HARRISONBURG, VA (James Madison University) — A philanthropic investment at James Madison University (JMU) is reportedly helping advance plans to expand nursing and healthcare education capacity in Virginia at a time when healthcare providers face persistent workforce shortages.  

According to JMU officials, the $3.5 million gift from Richard Gilliam honors the legacy of his late wife, Leslie Flanary Gilliam, a JMU alumna and former Board of Visitors member, and supports a broader institutional effort to prepare healthcare professionals for the region and commonwealth.  

“My late wife, Leslie, and her sister both attended and loved their experiences at JMU. This gift is a way for our family to honor Leslie’s memory,” Gilliam said. “We hope that it provides more students with the opportunity to pursue a career in healthcare and enables the university to further health science efforts across our state.”  

JMU President Jim Schmidt said the gift represents an endorsement of the university’s vision and an invitation to others to help JMU realize its full potential in the healthcare sector.  

“Healthcare workforce shortages affect every community in Virginia. Universities have a responsibility to help meet that challenge, and JMU is prepared to do its part in a significant way,” Schmidt said. “Richard Gilliam’s gift honors Leslie’s remarkable legacy while helping us prepare the next generation of healthcare professionals. Her name will be associated with a place dedicated to learning, service and improving lives, which feels especially fitting given the impact she had on this university and the people around her.”  

The gift builds on growing momentum behind JMU’s healthcare and nursing vision, including nearly $150 million in new investment from the Commonwealth of Virginia and support from the Bedford Falls Foundation. The commonwealth’s investment includes a new five-story building that will expand the College of Health and Behavioral Studies alongside the existing building that soon will bear Leslie Gilliam’s name.  

Proceeds from the Gilliam gift and future naming gifts will bring new and existing spaces to life and help elevate them into a truly world-class environment for healthcare education.  

“CHBS already has a strong reputation for interprofessional and interdisciplinary education, advanced community-facing clinical care and innovative approaches to rural health,” said Dr. Sharon Lovell, dean of the College of Health and Behavioral Studies. “Our students learn with and from faculty, students and practitioners in multiple disciplines, and they gain meaningful clinical experience alongside faculty and professionals while serving individuals across the lifespan in our communities. Richard Gilliam’s gift gives us the opportunity to build on what we already do exceptionally well and set an even higher standard for education, innovation and service.”  

A 1982 management graduate, Leslie Gilliam was a businesswoman, philanthropist and university leader who served on the JMU Board of Visitors, co-founded Women for Madison and helped establish The Madison Trust. She was an inaugural member of the Women for Madison Executive Advisory Council and believed deeply in the potential of collective philanthropy.  

The Gilliam family has continued her legacy since her death in 2016. In 2018, the family made a $5.2 million commitment — then the largest gift in JMU history — to name the Leslie Flanary Gilliam Center for Entrepreneurship in the College of Business.