Home

Virginia Town Crier

A Virginia political and governmental news aggregation website. Follow me on Bluesky @lrmartinjr.bsky.social‬ or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/virginiatowncrier . Click on the headline to read the full story.

Ron Carrier, visionary who transformed JMU, dies at 85 #jmu #vagov →

Ronald E. Carrier, the gregarious and bold visionary who led the transformation of James Madison University from a small teacher’s college into a nationally recognized university, died today of unspecified causes. He was 85.

The university confirmed his death this evening. The institution’s president emeritus led the institution from 1971 to 1998, served for three years in a chancellor’s post created for him and eliminated when he retired, and remained its champion. The Carrier Library is named for him.

“It is hard to overstate Ron’s tremendous impact on JMU’s history, its growth and the reputation it enjoys today,” Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said in a statement Monday night. “At the same time, Ron provided principled and strong leadership throughout the Valley and indeed across Virginia.”