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The Madison Experience is not something you sit and watch. You chime in. You join in. You try to make things better. You know this.

JMU's Be the Change spirit is always evident in these pages of Madison. It is also the star of www.jmu.edu/BeTheChange, where you can find fresh, dynamic stories and videos about students, professors and alumni and the life-altering work they are undertaking.

Now you can get these stories delivered right to you, as soon as they publish, by subscribing to the Madison e-mail. The first step is to go to the Be the Change website and then click on "Connect."

While there you can also participate in the increasingly popular Be the Change blog, in which Martha Bell Graham ('03P, '08P, '12P) underscores the direct and personal impact of Madison's distinct approach to education.

"What is nurtured here on campus is something extraordinary," says Martha, whose last JMU assignment was helping to coordinate Madison's Centennial Celebration. "It is the notion that every one of us can — and should — make a difference. Graduates are sent out with the means — but far more importantly, the will — to be the change."

When President Linwood H. Rose says that JMU seeks solutions to world problems, we can point to the everyday interrelatedness and relevance of this university and society. The teaching, research and service of professors, students, alumni and donors are intimately involved and inextricably interconnected with the lives of the people they seek to improve.

"From where I sit," Martha adds, "JMU's impact throughout the world is considerable — and growing. Writing a blog about the amazing people and programs at JMU is endlessly uplifting. And we're just waiting to hear from them and from you about how JMU is changing the world."

JMU is higher education with a higher purpose. Madison, the blog and the Be the Change website connect JMU people and tell their stories. That's something everybody can talk about. Please do. www.jmu.edu/BeTheChange.

—Pam Brock, executive editor

Madison magazine is the official magazine of James Madison University. Read the latest issue.