CAL Student Advisory Council hosts inaugural “Day of Development”

Feb 18, 2025: The College of Arts and Letters Student Advisory Council hosted its first “Day of Development,” bringing students, alumni and faculty together for an afternoon of career readiness and networking.

An engaged historian: one alum’s journey from JMU to Capitol Hill

Feb 18, 2025: Matt Wasniewski (‘91, ‘94M), Historian of the U.S. House of Representatives, shares about his storied career and how he stays connected to JMU.

Long reign the student historians

Feb 18, 2025: A rousing competition of “Faculty vs. Student” Jeopardy ends in student victory for the second time in a row.

Making JMU a refuge

Feb 18, 2025: In 2023, JMU was designated a chapter of Every Campus a Refuge (ECAR), and now one class has started working to increase community awareness about ECAR and help local resettled refugees.

Savoring Furious Flower IV: The Worlds of Black Poetry

Feb 18, 2025: The fourth-ever Furious Flower Poetry Conference, held once a decade, was like a slow-cooked meal — rich and deeply nourishing.

From theater stage to 360° screen

Feb 18, 2025: A unique performance of a "Little Red Riding Hood" retelling brings collaborators together across campus, from the theater stage to the planetarium and even to the movie screen.

“Do it well… Do it for the right reason.”

Feb 18, 2025: “If you’re going to do something, do it well. Do it for the right reason.” These words by Whitten Maher capture his commitment and authenticity in responding to the world and its people.

SMAD racks up nine honors in 2025 BEA awards

Feb 12, 2025: Sixteen students representing all four Media Arts and Design concentrations earned recognition in the 2025 Broadcast Education Association’s Festival of Media Arts competitions.

New faculty spotlight: Leech brings branding expertise to SMAD

Feb 12, 2025: For more than a decade, Matt Leech has been designing logos and branding for businesses and organizations across Virginia and beyond. Now he's SMAD’s newest Creative Advertising professor.

Positive career outcomes

Jan 13, 2025: While the world of work has changed fundamentally, JMU graduates are fully prepared to succeed.

Study abroad: The world as our classroom

Jan 8, 2025: Opportunities to study abroad were limited for the women of Madison College, but students today enjoy plenty of options.

Celebrating the worlds of Black poetry

Jan 3, 2025: Renowned poets, emerging voices, scholars and educators gathered at JMU for Furious Flower IV.

JMU names Zimmerman dean of the College of Arts and Letters

Dec 18, 2024: Traci Zimmerman has been named dean of the College of Arts and Letters..

If this airplane could talk; JMU X-Labs students bring history to life

Dec 12, 2024: Last year, the First Air Force One Foundation posed a unique challenge to the students in JMU’s X-Labs program: come up with a plan to make First Air Force One accessible to the public. 

ENG 415 students create handmade manuscripts in project-based learning experience

Dec 10, 2024: Professor Mark Rankin’s students utilize aspects of medieval scribal culture.

Students practice statecraft, diplomacy, negotiation skills

Nov 8, 2024: From strategy sessions to decision-making, simulation delivers high-impact learning experience.

New faculty spotlight: Michelle L. Herman brings interactive design, VR/AR expertise to SMAD

Oct 13, 2024: Michelle L. Herman, SMAD's newest professor in the Interactive Design concentration, brings a vast and deep background in virtual reality and fine arts, as well as professional experience.

Video expertise, teaching makes SMAD professor a Game Changer

Oct 11, 2024: SMAD technology director and instructor John Hodges (’78) was recognized as a “Game Changer” Thursday during a JMU football game.

Inside the minds of young voters

Sep 20, 2024: Tomorrow’s leaders are striving to improve the state of American democracy.

Remembering those we’ve lost

Sep 17, 2024: Last September, we lost two precious members of the College of Arts and Letters community.

Recognizing excellence in administration

Sep 17, 2024: Rebecca White is an award-winning standout in her role within the history department.

'JMU gave me a springboard'

Sep 17, 2024: Malcolm Taylor’s (‘82) esteemed career of service and mentorship started with a chance JMU encounter.

Advancing youth justice at JMU and beyond

Sep 17, 2024: The Innovation Center for Youth Justice and Makaela Parker (‘25) are seizing opportunities to advance youth justice across the nation.

Tackling global diplomacy

Sep 17, 2024: The new College of Arts and Letters Diplomacy & Defense Lab, under the leadership of Bernie Kaussler, professor of political science, enables students to apply classroom learning to real-world problems.

Uncovering history: Archaeology at JMU

Sep 17, 2024: Anthropology Professor Dennis Blanton and his students are finding pieces of the puzzle that is human history.

Writing the fantastic, scholastic, and real

Sep 17, 2024: Sofia Samatar, associate professor of english, balances her award-winning writing career with her equally successful teaching and research.

Forging community connections

Sep 17, 2024: Karina Kline-Gabel (‘92), Assistant Dean for CAL, works to uplift student and faculty voices and cultivate a community in which everyone belongs.

Professor pens best-selling book about bookstores

Sep 13, 2024: Landing on the New York Times list “feels like a lifetime achievement.”

Collaborative leadership: JMU MPA program appoints co-directors

Sep 11, 2024: The JMU MPA program is utilizing a new leadership approach and has appointed Dr. Rob Alexander and Dr. Sombo Muzata as its directors. The directors share their thoughts on how they will move the program forward

Breeze journalists to compete for national SPJ honors

Aug 7, 2024: The student-run news organization won the "Best All-Around Student Newspaper" in the Mid-Atlantic regional Society of Professional Journalists competition.

Breeze, Breeze TV win 14 Virginia Press Association awards

Aug 5, 2024: Competing against professional news organizations across Virginia, students won 14 awards for journalism and advertising in the annual VPA contest.

JMU students engage with European policymakers

Jun 25, 2024: For the 6th consecutive year, JMU students participated in the Schuman Challenge at the Delegation of the European Union to the United States

Ethical Leadership and Professionalism from Italy to Africa

Jun 20, 2024: The U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa team shares their advice on leadership and professionalism in an ever-changing workplace with the EUPS 2024 cohort.

Santi Apostoli

Jun 20, 2024: Marisol Powell ('24) writes about her experience living in Florence and visiting the city's most ancient religious sites.

Fostering Innovation in the Middle East

Jun 20, 2024: Alexandra Wilson Tuman ('24) interviews Christina Craver ('12) about her experiences living and working in Dubai, to highlight the benefits and challenges of living and working abroad.

Letter from the Director

Jun 20, 2024: Our alumni survey speaks to how our graduates value their time in this program.

Modeling the Way with Model EU

Jun 20, 2024: Noah Buracker ('24) shares his perspective on serving as the High Representative/Vice President during the 2023 Model EUP Simulation and embracing cultural exchange and international networking.

Bridging Skies and Borders

Jun 20, 2024: EUPS alumna, Liz Hammer ('14), the Chief of Air and Space at the U.S. Embassy in London, shares her insight on professional growth and career development from across the pond.

JMU faculty partner with African universities through a fellowship

May 28, 2024: Three JMU faculty members received support from the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program to partner with African higher education institutions.

History professor awarded 4-VA Grant

May 9, 2024: Fawn-Amber Montoya was awarded a $25,000 grant to support her project “Voces: Centering the Latino/x Experience Through Pedagogy and Research.”

SMAD honors 2024 graduates and scholarship winners

May 5, 2024: SMAD doled out more than $40,000 in scholarships to incoming and returning students and honored top performers from the class of ’24, which started at JMU amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Madison Inc. cohort celebrates startup success

May 2, 2024: Showcasing student entrepreneurs and their startup ideas

Charting a new course

Apr 25, 2024: A collaborative approach enhances the 14th Annual Interdisciplinary African, African American & Diaspora Studies (AAAD) Conference.

Announcing the 2024 Public Service Awards honorees

Apr 23, 2024: Public Service Awards at James Madison University has announced the 2024 honorees, recognizing four Valley residents for their exemplary public service work.

JMU Speech Team Earns Top 20 Spot at National Competition

Apr 10, 2024: The JMU Speech Team placed 16th in the nation while competing at the American Forensic Association’s National Speech Tournament, with two students earning spots on the 16-person 2024 All-American Team.

SMAD students win silver ADDY award for local co-op's campaign

Mar 17, 2024: Creative Advertising students’ work to revamp a “stale promotion” at the food co-op, winning second place in an advertising competition.

Performing her civic duty

Mar 8, 2024: Whitney Rice ('09) used her experience in JMU's Speech Club to forge an acting career in Hollywood.

Students inspired by Smart Cities Conference in Indonesia

Feb 28, 2024: The conference united students and educators from 60 countries for workshops, lectures and cultural experiences.