President Alger is an experienced and visionary higher education leader who previously served for 12 years as president of James Madison University (JMU).

Under his leadership, JMU created and implemented a bold and visionary strategic plan focused on engaged learning, community engagement, and civic engagement, and developed the Valley Scholars Program for first-generation students, the Madison Trust to provide philanthropic support for innovative projects at the university, and the comprehensive Task Force on Racial Equity. President Alger also led JMU to achieve R2 national research university designation and helped to grow the university’s external research funding by 92 percent from 2019 to 2023.
Inauguration Address Biography