News & Notes

(Below): JMU historian Meg Mulrooney welcomes attendees. (Right): Harrisonburg Mayor Deanna Reed (fourth from right) and the Algers had front-row seats for the Sept. 24, 2021, ceremony on the Quad. (Left): Sheary Darcus Johnson (‘70, ‘74M), in all pink, Madison’s first Black student and graduate, with family and friends. (Above): JMU professors Alexander and Joanne V. Gabbin with their new plaques. (Right): Descendants of Robert Walker Lee.

Grant provides 300-plus new slots in Virginia

JMU received a $3.6 million grant from the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation to increase access to early education in cities and counties in Virginia. The grant will provide 314 preschool slots for 3- and 4-year-olds currently facing barriers to formal school entry, at no cost to families. “This is an historic time for our community to create equitable access to highquality early childhood education for all children and families across the commonwealth,” said Maryam Sharifian, director of early childhood initiatives at JMU. Sharifian oversees the project, with the support of coordinators Stacey

Bosserman and Yvonne Frazier. The one-year grant from VECF builds on existing efforts to increase access to high-quality preschool through public-private partnerships. JMU early childhood initiatives include projects and grants to address racial inequity, lack of access, increasing quality, teacher training, leadership and family engagement.

Twenty-three child care providers are currently participating in the effort, which will cover Augusta, Rockingham, Page, Shenandoah and Rappahannock counties as well as the cities of Harrisonburg, Staunton, Waynesboro and Winchester.

JMU has been working closely with a network of community partners, including local public school systems, United Way of Staunton-Augusta-Waynesboro, Transport Services, the Child Learning Center, Virginia Quality and Smart Beginnings Greater Harrisonburg, to connect child care providers with eligible families and to ensure the grant reaches those with the greatest need.

(Above, L-R): Maryam Sharifian, Stacey Bosserman and Yvonne Frazier

— Ginny Cramer

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded JMU Libraries and the Furious Flower Poetry Center $2 million to expand the digital future of the nation’s first academic center devoted to Black poetry. This grant will support the center’s internationally recognized leadership and provide for archival description, digital preservation and global access to an extensive archive of poetry and spoken-word performance videos held by Special Collections. “It is really gratifying to know that this grant from the Mellon Foundation will help us to nurture, recognize and support Black poets by building a sustainable digital framework for the Furious Flower archive,” said Joanne V. Gabbin, Furious Flower executive director.

Virginia’s next attorney general is proud of his Cuban-American heritage, proud of his record of public service and proud to be a JMU Duke.

Jason Miyares (’98), a Republican who defeated Democratic incumbent Mark Herring in the Nov. 2 election, will be sworn in as the state’s first Latino attorney general on Jan. 15.

A former commonwealth’s attorney and state delegate from Virginia Beach, Virginia, Miyares said he will be impartial in upholding the law.

“I want to be an attorney general who will call balls and strikes,” he said, adding, “My allegiance will be to the U.S. Constitution, the Virginia Constitution and the people of Virginia.”

Miyares said he “loved every minute” of his Madison Experience. He studied business administration and took a handful of political science classes. He also served as chair of the ColJason Miyares (’98) lege Republicans and was active in the campus faith community, including InterVarsity and Cru.

But it was the relationships Miyares built at JMU that have stayed with him. “I would not be the attorney generalelect if it wasn’t for the relationships that I built at JMU,” he said. Two of his closest political advisers during his campaign were fellow Dukes Gary Marx (’97) and Dave Rexrode (’01).

As attorney general, Miyares has promised to be a voice for victims and to crack down on human trafficking.

He will be the first Duke to hold the office in Virginia and the highestranking state government official in the university’s history. — Jim Heffernan (’96, ’17M)

Tthe jmu mineral museum re-opened its doors and offered the public a first look at the extraordinary collection of mineral specimens in the Peter L. Via Collection. Very few people had seen the collection, which, though well-known within the mineralogy community, was previously privately held.

“For those who are familiar with the science of mineralogy, you will see many things of interest; for those of you not so heavily invested in mineralogy, you will see beauty, color, shape that you never dreamed possible coming from the earth,” said Lance Kearns, museum curator and retired JMU geology professor. The Peter L. Via Collection, which has 378 individual specimens from 24 states and 39 countries, is one of four collections on display at the Mineral Museum. Overall, the museum holds more than 1,770 cataloged specimens from five different collections, including Via’s. It is home to the definitive Virginia Mineral Collection. Whether drawn by the crystallography and assemblages or the beauty of the gems, visitors can experience the collection in the new, larger museum space.

“This year marks 45 years since the opening of the Mineral Museum. In that time, it has become an important destination for serious mineral enthusiasts and inspiration for the curious. We hope that everyone will come experience the wonder of this collection,” JMU President Jonathan R. Alger said. Through the years, the museum has worked closely with and been supported by active mineralogy societies, including the Shenandoah Valley Gem and Mineral Society, the Gem and Mineral Society of Lynchburg, the Roanoke Valley Mineral and Gem Society, The Micro-mineralogist of the National Capital Area, the Mineralogical Society of the District of Columbia, the Northern Virginia Mineral Club, the Gem, Lapidary and Mineral Society of Montgomery County, Maryland, and the Southern Maryland Mineral Club. Admission to the museum is free. Information on planning a visit, including location, parking and tours, can be found at Cindy and Lance Kearns (seated, front) led the celebration at the Oct. https://j.mu/minerals. 29, 2021, grand re-opening of the museum. — Ginny Cramer

The JMU Mineral Museum now houses the Peter L. Via Collection, featuring 378 specimens from 24 states and 39 countries.