The Goodmans know all faculty are not the same

They are making sure that JMU can continue to hire the professors that make an impact on students.

Robin and Clem Goodman credit their wonderful Madison experiences to great professors at the 2013 Annual Stewardship Luncheon.

The influence of great professors is felt deeply by Madison students and alumni.

"Our children grew up coming to JMU and became very familiar with the JMU way of life and Harrisonburg. When it came time for them to choose a college, we didn’t push them to go here; we wanted them to make their own decisions and look around, but both children felt comfortable here and wanted to be part of our family’s legacy.

For our family, JMU has become a tradition. Above all else, it is the professors at JMU who have made such a huge difference in our children’s lives, in our own lives when we were students, and in the lives of Clem’s mother and her family. JMU has always made it a point to hire professors who want to teach, who want to have contact with students, who want to guide them and mentor them.

I know there are many professors and retired professors in this room today, and as a parent, I would like to thank you for not hiding away in a laboratory or library, but for being there for my son and daughter and for Clem and me when we were students. Thank you.

James Madison University professors do things that make them among the tops in their fields—like research, publishing and service. They develop and sustain the JMU curriculum—including a GenEd program that offers critical thinking and communication skills and a broad foundation for learning. The curriculum also encompasses valuable hands-on learning experiences that give a JMU education real-world relevance. We feel this is so important in this day and age. JMU is distinct in this capacity, and we felt the need to take the extra step to make sure we maintain that excellence.

As we came to understand how much of the university’s quality and reputation relies on the excellence of our faculty, we also began to realize how important it is to recognize and reward them for what they do. We want to keep these professors here and not let them be enticed away to other universities that have more money to offer.

We established two endowments: the Goodman Faculty Endowment for Faculty Support in the College of Business, and most recently, the Goodman Faculty Support Endowment for Excellence in Teaching at James Madison University.

As I said, JMU is a tradition in our family. We made this provost award in teaching so that when our grandchildren and their generation are ready for college, JMU is ready for them—with the world-class faculty and the rich well-rounded Madison education our family has always loved."