"James Madison University President Jonathan Alger is leaving after 12 years in Harrisonburg.

JMU announced on Monday that Alger, 60, will take over as president of American University on July 1, 2024. He’ll stay at JMU through the end of the spring semester.

JMU’s Board of Visitors and the JMU community thanked Alger for his years of leadership during a period of major change for the university.

Under his tenure, JMU rose to an R2, a national research university, and was accepted into the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. Applications are also up significantly, to more than 40,000 in 2024, and the university’s athletic department recently moved to the Sun Belt Conference (football moved to the FBS level of Division I)," reports WAVY 10.

Photo: Virginia Business