James Madison University - Bluestone Schoolmaam Yearbook (Harrisonburg, VA)

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20 Highlights

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student. Evaluations are due at the end of the internship, often in the form of a paper b - the student. Contracts, super- visors, and evaluations are common to all departments, but the fomial application is not. Dr. Ross Johnson, director of Business practicums, explains that the business student is responsible for ar- ranging the internship with the eni- plo er before the department. Intern- ships are arranged by either method in the Political Science and Communica- tion Arts departments. Since the student receives credit for an internship, pa ment is forbidden in most cases. The Political Science and Communication Arts departiuents do not restrict payment of their interns, but it is not a common occurence. The emphasis is on the educational value of the pro- gram. Internships provide students with an opportunit - to, trite as it may sound, put theor ' into practice, according to Mr. James Kinnaird, director of internships in Political Science, Public Administra- tion, and Law. Leslie Shipley, who spend three and a half weeks with the Institute for Law and Research in Washington, D.C., agrees. Ever thing I ' d learned in classes was important and applicable. Experience is a premium in the field of communications. The first ear on a job is often considered a .5th year of col- lege, so an internship with a professional organization is quite valuable on a re- sume. Mr. Alan Neckowitz, assistant pro- fessor of Communication Arts, em- phasizes that the internships are profes- sional experiences. A practicum work- ing for the BREEZE is a ver ' aluable experience, but it ' s simply not the same as an internship with the DAILY EWS RECORD. Dr. Colin Turner, associate professor of Communication Arts, is quick to praise the area media that offer internships: They offer hands on expe- rience, not just looking over someone ' s shoulder. Nancy Manners, intern with WPVT-TV, adds another important point: You learn the politics of a busi- ness — how to get along with your supe- riors and co-workers. Both the Political Science and Com- munication Arts internship programs ex- perience snowballing — that is, a stu- dent arranges his own internship, and following his term, the employer asks for other students. In this manner, the pro- gram keeps growning. As a whole, JMU ' s internship program is expanding; new internships are being introduced and more students are taking advantage of them. According to Dr. Wil- liam Jackameit, director of Institutional Research, over 600 students ser ' ed some sort of internship in tlie past ear, and about 25% of all students will do so at one time or another. I ' d like to work with people, to help with things the - need. Social work perhaps, or child ps cholog , I ' d like to tr the job out first, to see if it suits me, I need to ser e an internship. Highlights 19

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People More Knowledgeable JMU, along with the rest of the world, is keeping close watch on that ever- growing, ever-changing institution called civilization. The questioning, probing atmosphere of the university may, in fact, increase the wonder about what society was, and will be. The search for answers to somewhat unan- swerable questions takes many shapes on our campus, most notably our attempt to gain information from people more knowledgeable. Every year different groups sponsor lecturers who make ei- ther solo appearances or who speak in conjunction with an organized group of speakers. The Fall Arts and Sciences Sym- posium is perhaps the most comprehen- sive lecture program at JMU. The four day series is arranged through the Col- lege of Letters and Sciences and is chaired by Dr. Philip Riley. The lecture series gives an opportunity for the facul- ty, the students, and the community to come together and discuss a broad sub- ject area which cuts across all disci- pline. A number of noted philosophers, theologians, authors, and scholars are scheduled to present lectures and sit in on panel discussions. This year ' s symposium (the Sixth An- nual) titled Science, Faith and Pro- gress. encompassed a selected group of speakers, lecturing on nature and civili- zation. The symposium was presented as an unfolding chronology of civilization, and opened with a lecture by science writer John Pfeiffer entitled, The Ori- gins of Culture. The series progressed with lectures and panel discussions ad- dressing such topics as politics, scien- tific research, progress of society, and science and antiscience. The symposium concluded with the keynote speaker, Isaac Asimov, who lec- tured on The Future of Civilization. Asimov was the most popular and suc- cessful speaker of the symposium, lec- turing to a large crowd in Godwin Hall. Asimov ' s popularity is unquestioned at JMU, as this was his third visit. A second organized lecture series, also sponsored by the College of Letters and Sciences, is the Visiting Scholars pro- gram. The extensive series spans both semesters. Each year scholars from widely varying fields of interest speak on a great diversity of topics. This year ' s visiting scholars included such notables as C. Brooks Peters, speaking on Ger- many Forty Years Ago and the Holocaust and Jean Mary Morman Unsworth, lecturing on The Arts and Wholeness, among many others. A number of independent speakers also visited JMU, sponsored by several different campus organizations. The University Program Board spo nsored Mr. Fred Storasko, who has presented his discussion of How To Say No To a Rapist and Surive at Madison several times. The UPB also presented noted novelist, poet, and lecturer, James Dic- key. Charles Colson, noted for his part in the Watergate conspiracy and au- thorship of Born Again was also featured at JMU. He was sponsored by a variety of campus organizations. Highlights 21