SUMMARY: This is your Fall '20 update on engagement-related work at JMU. In this edition, we feature the work of the Institute for Innovation in Health and Human Services, learn about nursing program's pivot during COVID-19 to keep engaged learning at the center of the curriculum, and faculty innovations driving positive change in the digital space.
Read More About Stellar Faculty Achievements This Year:
A Healthy Families of Page and Shenandoah Counties home visitor is standing in a parking lot next to the car of a distressed mother whose child sits expectantly in the backseat. This day, the Healthy Families visitor stands in the parking lot, masked and distanced, singing through the window with the child in their car seat. They set an activity bag outside the car to be picked up after their visit. The mother thanks the visitor and tells them that this outing helped her feel “much calmer.” While this has not been a typical year for our community, acts of service like this one happen all the time at the IIHHS. Read on to learn how the IIHHS has been collaborating with community partners this year.
Dr. Joshua Pate talks Infusion, Adaptive Sports, and Fall Family Fridays. View this Madison Magazine article to learn even more about his work in providing opportunities to engage with athletes of all abilities at JMU.
The Engagement Hubs are interactive touch screens connecting students with campus events, service needs, and opportunities organized by the amount of time you are able to spend on the task (One Time and Ongoing) and by the category (Civic engagement, Community Action, On-Campus Involvement, Diversity Efforts, and Professional Development). Visit the Carrier Library lobby or the second floor of Rose Library to check them out, or visit the Ehubs to view a digital version when off-campus. Look for the big purple wall graphics that say "Be The Change."
For more information on the Engagement Hubs please visit the hubs page or contact Hayley Jenkins at jenki2hn@jmu.edu.
The Furious Flower Poetry Center had a Facebook Live Reading Series this fall, featuring the work and voices of 6 incredible Black poets. You can view these videos on their facebook page, and can visit their JMU site to learn more about their other programming.
Throughout the academic year, the CFI sends out the Teaching Toolbox to share ideas, resources, programs, practices, and distilled research related to teaching and learning.
Office of Research and Scholarship
In the most recent issue of the Research and Scholarship newsletter learn about COVID-19 adjustments, faculty grant awards, and industrial hemp research!
Educating4Democracy: The James Madison Center for Civic Engagement
Check out JMU Civic's blog to learn about 2020 election outcomes and impact.
The Beacon: Spotlighting Inclusivity at JMU
Read the Beacon to stay up to date on inclusivity efforts at JMU.
Don't miss this monthly professional development check-in with CFI! Topics so far include Diversity in HigherEd, Group Learning, Ethical Reasoning, and What JMU Libraries have to offer faculty.
JMU Civic's podcast interviews special guests to take a deep dive into issues threatening our democracy today, and features Abe Goldberg, Carah Whaley, and a rotating group of the center's Democracy Fellows. Listen with Apple Podcasts.
JMU XLabs Podcasts: Just Missing U and Narratives1
Check out JMU XLabs' two stellar podcasts on your favorite streaming app.
Readers may remember the critical community racial justice and healing work of SADAH Professor Susan Zurbigg and Community Organizer Steven Thomas from our Spring 2019 newsletter. Professor Zurbigg recently penned the forward of the the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) project's Changing the Narrative: A Visual Art Project. Zurbigg writes that TRHT "redresses the removal of African American presence and embraces the potential of inclusion through art and creative representation. (...) Visual histories and the creative arts support the living record of ourselves. They serve as the reminder that our humanity is a complex endeavor and knowing who we are as a people necessitates reflecting upon our lived experiences." Read the full report here.
This winter, consider giving back directly to families in our community. For 25 years UREC has hosted the Warm a Winter Wish program which receives wish lists of individuals and families from First Step, Mercy House and Brain Injury Connections of the Shenandoah Valley. Their wishes are hung on a tree in UREC for faculty, staff and students to fulfill. Find details about the program here.
Choose one of two ways to Give a Wish:
We've created an Engagement section within JMU Talent Development's Resource Collection, which is located on the third floor of Wine-Price. You'll find a great selection of topics covering civic engagement, community engagement and engaged learning. Do you know of a title that would make a great addition to this collection? Email us at engagement@jmu.edu or tweet a photo of the book to @JMUEngaged!
Have ideas for the next #EngagedJMU newsletter? Email us at engagement@jmu.edu or tweet us @JMUEngaged!
