Working Title: Graduate Assistant

State Role Title: Graduate Assistant

Position Type: Graduate Assistant

Position Status: Part-Time

FLSA Status: Non-Exempt: Eligible for Overtime

College/Division: College of Visual and Performing Arts

Department: 100767 - Office of Creative Propulsion

Pay Band: N/A

Pay Rate: Stipend

Specify Range or Amount: 10,110 

Is this a JMU only position? No

Is this a grant-funded position? No

Is this a Conflict of Interest designated position? No

Beginning Review Date: 

About JMU:

Situated in the heart of Virginia’s beautiful Shenandoah Valley, the city of Harrisonburg is a vibrant community with a population of approximately 52,000. Harrisonburg is conveniently located approximately 120 miles from Washington, D.C. and Richmond, VA.

JMU is a selective, public institution with a growing national reputation for offering experiences that lead to an outstanding education and supportive environment for students, faculty and staff. The student body includes approximately 21,000 undergraduate and 1,800 graduate students, with over 1,000 full-time instructional faculty.

JMU offers thriving programs in the liberal arts, science and technology, and professional disciplines at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels. JMU has achieved national recognition for the high quality of its academic programs, focus on maintaining strong student/faculty interaction, and innovative faculty research.

General Information:

JMU’s Office of Creative Propulsion (OCP), part of the College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA), invites applications for a 20-hour-per-week Graduate Assistant who will act as a Researcher and Administrator, collaborating with OCP faculty and staff and report to OCP’s Executive Director. CVPA serves approximately 1,200 students via 111 faculty in three schools: Art, Design, and Art History; Music; and Theatre and Dance.
CVPA’s ongoing work is animated by a belief that the arts—by themselves and/or as contributions to multidisciplinary venues—are powerful tools for personal and social meaning, inspiration, and change. Today’s industries are ripe with possibilities for individuals who can leverage their artistic experiences and training to re-imagine and disrupt traditional practices; stretch and break artistic boundaries; work on multidisciplinary teams; synthesize data from the world around them to identify problems and opportunities; and act boldly, justly, and inclusively to create their own unique path. Through facilitating integrative courses, multidisciplinary collaborations, community engagement, and participatory arts experiences, Office of Creative Propulsion (OCP) supports students and faculty in ideating, launching, and refining arts-based efforts that promote more equitable and inclusive opportunities for meaningful arts engagement. To learn more about CVPA, please visit www.jmu.edu/arts. To learn more about OCP, please visit www.jmu.edu/ocp.
This position will begin working in Fall 2026 with a one-year contract (academic year). This position is a 20 hour per week commitment. While most hours will be between 9am-6pm, the role will include occasional evening and weekend obligations. This is a one-year appointment, and preference will be given to students who anticipate being eligible to continue the assistantship for one or more additional years.

Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Design, organization, and management of a regional Arts Asset Mapping Project;
2. Support design, organization and management of interdisciplinary arts events;
3. Support CVPA’s Marketing Director in writing press releases, stories, and other marketing duties as requested;
4. Meet with supervisor on a weekly basis to maintain ongoing communication and assess progress;
5. Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

The ideal candidate will possess:

• Bachelor’s degree (see conditions of employment).
• Experience conducting human subjects research.
• Demonstrable commitment to promoting access, diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice.
• Excellent written communication skills.
• Comfort with using Microsoft Office (e.g., Word, PowerPoint, Excel) products.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and listening skills.
• A friendly and professional demeanor.
• Motivation and curiosity, time-management skills, and ability to take initiative and be independently productive.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.

Preferred but not required:

• Fluency in languages other than English
• Experience conducting research studies
• Experience with community engagement praxis

Additional Posting Information:

Conditions of Employment:  

Students may apply to a graduate assistantship prior to being accepted into a graduate program. However, to be eligible to receive an assistantship upon entry into a graduate program, the following criteria must be met:

The student must be conditionally or unconditionally accepted into a graduate program. Students who are provisionally accepted will not be eligible until they achieve conditional or unconditional acceptance into their program.

The students must have an official transcript on file indicating completion of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution or agency

After receiving an assistantship, the student must maintain at least a 3.0 graduate GPA in order to retain or reapply for the assistantship.

These are minimum criteria. Graduate program coordinators have the right to impose additional criteria if they see fit.

EEO Statement:

James Madison University is committed to creating and supporting a diverse and inclusive work and educational community that is free of all forms of discrimination. This institution does not tolerate discrimination or harassment on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national origin, parental status, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or veteran status.

We promote access, inclusion and diversity for all students, faculty, staff, constituents and programs, believing that these qualities are foundational components of an outstanding education in keeping with our mission. The university is interested in candidates whose experience and qualifications support an ongoing commitment to this core quality.

Anyone having questions concerning discrimination should contact the Office for Equal Opportunity: (540) 568-6991.

Reasonable Accommodation:

If you are a student with a disability and need assistance please contact the Office of Disability Services at (540) 568-6705 or disability-svcs@jmu.edu. You may also visit the Office of Disability Services, located in the Student Success Center, Suite 1202 and they will be happy to assist you.