborators to translate discovery into real-world solutions that fuel discovery, entrepreneurship, and economic development in and beyond the Shenandoah Valley. Through collaborative partnerships, JMU will position Virginia as a national leader.

Creating an Innovative Campus Community

To support our vision for next-generation learning, research and partnership experiences, JMU will transform its physical environment, to be sustainability-focused and deeply integrated with its community. The campus of the future isn’t just a place of learning; it is an anchor and hub for cultural, educational, and economic collaboration that will bring in revenue to allow for further investment in our academic mission.