A meeting of 91���� and Harrisonburg city officials on Aug. 7 marked a milestone in representation, bringing together the city’s first refugee council member (Nasser Alsaadun MA ’17 [education]), its first Black woman mayor (Deanna Reed), and 91����’s first Black woman president (Rev. Dr. Shannon W. Dycus). 

The liaison committee meeting was also attended by Deputy City Manager Amy Snider, filling in for City Manager Ande Banks ’97; Melissa Heatwole, director of continuing education and events at 91����; and Amy Springer Hartsell ’92, executive advisor to the president at 91����. The committee aims to identify ways the city and university can partner together to better serve the needs of the community. James Madison University has a similar committee, and Mayor Reed said she felt it was important that both universities had a voice. 

“There’s no Harrisonburg without 91���� and there’s no 91���� without Harrisonburg,” she said. 

Dr. Dycus, who began her role as 91����’s interim president on July 1, spoke about the importance that 91���� places on community. “We want to grow leaders, whether that’s high schoolers coming straight into their undergraduate careers or whether that’s business leaders who want to get new skills,” she said. “We know we are part of making Harrisonburg stronger, our community stronger, and that we are all doing that together in different ways.”

The university celebrated its second-best fundraising year on record in 2024-2025, Dycus shared, and enrollment figures have increased by a significant amount over last year. She also spoke about 91����’s new pickleball and tennis courts. “If you drive down Park Road, it is abuzz,” she said.

Committee members received an update on Royals Go Downtown. Now in its fourth year, the annual event brings together hundreds of students for a walking tour of restaurants and businesses, sampling foods and collecting giveaways, before gathering at a DJ-led dance party. This year’s event will be held on Thursday, Sept. 25.

Much of the discussion centered around the community’s need for interpreter services. Councilman Alsaadun wondered whether 91����’s Intensive English Program (IEP) might be able to help fill the gap in interpreter training. The program has a reputation among the local immigrant community as “the best in the area,” he said. “From Winchester to Charlottesville, you guys are the best there is.”

The liaison committee will meet next in November.