Being The Change

S4 E8: Ole School and the Ghana Experience

Hear how the Ole School Alumni Scholarship Group, which provides mentorship and career support to students, teamed up with JMU’s Summer Abroad Program in Ghana to offer a transformative international experience.

S4 E7: Leadership & Community Engagement

Discover what's behind JMU's incredible distinction as one of only nine universities nationally to receive both the Leadership for Public Purpose and Community Engagement classifications from the Carnegie Commission.
 

S4 E6: JMU's New Directions

Catch up on all the exciting progress being made in JMU's four-phased strategic planning process, which is aimed directly at elevating our already stellar student experience, academic octane and national prominence.

S4 E5: Launchpad to Leadership

With its historic first-place finish at the 2025 NASA Student Launch Challenge — beating teams from MIT, Virginia Tech and other top engineering schools — JMU Engineering has arrived on the national stage. Hear how the program’s unique approach to engineering education produces graduates who lead in the field. 

S4 E4: Flavors From Abroad

On the occasion of Study Abroad Week at JMU, hear how the Center for Global Engagement and University Recreation have teamed up to give students the opportunity to learn how to cook recipes from around the world.

S4 E3: The Local Arts Community

The local art scene is burgeoning like never before, and it's bringing campus and community closer together through shared purpose. Hear what's going on and who's behind making it go. 

S4 E2: Finding Mindfulness

Because good mental health greatly enables learning, JMU is constantly offering new programs to help students, faculty and staff find pathways to peace. In this episode, we spotlight one such program, the Serenity Center, which was founded by Dr. Mark Gabriele (’95), a neuroscientist.

S4 E1: Discovery of a Lifetime

Come along on a fabulous journey of discovery with JMU anthropologist Dr. Dennis Blanton and two of his former archaeology field-school students, Kyle Mitchell (’24) and Grace Gordon (’22), as they describe a significant find involving one of North America's earliest explorers.

S3 E16: The Path to the Playoff

As the Dukes prepare to take on Oregon in the first round of the 2025 College Football Playoff, Athletic Director Matt Roan reflects on JMU’s culture of winning, which includes becoming the first program from Virginia to make the CFP. 

S3 E15: Financial Literacy

Head of Financial Aid Brad Barnett also teaches courses on financial literacy. Hear from him and one of his students, senior Jameson Glynn, on why this aspect of wellness is so important and how students can get there.