College of Arts and Letters

Traci A. Zimmerman, Dean

Melinda J. Adams, Associate Dean

Siân E. White, Associate Dean

Shannon L. Wilson, Director of Professional Development and Engagement

Phone: (540) 568-6334
MSC: 2105
Location: Harrison Hall, Suite 1103
Website: http://www.jmu.edu/cal

Academic Units

School of Communication Studies  
Lori Britt, Director

Department of English  
Rebecca “Becky” Childs, Academic Unit Head

Department of History 
P. David Dillard, Academic Unit Head

Department of Justice Studies   
Peggy Plass, Academic Unit Head

School of Media Arts and Design  
Joe Hinshaw, Director

Department of Philosophy and Religion 
Kenneth Pearce, Academic Unit Head

Department of Political Science 
Kerry F. Crawford, Academic Unit Head

Department of Sociology and Anthropology 
Liam M. Buckley, Academic Unit Head

Department of World Languages and Cultures  
Cynthia Chalupa, Academic Unit Head

School of Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication 
Michael Smith, Director

Mission Statement

The College of Arts and Letters empowers students to become reflective lifelong learners who can address today’s social, cultural, and political challenges through inclusive awareness, creative thinking, problem solving, communication, and responsive leadership. 

Vision

To be a champion for liberal arts education, empowered locally and engaged globally.

Values

Stewardship: The College of Arts and Letters is committed to the responsible, ethical, equitable, and transparent use of our time and our financial, scholastic, environmental, and human resources.

Collaboration: The College of Arts and Letters embraces the power and benefits of working together to achieve results and recognizes that only through collaborative governance and shared decision-making among leadership, faculty, and staff will it realize its full potential.

Faculty and Staff Development: The College of Arts and Letters invests in our employees’ wellbeing and life-long learning. The College prioritizes professional development and cultivates work environments in which faculty and staff flourish both professionally and personally.

Equity: The College of Arts and Letters commits to maintaining a fair and just environment where all are welcome, respected, and able to contribute to the academic experience.

Integrity: The College of Arts and Letters holds its leadership, its faculty, and its staff to the highest standards of honesty, ethical behavior, and mutual respect and to full accountability in decision making.

Shared Governance: The College of Arts and Letters upholds its commitment to shared governance through inclusive participation in planning and decision-making and meaningful accountability that fosters a climate of mutual trust.

Academic Excellence: The College of Arts and Letters promotes high standards in teaching and research, upholds academic freedom and academic integrity for faculty and students, and challenges students to think and create in original and complex ways.

Majors and Minors

Students may select from a broad spectrum of major and minor programs in the seven departments and three schools. Information about these programs may be found on the “Majors and Programs” tab of the College of Arts and Letters website.

Cross Disciplinary Activities

In addition to departmental majors and minors, the college offers a wide array of interdepartmental minors, pre-professional programs, general education courses, annual events and supporting services, some of which reach out to the regional community. Information about these programs may be found on the “Majors and Programs” tab of the College of Arts and Letters website.

Centers and Institutes

African, African American, and Diaspora (AAAD) Studies Center

The African, African American, and Diaspora (AAAD) Studies Center provides interdisciplinary knowledges, programming and initiatives related to the peoples, cultures and institutions of Africa and the African Diaspora. Each year, the center hosts the Annual African, African American, and Diaspora Studies Interdisciplinary Conference, which welcomes scholars across the world.

The American Political Reform & Innovation Lab (APRILab)

The American Political Reform & Innovation Lab (APRILab) is a nonpartisan, civic- and community-engaged political science and data science research lab dedicated to institutional political reform.

Furious Flower Poetry Center

Lauren Alleyne, Executive Director
Phone: (540) 568-8883          
Email: alleynlx@jmu.edu

The nation’s first academic center for Black poetry, the Furious Flower Poetry Center is committed to ensuring the visibility, inclusion and critical consideration of Black poets in American letters, as well as in the whole range of educational curricula. Our programming seeks to cultivate an appreciation for poetry among students of all levels—from elementary to graduate school and beyond. In addition, Furious Flower seeks to support and promote Black poets at all stages of their careers and to preserve the history of Black poets for future generations.

Innovation Center for Youth Justice

Rita Poteyeva, Director
Phone: (540) 568-7124         
Email: poteyemx@jmu.edu

The ICYJ is a partnership between James Madison University and the RFK National Resource Center for Juvenile Justice. Our shared mission and goals include national and international leadership for positive innovation in policy and practice in youth justice systems.Institute for Constructive Advocacy and Dialogue

Lori Britt, Co-Director
Phone: (540) 568-5028         
Email: brittll@jmu.edu

Rob Alexander, Co-Director
Phone: (540) 568-3771         
Email: alexanrw@jmu.edu

ICAD designs and guides conversations that help communities think together productively and use dialogue and deliberation across differences to address the challenges and opportunities of civic life.Logic and Reasoning Institute

William Knorpp, Director
Phone: (540) 568-6394         
Email: knorppwm@jmu.edu

The Logic and Reasoning Institute promotes the interdisciplinary study of logic and reasoning at James Madison University. The LRI sponsors and encourages coursework and research, as well as promoting the teaching and application of logic across the university.

The Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence

Taimi Castle, Director
Phone: (540) 568-5929        
Email: castletl@jmu.edu

The Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence serves as a local and global hub to promote the understanding of justice through education, scholarship and engagement.

Center for Public Broadcasting/WMRA-WEMC

Matt Bingay, Director
Phone: (540) 568-6221
Email: wmra@jmu.edu
Website: http://www.wmra.org

The Center for Public Broadcasting’s mission is to inform, connect and engage communities through journalism, broadcasting and outreach. It serves over 50,000 listeners in the Shenandoah Valley, Charlottesville and Farmville areas.

The center comprises a network of non-commercial public radio stations, serving Harrisonburg at 90.7 FM, Charlottesville at 103.5 FM, Lexington at 89.9 FM and Winchester at 94.5 FM, and one standalone station, WEMC, serving Harrisonburg at 91.7 FM. The WMRA network stations are licensed to the James Madison University Board of Visitors. WEMC is licensed to Eastern Mennonite University, but is operated entirely by the center. Much of WMRA’s programming is rebroadcast by WMLU 91.3 FM, the station owned by Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia. WMRA and WEMC are members of National Public Radio, and are affiliated with Public Radio International and American Public Media. The stations broadcast 24 hours per day year-round, offering extensive in-depth news coverage and classical, folk, blues and jazz music. The center also operates Valley Voice Radio Reading Service for the print-impaired. Listeners and local businesses contribute nearly three-quarters of the center’s annual budget.

Annual Events

CAL Career Readiness Conference

Shannon Wilson, Director
Phone: (540) 568-8904
Email: wilso4sl@jmu.edu

The College of Arts and Letters Career Readiness Conference is a multi-day event open to CAL students and features JMU alumni from all CAL majors discussing the wide range of career opportunities available to graduates with a liberal arts degree. The program of alumni panels, career-readiness workshops and networking opportunities provides an opportunity to learn more about the transition from college to post-graduate life. The event cultivates and strengthens relationships among alumni, current students, and CAL faculty and staff.

Madison Writing Awards

Madison Writing Awards (MWA) is a university-wide biennial competition that celebrates the importance of writing and sophisticated rhetorical practice across all undergraduate academic programs. Winners are recognized at a spring awards reception and the top submissions receive generous cash prizes. These awards reflect the commitment of the School of Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication and the College of Arts and Letters to promote cross-disciplinary dialogue and engagement as well as to acknowledge the power of writing in all its forms and contexts.

JMU Arts & Letters Undergraduate Research Conference

Melinda Adams
Phone: (540) 568-3377           
Email: adams2mj@jmu.edu, CAL_UGRC@jmu.edu

The JMU Arts & Letters Undergraduate Research Conference features outstanding research and/or creative works by undergraduates working in any humanities, social science, or communication discipline. Held every spring, it attracts students from across the eastern United States and has become one of the largest humanities and social science undergraduate research conferences in the region.