Use Restrictions

Staff have taken special care to identify and remove sensitive materials, particularly those relating to students' academic records, found within this collection. However, in rare instances, privacy protected information may be revealed during use of this collection. Researchers agree to make no notes or other recordation of privacy protected information if found within this collection, and further agree not to publish or disclose such information for any purpose. Researchers agree to alert Special Collections staff if potentially privacy protected information is found within this collection. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.

Original audiocassettes and VHS tape contained in this collection are restricted from access. Reformatted access copies may be available, or media reformatting may be available upon request.

Provenance

Roberds' donation consisted of personal papers from his time as a founding faculty member of CISAT, as well as material gathered in preparation for the writing of his book, A History of the Founding of The College of Integrated Science and Technology (2005). Materials in Alberico's and Love's donations came directly from CISAT.

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], College of Integrated Science and Technology (CISAT) Records, 1987-2004, UA 0052, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Acquisition Information

The materials in this collection arrived in three parts: in 2004, from Dr. Ralph Alberico; in early 2005, from Dr. Richard Roberds; and in late 2005, from Julie Love.

Processing Information

Staff processed Alberico's donation under the name CAS 2004-0604. A review of the collection in January 2020 suggested the value of combining it with the materials from Roberds and Love. The blending of the three collections in January 2020 resulted in further disposal of duplicate materials, as well as the assignment of a new catalog number. The collection was previously cataloged as CAS 2004-0604, 2005-0406, and 2005-0906.

Appraisal Information

Upon receiving Alberico's donation in 2004, library staff retained seven items dealing with the development of CISAT and disposed of eight others, all of which were duplicates or state-level reports on education that did not specifically mention JMU. Staff also disposed of duplicate photographs from Roberds' donation in early 2005. Love transferred materials from CISAT in late 2005 with the understanding that they would supplement Roberds' donation, and that duplicates and extraneous material would be discarded in processing. Additionally, newspaper clippings, duplicate copies of materials, and a floppy disk were weeded. Sensitive materials regarding student information, grades, etc. were removed from the collection.

Administration History

In the late 1980s, in response to national and state calls for reforms to higher education in the areas of science and technology, JMU, under the direction of President Ronald Carrier, developed a proposal for a new College of Applied Science and Technology (CAST), eventually to be renamed the College of Integrated Science and Technology (CISAT). The new college's flagship would be the titular Integrated Science and Technology (ISAT) program, but over the next few years, as the project's founding team, including Carrier, Roberds, and Dr. Lyle Wilcox (among others), began designing the school's campus and curriculum, the CISAT umbrella expanded to include Computer Science, Health and Human Services, and Geography. The development and implementation of CISAT also involved expanding the University across Interstate 81, a process that included the creation of a cross-highway bridge for motor and pedestrian traffic, as well as the construction of the academic buildings that now serve as the core of JMU's East Campus.

Though many students and faculty were enthusiastic about the new college, CISAT also drew criticism from those who believed that the new college was receiving special treatment from Carrier, and that the president had overreached in exempting CISAT's new curriculum from review by the entire university. No major changes to the college resulted from the controversy, however, and CISAT reached its peak freshman enrollment in the late 1990s. The university continued to enhance to its East Campus with new academic buildings, dorms, event centers, and dining halls throughout the early 2000s, and with the addition of an Engineering program in 2012, CISAT changed its name again, to the College of Integrated Science and Engineering (CISE). For a more detailed history of CISAT, see Roberds' book, A History of the Founding of The College of Integrated Science and Technology: A Venture in Education Reform (2005).

Scope and Contents

This collection covers the history of James Madison University's College of Integrated Science and Technology (CISAT), from its inception in the late 1980s to its realization across the 1990s and into the early 2000s. Records include documents and reports pertaining to the conceptualization of the ISAT program and its curriculum; administrative files; information on faculty and students; rosters for various boards and panels; photos of what would become JMU's East Campus during construction of the new academic buildings; and media related to the college, including promotional material and newspaper coverage.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in 4 series, with the first series further divided into 4 subseries:

Series 1: Planning and Building CISAT, 1987-2004

Subseries 1: Conceptualizing and Presenting the College, 1987-1999 Subseries 2: Proposal to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), 1991-1993 Subseries 3: Advisory Boards, 1989-2001 Subseries 4: Building CISAT, 1992-2004 Series 2: Administrative Files, 1992-1999 Series 3: Designing the ISAT Curriculum, 1991-2000 Series 4: Faculty, Students, and Enrollment, 1991-2004

Each series is further arranged chronologically. Exceptions to the chronological arrangement were made in order to group like materials together.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Administrative records
• Campus planning -- Virginia -- Harrisonburg
• Education, Higher -- Curricula -- Virginia
• James Madison University -- Buildings -- History
• James Madison University -- Curricula
• James Madison University -- Faculty
• James Madison University -- Planning
• James Madison University -- Students
• James Madison University. College of Integrated Science and Engineering
• James Madison University. College of Integrated Science and Technology
• James Madison University. College of Integrated Science and Technology -- History
• Letters (correspondence)
• Reports
• Roberds, Richard M.
• Science -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Virginia
• Technology -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Virginia