Contribute to Our Mission

The Department of Psychology benefits greatly from contributions from parents, retired faculty, alumni, current students, and other friends who have made generous financial contributions to our department’s work.  These contributions have allowed us to convert awards into student scholarships, and have allowed us to support students by defraying research and professional conference travel expenses.  Please consider supporting our work with students by contributing to any of our JMU Foundation Funds.

Our Foundation Funds (Scholarships)

How to Make a Contribution

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Your contribution can be accepted online at the JMU Office of Development. When making a donation, indicate your desired designation in the “My gift will support” field by selecting “Other” and specifying the department (account 14720) or scholarship by account number (found by each description).

You can also make financial contributions to support the Department of Psychology activities by sending a check with a note to the JMU Foundation specifying which Department of Psychology fund you would like to support.

Please make out your check to the “James Madison University Foundation” and send it to:

Advancement Gifts & Records
MSC 3603
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
All contributions are tax deductible.

Foundation Funds (Scholarships)

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James J. Hart Memorial Scholarship (Account 25473)

The recipient of this award is an outstanding Junior Psychology Major who not only has high academic achievement, but also, through their activities and aspirations, demonstrates a commitment to improving the human condition.  This award is named after faculty member James J. Hart, a JMU Psychology Professor who made a career commitment to the outstanding teaching of psychology. One of his primary courses was History and Systems of Psychology, the precursor to our current capstone experience.

Psychology Peer Advising Scholarship (Account 25695)

Once endowed, the Peer Advising Scholarship will provide financial assistance to an academically-outstanding psychology student who embodies the core values of the Peer Advising organization:  Service, attitude, leadership, teamwork and excellence.  Consistent with their giving spirit, this scholarship will not necessarily be awarded to a student who is a Peer Advisor, but it will be awarded to a student commitment to serving others is obvious from their actions.  This award was initiated and is by the Psychology Peer Advisors themselves in celebration of the 15th anniversary of the Psychology Peer Advising program.

James O. Benedict Scholarship Endowment in Psychology (Account 25217)

Once endowed, the James O. Benedict Scholarship will provide a scholarship to an outstanding senior-level undergraduate student majoring in Psychology who has demonstrated interest in pursuing a career in higher education in the field of Psychology, or who has served as a teaching assistant in Psychology while an undergraduate student.  The Department of Psychology created this fund in recognition of Dr. James O. Benedict’s thirty years of service to James Madison University, and on the occasion of his retirement.

Whitlock Psychology Memorial Scholarship (Account 25887)

This scholarship recognizes distinguished academic performance and service to the university by an African American Psychology Major whose talents, skills, and abilities enable them to enrich the JMU community. The scholarship was initiated by the Theta Nu Chapter of the Zeta Pi Beta Sorority, in honor of psychology major LeAnn Whitlock, a student at James Madison University from Roanoke, Virginia who was abducted from the Valley Mall in Harrisonburg and murdered on January 5, 1990.

Eileen Nelson Scholarship (Account 25624)

The Eileen Nelson Scholarship honors the contributions of emeritus faculty member Eileen Nelson, by recognizing a student who has exemplary involvement in the honors thesis program, vigor in research and service, excellence in academic achievement, and the intention to pursue graduate education in psychology.  The scholarship provides scholarship assistance to the award winner during their senior year.  This scholarship was made possible by the generous donations of the family and friends of Dr. Eileen Nelson. Dr. Nelson, a productive scholar in her own right, often supervised more Honors Thesis projects than any other faculty member on campus. She is also the founder of our Peer Advising program.

Department of Psychology (Account 14720)

Funds are needed to help students engage in research projects that substantially contribute to the field of psychology and are worthy of presentation at professional conferences. Each year, approximately 500 Psychology Majors participate in research with faculty and about 20 complete their own research through Honors Thesis Projects.  Department of Psychology Foundation funds are used to directly help students by defraying the cost of materials needed by students who conduct these projects and the expenses incurred by students who present this work at regional or national professional conferences.