In This Issue

• JMC will launch a new Academy for Civic Education in Summer 2026

• Giving Tuesday: Support scholarships for JMC students

• College and faculty news

• Recent alumni engagement events

• JMC’s holiday pop-up shop

• Call for Nominations: JMC Alumni Awards

• Alumni notes

JMC Academy for Civic Education

James Madison College has been awarded a $1.3 million federal grant to establish summer programs for Michigan high school students and teachers exploring America’s founding principles. The initiative will launch as the nation prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence next year.

The three-year grant will fund the James Madison College Academy for Civic Education (ACE), offering intensive seminars built around primary sources including the Declaration, the Constitution, Federalist Papers and pivotal speeches that have shaped American democracy.

Beginning summer 2026, 20-25 rising high school seniors from across Michigan will spend two weeks immersed in college-level seminars led by JMC faculty, focused on primary texts in the American political tradition.

A separate week-long program for teachers will address how to effectively incorporate primary sources into classroom teaching and combine close reading of foundational texts with practical pedagogy sessions. The program will rotate locations across Michigan — tentatively Detroit, Grand Rapids and northern Michigan — to reach educators statewide.

Congratulations to Profs. Tobin Craig (project lead), Eric Petrie, Ben Lorch, Jordan Cash and Brianne Wolf on their work securing the grant.

Read more about the Academy for Civic Education on JMC’s website. Interested in sharing this news with high school students and teachers? Share your contact information to receive application information when it’s available in early 2026.

Help support the JMC-ACE program by giving online via MSU.

Giving Tuesday Spotlight

Dec. 2 is Giving Tuesday, a global day of giving that takes place on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. This year, James Madison College is raising funds for Experiential Learning Scholarships for students:

• Every year, roughly one-third of JMC students study abroad or participate in an internship for credit. These opportunities are central to the Madison education and allow students to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom to real-world settings.

• Experiential Learning Scholarships help ensure that all students can participate in these critical opportunities, regardless of their financial backgrounds.

• In 2025, we awarded 66 experiential learning scholarships to JMC students. In 2026, we want to do even more.

• Donations made on Giving Tuesday will directly support students in need and help cover travel, tuition and other expenses.

Donate to JMC’s Experiential Learning Scholarship fund now:

The Power of First-Time Giving: Last year, 74 people made their very first gifts to JMC. Together, their donations — ranging from just $5 to $5,000 — raised nearly $12,000 for JMC. Learn more about the power of small, first-time gifts in the video below:

Interested in learning more about how you can support James Madison and invest in our future leaders. Contact Joseph Agosta at agostaj@msu.edu.

More College News

• JMC Experiential Learning: Every year, roughly 150 JMC students complete internships for credit. Read about the experiences of two Madison students — one in Michigan and another in South Africa — who worked in research and public policy.

• A new book co-edited by Prof. Sejuti Das Gupta brings together economists, political scientists, sociologists and geographers to explore why widening political representation in India has coincided with deepening economic inequality.

• In November, MC 201 students visited the Broad Art Museum to view the Mekong Voices exhibit, co-curated by JMC Prof. Amanda Flaim. This exhibition was born out of the Mekong Culture WELL project, an internationally collaborative and multilingual initiative at MSU that foregrounds cultural and interdisciplinary dimensions of Water, Ecologies, Land, and Livelihoods (WELL) transformations across Mainland Southeast Asia.

Alumni Engagement at JMC

• During Homecoming week, JMC and the MSU College of Social Science hosted a Scholarship Luncheon where students connected with alumni who helped make their scholarships possible. Madison students had the opportunity to meet with Anna and Dan Oginsky (PTCD), who support scholarships for incoming students at the college.

• During JMC's Lansing Career Exposure Program, current students had the chance to meet with Madisonians working in a variety of roles in the Michigan Legislature. Thank you to all of the JMC alumni who help support this fall's program.

• Last week, five JMC alumni had the opportunity to return to where their Madison journeys began: MC 201. Kara Cyr (Socio Economic Policy), Matthew Rappe (IR), Rachael Soren (SRP), Sahar Mahmood (CCP) and Reginald Pacis (PTCD) shared insights into their career paths working and answered questions about citizenship, this year's MC 201 focus.

• Earlier this semester, JMC Student Senate’s PTCD Caucus hosted an alumni panel focused on careers in the legal field. Participants included Tom Boyd (Ethnic), Cole Lussier (PTCD), Christopher Desmond (PTCD) and Mike Brown (JMCD).

JMC Holiday Pop-Up Shop

Looking for JMC merch? Order online from our mini pop-up shop, which is open now until Nov. 27. Browse items online via Fabricated Customs.

Call for Nominations: Alumni Awards

James Madison College's Alumni Board of Directors is currently seeking nominations for its two annual awards that honor distinguished alumni and friends of the college. The Distinguished Alumni and Honorary Alumni awards celebrate individuals who have significantly contributed to the college. Nominations (via Google Forms) are due Dec. 15.

Connect with the JMC Alumni Association
Interested in connecting with the James Madison College Alumni Association and supporting alumni engagement initiatives? The Board of Directors invites JMC alums to share their information via Google Forms.

Alumni Notes

Emma Baran (SRP ‘24) has moved to Washington, D.C., and serves as a Staff Assistant for U.S. Senator Gary Peters.

Kitson Dong (IR & Accounting ‘22) is a senior auditor at Ernst & Young, an international accounting firm in Detroit.

Christopher Fernandez (PE ‘93) started a new company, Agentic Connect, focused on individuals in the labor market realizing direct benefit from a human-centered AI approach.

Lisa Hooper Heileman (Urban ‘86) has begun her 7th season as a Christmas performer. Serving the Thunder Bay region, Heileman assists the Salvation Army and many charities to bring hope and cheer to the community. Working in Metro Detroit, Heileman shows live reindeer and educates the public about their attributes.

Garrett Jones (PTCD ‘17) earned his PhD in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison after defending his dissertation, “The Implied Powers Presidency: Outside but not Against the Law.” He is now a postdoctoral fellow at the Thomas Jefferson Center at the University of Texas at Austin.

Joshua Lake (SRP ‘24), a MSU Political Science Master of Public Policy student, was awarded the Ira Polley Memorial Scholarship. Students performing at the highest level receive the award.

Diana Maurer (IR ‘88) was selected as a Fellow at the National Academy of Public Administration. She is currently a Director of Defense Issues at the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Jessica Newman (SRP ‘08) was recently appointed as a trustee to the Ferndale School Board.

Alex Plum (IR, PTCD, PE ‘08) testified to the Michigan Senate Committee on Appropriations on the impact of proposed Medicaid cuts to schools and community health centers and adolescent health outcomes. Plum is the CEO of Michigan’s largest adolescent health center.

Caleb Rose (PTCD ‘25) joined the new cohort of Humanities at Hertog Fellows. Only 60 fellows were selected worldwide.

Amanda Sloat (PTCD ‘97) started a new role as Professor of Practice in International Relations at IE University in Madrid, Spain. She also co-launched a new podcast called Power and Purpose, available on Spotify, Amazon Music, and Apple Podcasts. Listen to a recent episode on ie.edu featuring Bridget Brink, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, who spoke with JMC students in Case Hall on Nov. 11.

Share great news about yourself or a fellow JMC alum.

Join the JMC Alumni LinkedIn group.

Donate to James Madison College.

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