Completed Event: Women's Soccer at Troy on September 27, 2025 , Tie , 0, to, 0
WSOC
Final
James Madison
0
at Troy
0
James Madison University | Official Athletics Site
Bourne Dialogue - Dukes Lead Endowment
10/2/2019 8:59:00 AM | Administration
JMU Nation,
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Recently I traveled to New York with other university representatives as part of the Unleashed tour, promoting the university's comprehensive campaign. Several components of this campaign relate to Athletics, including the establishment of an endowment for the Dukes Lead program.
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I speak frequently about our vision to be the NCAA model of the student-athlete experience and the holistic approach that we take to Athletics at James Madison. My counterpart at Seattle University offered great perspective in a piece last week, highlighted by her statement that student-athletes will emerge from their experience as a collegiate athlete as a different person than they were. This impact can't be understated.
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This is where the JMU Athletics Student-Athlete Leadership Development Program, Dukes Lead, Â can be so impactful at JMU. Many fans and media look at wins and losses. Often coaches are evaluated based solely upon results on the field and opinions of athletes are formulated solely upon their abilities exhibited in competition. This does a disservice to the importance of the individual as a human being. Everyone has a place and a purpose. Everyone brings value. We are blessed at James Madison to win on a high level, but we win because of the culture, the structure of support and the quality of the people involved, not because of superior athletic ability or strategy.
Â
Unfair criticism can come when an athlete makes a mistake in competition, but we know how hard that individual works behind the scenes – the hours they pour into training and preparation, the academic rigors of an institution like JMU, the time they give to work in our community or mentoring youth, the constant time management, formulating healthy eating and sleeping habits, caring for their mental health, navigating the ups and downs of everyday life – the list goes on. These factors, not athletic prowess, will make them leaders in life.
Â
The Dukes Lead program equips our student-athletes with the tools to be leaders in life. We help them with career development via 1-on-1 staff guidance, career coaching, internship placement and facilitating interaction with employers and mentors. We offer workshops on a variety of topics for individual growth, focusing on the pillars of life skills, leadership, personal development and professional development. We facilitate civic engagement by helping student-athletes find ways to get involved in our community. Last year, this led to a department record of 5,765 recorded hours of giving back. The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) offers the opportunity to be directly involved now as a leader in our athletic department or on a conference or national level, such as with Alicia Cooperman currently serving as a national SAAC rep. We also have a future goal of facilitating increased international experiences, starting with a class being offered next semester giving student-athletes the chance to go to Ireland over Spring Break.https://www.jmu.edu/global/abroad/programs/jmu-ireland-dublin-student-athletes.shtml
Â
These are important opportunities for our student-athletes. This is where I believe the NCAA collegiate model can continue to thrive.
Â
A few years back, the NCAA issued a one-time financial appropriation to institutions to support student-athlete initiatives. We invested much of this as seed money for the establishment of an endowment to support the Dukes Lead program. Now, in conjunction with the Unleashed comprehensive campaign, I invite you to invest in our student-athletes by supporting the Student-Athlete Leadership Development Endowment. One of the Athletics campaign goals is to grow the Leadership Endowment to $5 million. We currently have over $1.5 million committed from 15 supporters. We are calling you to join in and help invest in the true future of our student-athletes. All monetary gifts are appreciated and make an impact. Donors who commit to $25,000 over five years will be in our Leadership Program's Athletic Director Circle and I hope you will consider joining this special group.
Â
For more information about the Dukes Lead program and how to get involved, please contact Assistant A.D. for Student-Athlete Leadership Meredith Crawford.
Â
Certainly, competition is also a key component of intercollegiate athletics, so I look forward to seeing you in our various venues supporting our Dukes!
Â
Go Dukes!
Â
Jeff Bourne
Director of Athletics
Â
Â
Â
Â
Recently I traveled to New York with other university representatives as part of the Unleashed tour, promoting the university's comprehensive campaign. Several components of this campaign relate to Athletics, including the establishment of an endowment for the Dukes Lead program.
Â
I speak frequently about our vision to be the NCAA model of the student-athlete experience and the holistic approach that we take to Athletics at James Madison. My counterpart at Seattle University offered great perspective in a piece last week, highlighted by her statement that student-athletes will emerge from their experience as a collegiate athlete as a different person than they were. This impact can't be understated.
Â
This is where the JMU Athletics Student-Athlete Leadership Development Program, Dukes Lead, Â can be so impactful at JMU. Many fans and media look at wins and losses. Often coaches are evaluated based solely upon results on the field and opinions of athletes are formulated solely upon their abilities exhibited in competition. This does a disservice to the importance of the individual as a human being. Everyone has a place and a purpose. Everyone brings value. We are blessed at James Madison to win on a high level, but we win because of the culture, the structure of support and the quality of the people involved, not because of superior athletic ability or strategy.
Â
Unfair criticism can come when an athlete makes a mistake in competition, but we know how hard that individual works behind the scenes – the hours they pour into training and preparation, the academic rigors of an institution like JMU, the time they give to work in our community or mentoring youth, the constant time management, formulating healthy eating and sleeping habits, caring for their mental health, navigating the ups and downs of everyday life – the list goes on. These factors, not athletic prowess, will make them leaders in life.
Â
The Dukes Lead program equips our student-athletes with the tools to be leaders in life. We help them with career development via 1-on-1 staff guidance, career coaching, internship placement and facilitating interaction with employers and mentors. We offer workshops on a variety of topics for individual growth, focusing on the pillars of life skills, leadership, personal development and professional development. We facilitate civic engagement by helping student-athletes find ways to get involved in our community. Last year, this led to a department record of 5,765 recorded hours of giving back. The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) offers the opportunity to be directly involved now as a leader in our athletic department or on a conference or national level, such as with Alicia Cooperman currently serving as a national SAAC rep. We also have a future goal of facilitating increased international experiences, starting with a class being offered next semester giving student-athletes the chance to go to Ireland over Spring Break.https://www.jmu.edu/global/abroad/programs/jmu-ireland-dublin-student-athletes.shtml
Â
These are important opportunities for our student-athletes. This is where I believe the NCAA collegiate model can continue to thrive.
Â
A few years back, the NCAA issued a one-time financial appropriation to institutions to support student-athlete initiatives. We invested much of this as seed money for the establishment of an endowment to support the Dukes Lead program. Now, in conjunction with the Unleashed comprehensive campaign, I invite you to invest in our student-athletes by supporting the Student-Athlete Leadership Development Endowment. One of the Athletics campaign goals is to grow the Leadership Endowment to $5 million. We currently have over $1.5 million committed from 15 supporters. We are calling you to join in and help invest in the true future of our student-athletes. All monetary gifts are appreciated and make an impact. Donors who commit to $25,000 over five years will be in our Leadership Program's Athletic Director Circle and I hope you will consider joining this special group.
Â
For more information about the Dukes Lead program and how to get involved, please contact Assistant A.D. for Student-Athlete Leadership Meredith Crawford.
Â
Certainly, competition is also a key component of intercollegiate athletics, so I look forward to seeing you in our various venues supporting our Dukes!
Â
Go Dukes!
 Jeff Bourne
Director of Athletics
Â
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