Board of Visitors summary of actions and discussions

The James Madison University Board of Visitors met Friday, November 18, 2022 in the Festival Conference and Student Center.

The following is a summary of actions taken by the board and key areas of discussion at the board meeting:

Approved the September 16, 2022 Board of Visitors meeting minutes;

Accepted committee reports from the Academic Excellence, Advancement and Engagement, Athletics, Audit, Governance, Finance and Physical Development, and Student Affairs;

Myles Surrett, Associate Vice President for Career, Experiential Learning and Transition provided an update on the Career Center and career outcomes for students; 

Paul Mabrey, QEP Director, provided an update on the Quality Enhancement Plan;

Heather Coltman, Provost and Senior Vice President, and Tim Miller, Vice President for Student Affairs provided an overview on the Internship Task Force.

President Alger shared during his President’s Report:

• An admissions application update was provided for the 2023 freshman class with the following first-year demographics: early applicants at 24,156 (30% increase); 12,195 in state (25% increase); 11,573 out of state (32% increase); 62.2% female; 38.8% male; 17% first generation (56% increase); and 28% underrepresented minorities (42% increase);
• Renamed former Madison Hall after Paul Holland (’82) and Linda Yates, who provided the largest ever cash gift toward scholarships;
• “This is JMU” an updated video used for enrollment marketing was shown;
• JMU representatives participated in panels at the APLU annual conference;
• Dietra Trent, U.S. Department of Education, and Sean Hearne, Southeastern Universities Research Association were recently hosted on campus to advance collaborative research and inclusive excellence efforts;
• Libraries has a new department to support faculty in identifying, using and creating open educational resources (OER);
• The Center for Assessment and Research Studies was awarded the 2022 Trudy W. Banta Lifetime Achievement in Assessment Award;
• The Gilliam Center for Entrepreneurship won the award for Outstanding Emerging Entrepreneurship Center at the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers;
• Karin Tollefson-Hall, Associate Director of School of Art, Design and Art History, was named 2022 Virginia Art Educator of the Year;
• Study abroad numbers are up from last year with 1,308 applications;
• Rwanda Task Force led by Mike Davis, Chief of Staff, and Neil Marrin, College of Business, took a team in October to meet with government officals, university partners, K-12 schools and Rwandan sports organizations;
• For the 2022 elections, forums were hosted, the Madison Center for Civic Engagement created a 2022 voter guide for students and shared information about the on-campus voting location;
• Hosted SOMOS (meaning “we are”) Conference in October; Latinx Conference including faculty, staff, alumni, community members and others from across the state with the keynote address delivered by Delores Huerta;
• An update about the upcoming General Assembly that included budget requests;
• JMU’s regional accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) will send a visiting team to JMU in April 2023 as the university is going through the reaffirmation process;
• JMU was recognized in all three academic categories for academic avhievement by the Sun Belt;
• Announced a gift for the naming of the Reddix Center for First-Generation Students.