Our team’s project for the website is a story map/timeline of forgotten significant figures at JMU. Some of these figures include the first head football coach, the first student enrolled at the school, and even the first African American student here. We want to highlight some of the forgotten historical figures at JMU because everyone remembers the main characters like President Duke, President Carrier, President Burress, Stonewall Jackson, etc. We want to inform the public about as many people as possible.
I am doing my found artifact on the Robert and Frances Plecker Athletic Performance Center. This is the facility connected to the football stadium that has locker rooms, weight lifting areas, physical training and other student oriented services.
Robert Plecker was not a student or faculty member at JMU, but was always one of their biggest fans and supporters for the football team and the school as a whole. He fought in WWII as a Platoon Leader in the Parachute Infantry and also fought in the Battle of the Bulge so is kind of considered a hero, as he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his service. He loved both Blue Ridge Community College and James Madison University so much that he donated hefty amounts to each. In 2003 he donated $2 million to James Madison University which led to the creation of the Robert and Frances Plecker Athletic Performance Center in 2005.
Whether we do a timeline or a story map I think we can pinpoint this location and explain who Bob Plecker is, what he did in the war, and how he contributed to JMU.
The goal of our project is to highlight forgotten faces of JMU and how/what they contributed to campus. I think it would look best on a timeline and we can add a link to a description for certain artifacts.
Robert and Frances Plecker Athletic Performance Center connected to Bridgeforth Stadium. Built in 2005.
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