Dr. Carlos Alemán is an associate professor at the School of Communication Studies, and one of only eight professors in the university with an appointment as a JMU Professor in Residence (PIR) http://www.jmu.edu/pir/about.html. The PIR program is sponsored by the Office of the Special Assistant to the President at JMU in order to promote educational attainment and college aspirations of Virginia high school students.
Through his PIR appointment at Thomas Harrison Middle School, Dr. Alemán is able to develop and support outreach programs and activities that focus on student populations that have historically lacked opportunities for attending colleges. Once day, while stopping for a cup of coffee, he met a local high school teacher and a community organizer who were just getting started with a brand new outreach organization called the Shenandoah Valley Scholars Latino Initiative (in short: SV-SLI). Three months later, Dr. Alemán was invited to the SV-SLI Board of Directors, and began serving as the SV-SLI University Coordinator of Mentoring and Academic Programs.