Academic Affairs

Phone: (540) 568-3429
Academic Affairs Website

Mission Statement

We are an inclusive academic community committed to excellence in the pursuit and dissemination of knowledge. We advance intellectual and creative discovery through transformative learning experiences that positively impact our lives and communities.

R2/National University Status Statement

As an R2 institution, JMU is committed to creating and sustaining an environment where faculty can invest deeply in their identities as teachers, scholars and creatives. As teacher-scholars, we embrace discovery and exploration across disciplines and borders in support of real-world impact.

JMU offers our faculty and staff the flexibility to grow and evolve across a career, and we understand that student-centered teaching, research and service are core to our educational mission. They can be integrated and should be celebrated. As we grow into the R2 space, our mission and vision remain the same, but opportunities expand as we reimagine the ways our work supports teaching, scholarship, creative activity and service. 

• Teaching: We value many forms of teaching that intersect with–and are enhanced by–our research, scholarship and creative activity. Inclusive high-impact pedagogies bolster student learning and critical thinking with respect to disciplinary content, as well as supplement skills development and workforce readiness.
• Scholarship/Creative Activity: We involve students at all levels in scholarship and creative activity in collaboration with JMU faculty and staff. We value all forms of research and creative activity, including community-driven and interdisciplinary scholarship that responds to the needs of our community, commonwealth and beyond.
• Service: Our service contributes to the operation of our institution and the well-being of its people. We also share academic expertise with organizations and community partners beyond the university and contribute to the betterment of our disciplines and fields.

Shared Governance Statement

Shared governance is a form of governance in higher education through which core institutional stakeholders—primarily administrative leadership, faculty, and governing boards—work together to make decisions that impact the institution. Facilitated by structures and processes, shared governance ensures that those with the most relevant expertise have a primary decision-making role in their respective areas.

Shared governance and academic freedom are inextricably linked and essential for fulfilling JMU’s academic mission. Bound by the norms of honesty, integrity, and responsibility, academic freedom is the principle that scholars and educators can teach, research, and express ideas related to their scholarly expertise without censorship or fear of retribution. Academic freedom also protects the right of a faculty member to speak freely when participating in institutional governance, as well as to speak freely as a citizen. Shared governance at JMU rests on a commitment to transparent and meaningful collaboration in a framework of academic freedom.

In the context of shared governance, faculty, administrators, and board members have the following primary responsibilities:

• Administrative Leadership: setting and carrying out institutional vision, overseeing financial health and viability, and leading strategic planning.
• Faculty: establishing and maintaining academic quality and responsibility, including teaching, curriculum, scholarship and creative inquiry, and setting and upholding standards in their disciplines.
• Governing Board: hiring/supervising the president, fiduciary oversight, and accountability for fulfilling institutional mission.