Board of Directors

Jonathan Alger has served as the 6th president of James Madison University (JMU) since 2012.  Under his leadership, JMU developed a bold new vision to be “the national model of the engaged university:  engaged with ideas and the world,” and a strategic plan focused on engaged learning, community engagement, and civic engagement.  During his presidency, JMU has been newly classified as a national research university while maintaining its focus on high-quality teaching and recognition with the Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement.  New degrees and certificate programs have been developed in areas such as information technology, cyber intelligence, health professions, and education among others.  President Alger has served on many national and state governing and advisory boards, including the Council on Competitiveness, American Council on Education, and Virginia Business Higher Education Council among many others.  A nationally recognized scholar of higher education law and policy, he is a graduate of Swarthmore College and Harvard Law School.