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Valley of the entrepreneurs
The Shenandoah Valley has long been recognized as fertile ground for agricultural endeavors, but it’s now being seeded to grow an entirely different kind of crop — entrepreneurs. During the past few years, local and regional governmental bodies, nonprofits, and private and educational organizations in the valley have been coordinating efforts to create an entrepreneurial […]
Return on investment
Christina Fleming embarked upon a career in marketing with the goal of getting an executive MBA degree, but other commitments kept getting in the way. She got married, had two children and moved up the corporate ladder for 26 years, rising to chief marketing officer at Blackboard Inc., a global education technology company that was […]
JMU fundraising campaign brings in $251M
James Madison University‘s second comprehensive fundraising campaign, Unleashed, raised more than $251 million, the Harrisonburg university announced Friday. The eight-year fundraising campaign, which exceeded its $200 million goal in March 2021, ended June 30. It began with an advanced gift phase in July 2014 before JMU announced it publicly in October 2018. Unleashed attracted 63,976 [&hel[...]
JMU hires first DEI VP
James Madison University has named Malika Carter its inaugural vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion and chief diversity officer, the university announced Monday. Carter will start Aug. 25. “This appointment is a great honor,” Carter said in a statement. “JMU is well positioned to become, in the field of inclusion, a lead institution that […]
JMU student and alumni entrepreneurs get boost from program
The James Madison University Bluestone Seed Fund announced Monday that it would provide three startup companies with $5,000 each in its inaugural investment cycle. The Gilliam Center for Entrepreneurship manages the donor-backed fund. The three chosen startups are Gewd Botanicals, Handicans and Tow Ninja. Malique Middleton, a 2021 graduate, founded Gewd Botanicals, a shop that […]
JMU SVP of administration and finance announces retirement
Charlie King, James Madison University‘s senior vice president of administration and finance for the past 25 years, has announced he will retire in December, the university said Monday. “On behalf of the entire university community, I congratulate Charlie on his retirement and share deep appreciation for the foundation he has laid, his support and his […]
JMU entrepreneurship center hires new director
James Madison University announced Thursday that Suzanne Bergmeister has been named the next executive director of its Gilliam Center for Entrepreneurship. She comes from the University of Louisville’s Forcht Center for Entrepreneurship in Kentucky, where she has been the full-time entrepreneur in residence for the past 15 years and assistant director for four. Bergmeister, who […]
Virginia public colleges can mandate COVID vaccines, Va. AG says
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia colleges are beginning to announce mandatory fall COVID-19 vaccine policies following the state attorney general’s opinion that higher education institutes can require the vaccine. Virginia public colleges and universities can mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for faculty and students returning to campus this fall, Attorney General Mark Herring stated in late April.[...]
Changing course
For the first time, James Madison University‘s College of Business offered spring 2020 students in its MBA program an elective course focused specifically on diversity. By the end of the semester, JMU had hired the course’s instructor, visiting professor Demetria Henderson, as the business school’s director of diversity, equity and inclusion. The appointment was a […]
Rooms to grow
Weaving through the sea of students walking to class and working on the floor in groups, the business faculty at James Madison University‘s Zane Showker Hall had a running joke: Getting to their offices each day was akin to an Indiana Jones adventure. It wasn’t that Showker Hall wasn’t a nice place; it was just […]
Education
MAKOLA M. ABDULLAH PRESIDENT, VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY, PETERSBURG One of the state’s two land-grant universities, Virginia State was originally chartered in 1882 as the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute. From an initial class of 126, the Petersburg campus now has 4,385 undergraduate and graduate students. Since arriving in 2016 from his role as provost and […]
More college students head into quarantine as COVID-19 cases rise
RICHMOND — As more universities open, they’re collecting and releasing COVID-19 data and grappling with contingency plans for those who contract the disease. As of Thursday evening, universities across Virginia were reporting that more than 550 students, staff and faculty members have tested positive for COVID-19 since schools reopened two weeks ago, according to the […]
