The James Madison University Board of Visitors met Friday, January 18, 2013, in the Board Room of Madison’s Festival  Conference and Student Center.

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

Approved the September 28, 2012 BOV meeting minutes;

• Approved committee reports from Athletics, Audit, Development, Education & Student Life, and Finance & Physical Development;
• Received the President’s Report presented by Mr. Jonathan Alger;
• Received a Strategic Planning Update presented by:
  • Dr. Mark Warner, Senior Vice President for Student Affairs & University Planning
  • Dr. Brian Charette, Associate Vice President for University Planning;
• Received a presentation on Disruptive Technologies:  Curriculum Delivery presented by:
  • Dr. Jerry Benson, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
  • Dr. Teresa Gonzalez, Vice Provost
  • Ms. Sarah Cheverton, Director, Center for Instructional Technology
  • Dr. Carol Hurney, Director for Faculty Innovation;
• Received a presentation on Proposed Summer 2013 Tuition and Fees presented by:
  • Mr. Charles King, Senior Vice President for Administration & Finance;
• Received the Governor’s 2013-14 Budget Update presented by:
  • Mr. Charles King, Senior Vice President for Administration & Finance;
• Received a Presidential Inauguration Update, presented by:
  • Mr. Joseph Funkhouser, JMU BOV Rector
• Actions taken following Closed Session:
  • Mr. Nick Langridge has been named vice president for University Advancement
  • Approved the purchase of real property at 45 East Fairview Avenue for $345,000

Was told by President Jonathan Alger:

• Listening Tour Update:
  • Dozens of meetings on and off campus, including all the colleges and other academic and administrative units, student leaders and organizations, Parents Council, academic advisory groups, faculty emeriti, etc.
  • Visits all around VA, CA (Bay area), Charlotte, Dallas, Philadelphia
  • Special thanks to hosts at home events (Hollands, Roberts, Leeolous, Smiths)
  • Hundreds of comments, shared with Madison Future Commission (strategic planning process)
  • More meetings are planned for this spring (DC, Baltimore, Hampton Roads, Charlottesville, Tampa, NYC)
  • Feedback from each event is shared on the website (see https://www.jmu.edu/whymadison/ )
  • The university is reviewing and organizing the feedback, and some key themes are consistent (e.g., importance of faculty-student interaction; public service/civic engagement; continued growth of national reputation; need for more private funding; need for competitive faculty compensation and support)
  • The Listening Tour events are helping us set strategic planning and fundraising priorities;
• Task Forces at Work
  • Madison Future Commission (strategic planning)
  • Faculty and staff compensation
  • Diversity (faculty, staff, and student issues)
  • Support of junior faculty;
• Ongoing Academic Leadership Searches
  • College of Business Dean
  • Next year:  Deans for newly configured colleges (Health and Behavioral Studies; Integrated Science and Engineering)
  • Vice Provost for Research;
• Institutional Accreditation
  • SACSCOC 10-year review site visit is coming in April 2013
  • Preliminary report has been received and reviewed internally
  • At December meeting in Dallas, JMU was featured prominently (and recognized for its strength in assessment)
  • Site visit will focus on the Quality Enhancement Plan – Madison Collaborative:  Ethical Reasoning in Action
  • BOV members may be called upon for interviews;=
• December 2012 Commencement
  • Degrees conferred on 648 undergraduates, 127 master’s, 3 educational specialist and 4 doctoral students
  • Featured speaker was Justin Constantine (Class of ’92, Iraq War veteran);
• General Assembly
  • 2013 General Assembly Session began on January 9 (a full report was presented by Mr. Charles King, Senior Vice President for Administration & Finance);
• Admissions/Enrollment Outlook
  • Early Action applications continue to go up – up by 23 percent over last year
  • Hurricane Sandy is a factor in the increase as we extended the deadline for those affected, and we believe prospective students took us up on the extension
  • There is a trend for out-of-state applicants to apply early rather than regular decision (other universities have seen this as well, probably due to the non-binding nature)
  • Steady increase in the academic quality in early applications;
• Momentum in Fundraising
  • Increases in Annual Giving, Individual Major Gifts, and Organizational Gifts with additional various gift conversations underway
  • Templeton Foundation gift – Project Title:  Test of Rational Thinking (Dr. Robin Anderson and Dr. Richard West, graduate psychology)
  • Other significant gifts to academics and athletics;
• JMU Recognitions
  • Top Fulbright ‘Producer’:  Two Fulbright professors in 2012-13 (Dr. Anthony Tongen, mathematics and statistics; Dr. Sang Yoon, art, design and art history)
  • National leader in Study Abroad (second nationally among similar institutions)
  • Debate Team (ranked #3 and #5 out of 127 schools in the category)
  • Best Values in Public Colleges for 2013 (#20)
  • One of 5 regional universities in the South that operate most efficiently (US News & World Report);
• JMU’s Relay for Liff
  • Won national and regional awards:
  • South Atlantic Division Awards
    • #1 Top Fundraising Relay Team:  Duke Royale (Relay Exec) -- $46,452
    • Marketing Award (best use of social media and our website to promote our events, meetings, and fundraisers):  Relay for Life of JMU
    • #3 Top Individual Fundraiser Award:  Tina Magee -- $10,800
    • National Relay for Life Awards
    • #1 Nationwide Collegiate Per Capita Award (15,000-24,999 students) -- $13.04
    • Nationwide Youth Team of Excellence Award:  Duke Royale (Relay Exec) -- $46,452 (average of $1,601 per team member).