James Madison University
VA · AI Readiness #212 of 227
AIREDEX™ Score: 4.4 /10
JMU has a university-wide AI governance structure anchored by a Special Adviser to the Provost for Artificial Intelligence, a cross-campus AI Strategy Working Group, and a formal IT standard governing how students and faculty may use AI tools with university data.
JMU Dukes can access AI literacy workshops through the Libraries each semester, and the cross-disciplinary X-Labs course AI for Global Impact draws undergraduates from arts, business, philosophy, and engineering to tackle real-world problems with generative AI. The Bridge2AI program, funded by an NSF workforce grant and run in partnership with CGI, offers a structured fellowship-to-internship pipeline, and the student-run Madison AI Club connects undergrads to industry speakers and applied projects. JMU's 2032 strategic plan charts a path toward R1 status, and the 2025-26 academic institutes investment cycle may produce new AI-focused research infrastructure in the near term.
Pillar grades
- Commitment: C
- Curriculum: D-
- Partnerships: C
- Research: D+
A(I)ttitude™: cautious
Selected Highlights
- Yasmeen Shorish holds the confirmed title of Special Adviser to the Provost for Artificial Intelligence, documented on JMU event pages and GMU SoTL Collaboratory sources -- satisfies Q1 of 1.1 (provost-level advisory role with AI explicitly in title).
- AI Task Force (74 members, est. 2023) plus AI Strategy Working Group (AISWG, updated August 2026) constitute an active, multi-layered governance structure with public outputs including jmu.edu/ai portal and formal IT standard.
- 'Standard for Acceptable Use of Artificial Intelligence with University Data' is a published, operational IT policy document referencing Virginia EO 30 and EO 46, with stated goals, governance commitments, and ethical guidelines -- satisfies 2+ criteria for full credit.
- NSF ExLENT EDU RURAL grant (Bridge2AI, fall 2025) and $93K SCHEV FFEI grant (CORE-AI/MegaSoTL-AI) are documented AI-related financial commitments, though no institution-specific dollar figure with a stated amount above $10M was found.
- JMU Libraries Spring 2026 AI Workshop Series includes six separately named sessions; Design for Learning Institute AI module is a second named component -- two distinct named components confirmed.