September 30, 2024

Read JMC's new alumni newsletter

Read James Madison College's new newsletter for alumni.

I am pleased to introduce our new James Madison College Alumni Newsletter, a biannual publication designed to keep you connected with our college community. This initiative reflects our commitment to strengthening the bonds between our institution and its most important ambassadors — you, our esteemed alumni.

Each issue will share information about your alma mater, highlight upcoming alumni events, and showcase student and faculty achievements. You may also receive invitations to alumni events in your area and MSU Advancement & Development information throughout the year.

Your continued engagement is vital to the college’s growth and success. Through attending events, mentoring current students and serving on the alumni board, your involvement enriches the Madison community immeasurably.

Go Green!

Cameron G. Thies
Dean and MSU Foundation Professor

Earlier this semester, Dean Thies shared information on new resources and supports for Madison students and opportunities for discourse on the JMC website.

In This Issue

• Message from the JMC Alumni Association President

• Upcoming events of interest to alumni

• Recent Madison news updates

• JMC’s GivingTuesday focus: Emergency Scholarship Fund

• Fall highlights from Case Hall

• Share your personal and professional updates with the college

Message from the JMC Alumni Association President

Dear Madison Friends,

I’d like to introduce (or re-introduce) you to the James Madison College Alumni Association (JMC AA), our current Board of Directors and, most importantly, the types of work we are doing and how you can get involved. Madison now has over 10,500 alumni! The Board consists of 12 alumni members whose purpose and activities include:

1. Enhancing alumni connections and communications across the College community (i.e, among fellow alumni, faculty, staff and current students, and around events and issues);

2. Selecting people for various scholarships and awards;

3. Helping to convene and participate in career panels for students;

4. Using their experiences and connections to advise and support students in making the most of field experience and study abroad opportunities;

5. Advising the Dean and other College leaders from an alumni perspective; and

6. Amplifying and supporting efforts by the College (e.g., student recruitment and retention, fundraising / giving campaigns, Dean searches, 50^th and future College milestone anniversary celebrations, etc.).

In light of these focus areas, the Board currently has five committees: Nominations, Scholarships, Careers, Student Recruitment & Retention and Fundraising. As one would expect, the needs of the College have shifted over time and continue to evolve. Unfortunately, in recent years, the constraints of the global pandemic and the divisiveness of the U.S. political environment have taken a particular toll on our beloved residential college. In consultation with the Dean and other College faculty and staff, the Board has recognized that there is an important supportive role for alumni to play in recruiting and retaining a high-caliber and diverse student body at Madison and in helping those students prepare for and find fulfilling career opportunities as they graduate and enter the workforce. It is in light of those needs that the Board recently launched its committees around Careers, Student Recruitment & Retention and Fundraising and is identifying concrete ways to expand our support.

The Alumni Board itself is only a small group and we would be appreciative and delighted to have more alumni join us in these efforts to attract and retain students at Madison and to help them be successful afterwards. We are also looking for more ways and venues to bring alumni together for social events and networking. Some upcoming opportunities are highlighted in this newsletter, as are contact details for key leaders at the College and on the Alumni Board. If you have an interest in taking part in these types of activities and events — and perhaps planning future ones — please get in touch!

Warm regards,

Ruju Bhatt Srivastava
IR ‘93
President, JMC AA Board of Directors

View a full list of JMC Alumni Association Board members on the JMC website. Contact jmadison@msu.edu if you’d like to get involved with the Board or join a committee.

Upcoming Events

• Early Start Alumni Mixer: JMC alumni are invited to help welcome new students to our college community at the JMC Early Start Alumni Mixer on Oct. 7 at 6 p.m. at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing. Register to attend by Oct. 3. Details and registration info via Eventbrite »

• Homecoming 2024: MSU will celebrate Homecoming 2024 with a variety of activities for alumni, students, faculty, staff and community members on Oct. 14-19. Learn more via MSU Alumni »

  

• Chicago Alumni Mixer: In May 2025, James Madison College students will visit Chicago for the college's Career Exposure Program. This annual event provides Madison students with the opportunity to explore various professions, network with alumni mentors and employers, tour workplaces and discover new cities.

  Chicago-based alums interested in connecting with students during the May 2025 Program are invited to attend an Alumni Mixer on Oct. 17 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at River Roast to learn more. Chat with representatives from the college about hosting a visit to your workplace and other opportunities to offer insights on the variety of career paths possible with a JMC degree. Register to attend by Oct. 9 via Eventbrite.

• Save the Date for East Lansing Alums: Shawn Turner is a Professor of Strategic Communication at MSU, National Security Communication Analyst for CNN and a retired Marine Corps Officer. His previous positions include Director of Communication for U.S. National Intelligence, at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Assistant Press Secretary for Foreign Affairs at the National Security Council and Deputy White House Press Secretary for National Security under the Obama administration. Turner will be speak at JMC on Nov. 7 at 5:30 p.m. for the Burton L. and Rosalie P. Gerber Endowment for Ethical Leadership in Public Policy. He will discuss ethics in the broader context of policymaking and national security decision making and the intricate labyrinth of moral and ethical dilemmas that intelligence professionals face.

Alumna Megan Threats named 2024-25 Murray Scholar

The college proudly welcomes alumna Megan Threats (PTCD & CCP ’11) as the 2024-25 Stephen O. Murray Scholar in Residence.

Threats, an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan School of Information, brings a wealth of experience in community-based health informatics research to improve the health and well-being of marginalized communities. Her work focuses on addressing health and information inequities among LGBTQ+ and racial/ethnic minority groups.

The Murray Scholar in Residence program honors the legacy of JMC alumnus Stephen Murray (’72) who passed away in 2019. His longtime partner Keelung Hong gifted the university the largest single cash donation to JMC and MSU Libraries. The scholar in residence program encourages LGBTQ+ scholarship by providing academics access to archives located in the Stephen O. Murray and Keelung Hong Special Collections and by supporting engagement with the college community.

During her residency, Threats is planning a series of workshops and events titled "A Litany for Survival," which pays homage to a poem by Audre Lorde. Read more about Threats and the Murray Scholar program on the JMC website.
Join Threats on Oct. 14 at 5 p.m. in the JMC Library for the first workshop in her series, “InFormation for Intersectionality.”

More JMC News

• Florencia Rojo joined James Madison College this fall as an Assistant Professor of Social Relations and Policy. Before joining JMC, she served as an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Colorado College. Rojo’s teaching-scholarship is informed by her training as a medical sociologist and her community advocacy with Latin American immigrant families. Read a Q&A with Florencia Rojo.

• JMC is rolling out a new three-part seminar series that will enhance students' career readiness. The initiative, developed by Madison’s Career Advisor Karissa Chabot-Purchase and Field Experience Coordinator Lauren Michalak, responds to feedback from alumni and employers about the skills most valued in today's job market. A key feature of the series is its emphasis on relationship-building skills, including a virtual session that will explore how to network and an opportunity to practice those skills with Madison alumni. Read more on the JMC website.

  

• Howard Akumiah’s (IR ‘15) transformative experience through the Michigan State University Debate Team propelled his success after graduation in 2015. The program is why he chose MSU in the first place. His focus now? Building a national championship team that cultivates the next generation of entrepreneurs, critical thinkers and innovators. Read more on the JMC website.

• JMC alumnus Bill Beekman (JMCD '89) is teaching a one-credit course to Madison students this fall as part of the college’s Practitioner in Residence program. This initiative bridges the gap between academic theory and real-world practice by offering students direct access to current industry insights and applied skills from subject-matter experts. Beekman’s course, “Sports and Money: Policy Questions About Sport in America,” will look at the evolving role of sport in American society, with a particular focus on its place within American universities. Before his current role as Vice President for Strategic Initiatives at MSU, Beekman served the university as Vice President, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, and both Vice President and Secretary of the Board of Trustees.

Read more college news on the JMC website.

JMC’s GivingTuesday Focus

GivingTuesday, a global day of giving, is designed to drive an influx of generosity, citizen engagement, business and philanthropic activation and support for communities and nonprofits around the world. It’s a day where all Spartans and friends can come together and show our collective impact by supporting MSU students and campus initiatives.

On Dec. 3, 2024, Spartans will be invited to make an impact on the MSU community by donating to projects that address the needs of students and campus partners. This year, James Madison College will be seeking support for its Emergency Scholarship Fund, which provides immediate financial support to students who need assistance paying for school-related or unanticipated emergency expenses. The fund supported 34 JMC students in 2023-24 alone. Learn more about GivingTuesday at MSU and consider donating to the Emergency Scholarship Fund.

Share Your Updates With the College

Have a personal or professional news you’d like to share with the college? We’d love to hear from you. Your update may be shared in the JMC Alumni Newsletter, on the college's website or with current students who may be interested in connecting with alumni. Submit your updates via Qualtrics ».

Two JMC alums who graduated nearly four decades apart made an unexpected connection at the Traverse City Walkathon for the Michigan Parkinson Foundation on Aug. 14, 2024. Katie Alexander (PTCD ‘05), the foundation's Special Event Manager, met Doug Pretty, a member of the college's first graduating class of 1967. Pretty, having read about Alexander's Madison background in a recent foundation newsletter, wore his JMC shirt to the event in a show of Spartan spirit.

Fall Highlights from Case Hall

• Organizers of the Early Start Program were thrilled to welcome 40 Madison students to campus in mid-August. Funded through the generous gift of a Madison alumnus, Early Start serves first-generation and other incoming students who may benefit from additional support as they transition to JMC and Michigan State. This year’s program included introductory classes with JMC faculty, tours of MSU and East Lansing, and a trip to the Michigan State Capitol and the Michigan Supreme Court. 
  Donate to the Troy Calkins Student Success Fund, which supports first-generation and other incoming students who may benefit from additional support as they transition to James Madison College and Michigan State.

• Wednesdays with Madison is a new weekly event series for students held every Wednesday night in Case Hall. These weekly events offer students opportunities to connect with fellow students and JMC faculty and staff, gain academic and professional skills, and engage with topics related to diversity, equity and inclusion.

  

• Roza Otunbayeva, former President of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan and current Special Representative of the Secretary General for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, met with Madison students for a Coffee Chat in Case Hall in September. She visited as an invited guest and panelist at the Martha Brill Olcott Memorial Symposium on Russian and Eurasian Studies. Otunbayeva held an informal discussion and Q&A, discussing Afghanistan, navigating the complex politics of the United Nations and the future of global assistance work. The symposium was funded by a grant from the Templeton Religion Trust and organized by project administrator Michael Downs.

• The college unveiled a redesigned First-Year Mentor Program that pairs incoming students with upper-level peer mentors within the college. Throughout the Fall and Spring semesters, mentors will connect new students to the college community, help cultivate a sense of belonging and provide information and academic resources on campus. This year’s cohort includes 13 mentors and 26 mentees.

• The college welcomed Dr. Charles Zug, Kinder Assistant Professor of Constitutional Democracy and Assistant Professor of Political Science in the Truman School of Government and Public Affairs, for the 2024 Constitution Day Lecture on Sept. 17. He presented on “Disinformation, Demagoguery, and the First Amendment.”