Type | Public |
---|---|
Established | 1967 |
Dean | Sherman Garnett |
Academic staff
|
53 |
Undergraduates | 1,150 (approximate) |
Location | East Lansing, Michigan, U.S. |
Affiliations | Michigan State University |
Website | jmc.msu.edu |
James Madison College is a college of public affairs and international relations within Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. It was founded in 1967, "with a vision of creating a residential college merging the best attributes of a small college with an undergraduate education focusing on public affairs and firmly rooted in liberal arts"; the college was named after James Madison in honor of his role in writing the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and The Federalist Papers (which form part of the College's core curriculum). Originally considered experimental, the college has since come to be recognized as among the best in the nation.
The college was developed as part of MSU president John A. Hannah's attempts to increase the profile of the university and to capitalize off of the international and federal government contacts developed by the otherwise ignominious MSU Vietnam Project.
The Lyman Briggs College was also founded in 1967 on the same general principle as James Madison College, though teaching the natural sciences rather than public policy and political theory. A playful rivalry has since developed between the two colleges. A third college on the same general model and focusing on the humanities, the Residential College in Arts & Humanities, opened in 2007.