At EMU, it’s all about experiential learning opportunities.
Eighty-five percent of EMU students graduate with an experience aligned with their major, President Rev. Dr. Shannon W. Dycus told a roomful of business and community leaders gathered for the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce’s annual Presidential Address on Aug. 20.
“That means that, early in their time with us, students are doing clinicals, completing placements in classrooms, and working in internships, where they get exposure to many of your businesses,” she said. “For many of them, that translates into jobs. …It’s not just senior year when they’re submitting their resumes that they encounter some of your businesses.”
EMU President Rev. Dr. Shannon W. Dycus addresses a crowd of business and community leaders while Dr. David Bushman, president of Bridgewater College, looks on.
Enrollment growth
Seated on stage with the presidents of James Madison University, Bridgewater College, and Blue Ridge Community College, Dycus shared some of the exciting initiatives and updates happening at EMU, including the growth of its incoming first-year class. Building on momentum from its enrollment and marketing efforts, EMU’s Class of 2030 is 15% larger than last year’s incoming class.
“This incoming class we are about to welcome is more diverse than we have ever seen before,” she said.
Of the class entering EMU this fall, 52% identify as students of color, 55% identify as first-generation college students, and 78% hail from Virginia.
“We are seeing students who are from the region, who are coming to us and are able to see our institution as an access institution, as a way to say, ‘I want to advance my career, my family’s career, and the opportunities that are available to us,’” Dycus said.
Those attending the event, held at JMU’s Atlantic Union Bank Center, included EMU leaders Braydon Hoover ’11, MAOL ’21 (above), vice president of enrollment and marketing, and Nathan Leopard (below left), vice president for advancement. EMU President Rev. Dr. Shannon W. Dycus (below right) shares the stage with the presidents of JMU, Bridgewater College, and Blue Ridge Community College.
Pathways curriculum
Another exciting development at EMU is the university’s new pathways curriculum launching this year. The result of nearly two years of work, the pathways curriculum keeps the same general education courses needed to graduate from EMU but repackages them to meet the evolving needs of the workforce and a new generation of students.
“For this sophomore class, students will not only identify a primary major, such as accounting, but they will also identify a values major they will then pursue in their courses,” Dycus said.
Those value majors include environmental sustainability, intercultural understanding, power and equity, and faith and meaning. They will also be listed on students’ transcripts and degrees.
“As they enter into their interviews with you, they can say, ‘I’ve had courses that prepare me for communication, critical thinking, collaboration, and ways to understand different cultures,’” Dycus told chamber members.
“That’s one of the ways we can help students prepare, not only for the first job they will have, but the many jobs they will have as they go throughout their careers,” she added. “We’re training and educating students for jobs that we can’t yet imagine.”
For more information about the pathways curriculum, visit emu.edu/academics/pathways.
Dycus also highlighted the growth in the university’s nursing program and credited the community’s “wonderful clinical sites,” which include hospitals, retirement communities, schools, and hospices. “We’ve expanded the number of partners we have, and many of you are represented in this room,” she said.
LEFT TO RIGHT: James Madison University President Dr. Jim Schmidt, EMU President Rev. Dr. Shannon W. Dycus, Bridgewater College President Dr. David Bushman, and Blue Ridge Community College President Dr. John Downey gather for a group photo following the chamber’s annual Presidential Address.
Leadership stories
Dycus said that by forming partnerships with the local business community, students can learn they have a home not only on EMU’s campus but also across the broader Harrisonburg area. She called on business leaders to go forth and share their stories.
“The ways you have navigated your own careers, your stories of access and accomplishment and even failure, are critical parts of what our students need to hear,” she said. “It’s not just the content and knowledge but it’s also the encouragement, affirmation, and confidence that motivate our students to know they can be sitting in the same places you’re sitting and leading the businesses you’re leading.”
Dycus will be inaugurated as EMU’s 10th president on Oct. 10 during Homecoming 2026. She expressed gratitude for the many notes of congratulations and encouragement she has received from chamber members since becoming president on July 1.
“It’s a reminder to me just how connected we are and the interdependence of our institutions and your organizations,” she said.
Read more:
• WHSV-TV3: “College presidents discuss workforce development at chamber of commerce event”
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