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Equal opportunity lender. News 4 EditorS Madisson Haynes & Emma Korynta Email [email protected] Thursday, August 31, 2017 Madison made Mark Warner to retire after 41 years at JMU JAMES ALLEN / THE BREEZE Mark Warner started his undergraduate career at JMU in 1975 and hasn’t left since. He has worked several jobs with multiple JMU presidents over the years, but he prioritizes students and personal growth. By EMMA KORYNTA worked at JMU for 23 years and with Warner for 16. She feels she going to help me do that.” The Breeze has the best boss at JMU, and calls herself “the luckiest person Warner is known for his popular Leadership and Personal on campus.” Growth class for seniors, which some students have on their waitlist The Convocation Center is nearly empty as first-year students “He’s an amazing person,” Beam said. “I’ve been so fortunate for years. The class, despite name and department changes, has and First yeaR Orientation Guides prepare to flood in. Slowly but to be able to work with him all these years. I feel very honored, existed for almost 30 years. He first created it with former JMU surely, the seats fill with new students, eager to see what the year and I’m very sad that he’s leaving.” President Linwood Rose when Rose was the vice president for awaits. At the top of the bleachers, sitting by himself, Mark Warner Despite Warner’s heavy involvement in student life on administration and finance. watches as the new community gathers. This is one of his favorite campus, he has plenty of passions outside JMU to tide him over Hope Hellwege-Bales (’16) took the class in the spring semester things — he describes it as magic. during his six-month leave. of her senior year, but it wasn’t her first experience with Warner. He After 41 years on JMU’s campus, Warner will be retiring at the “I have a whole lot of interests — that’s one of the reasons why traveled with her study abroad program in Austria in the summer end of the 2017-18 school year. Labor laws require that he take off six I’m retiring,” Warner said. “I’m a woodcarver, a woodturner, I of 2015, and he told her about his class while they were abroad. months before returning, but he plans to fish and play golf and “It didn’t feel like a professor,” Hellwege-Bales said. “It felt like an come back in the spring of 2019 to teach “What is it that you’re going to do today kayak and hike, and old friend or kind of fatherly figure almost … The class very much two sections of his highly popular PSYC to add value to your life, and what I’m starting to write had like a family feel to it; we all were very open and vulnerable, he 326 leadership class. another book and I’ll was very open and vulnerable. It was awesome to have that kind of “I want to be able to retire when are you going to do to add value to do some consulting. experience in an educational setting.” I’m still young and can go and enjoy somebody else’s?” There are a lot of rich Warner hopes that even after he- leaves his position, his values things,” Warner said. “But knowing that Mark Warner activities waiting for will continue to impact students. I’ll still have the classroom to keep me Senior vice president of student affairs m e .” “One of the messages I try to get across to anybody is we need connected.” In addition to these to live each day to the fullest,” Warner said. “We don’t know what Warner started as a freshman at JMU activities, Warner tomorrow will bring. What is it that you’re going to do today to in 1975 as a psychology major, but he often jokes that he majored will soon be a grandfather to a baby girl due in September. He add value to your life, and what are you going to do to add value in frisbee. For his entire undergraduate and graduate career, he recently went to the JMU bookstore to stock up on Dukes apparel to somebody else’s? To me, that’s a life well lived when we can lived in the Village on campus. His first of 10 jobs at JMU was in to ensure she has JMU spirit from an early age. do that.” the Office of Residence Life, but his titles have included executive While this wasn’t the sole reason he decided to retire, his assistant to the president as well as senior vice president of student desire to spend time with his grandchild influenced him. CONTACT Emma Korynta at [email protected]. For affairs — a position he’s held for 20 years. “I have a bucket list and one of the items on my bucket list is more coverage of JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the Leslie Beam, the administrative assistant to Warner, has to be the best grandfather in the world,” Warner said. “This is news desk on Twitter @BreezeNewsJMU. breezejmu.org NEWS Thursday, August 31, 2017 5 ‘A bigger impact’ Mike Davis transitions to the executive office to work with President Alger By CHRISTINA ZIU Although Davis is now able to have an effect The Breeze on the university as a whole, he says the thing he misses most about being a professor is Mike Davis has been named the executive interacting with students on a daily basis. adviser to JMU President Jonathan Alger. Davis “That was the biggest hesitation for me — started his new position on Aug. 17 after working leaving behind the students and debaters,” Davis as a professor in the School of Communication said. “But I also knew that I could have a bigger Studies for the past 11 years. impact in a job like this … for students who I “I’d worked with President Alger on several will never see and I can still have an impact on initiatives … I found that we saw the world a lot them.” of the same ways,” Davis said. “We both wanted Autumn Cox, a senior communication studies JMU to really become the national model for the major, has taken three classes with Davis and engaged university.” considers him to be her favorite professor. ALEXIS MILLER / THE BREEZE After 11 years as a professor, Mike Davis looks forward to the new challenges in the executive office. Davis received his undergraduate and “When I found out he wasn’t going to be master’s degree in communication studies at a professor anymore, I was so bummed but Syracuse University and his doctorate at the excited for him because he completely deserved University of Georgia.