Nick Swayne

Nick Swayne is the Executive Director of 4-Virginia and the founder of JMU X-Labs.  

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The 4-Virginia collaboration of eight Virginia public institutions works to leverage their combined strengths to improve higher education's efficiency and economic impact.  He created JMU X-Labs to help develop the campus’s innovation ecosystem.  JMU X-Labs has been recognized by the Governor for innovation in higher education and regularly holds classes in topics ranging from unmanned systems to homelessness, and more recently, to develop new forms of performance art.  Nick serves as faculty advisor for the Stanford University Innovation Fellows (students), Faculty Innovation Fellows, and is the Harrisonburg Regional Veterans Collaborative founder.  Nick's doctoral work in Postsecondary Strategic Leadership focused on multidisciplinary innovation courses, identifying faculty to teach them, and impacting leader development.  He is in his fourth elected term on the Harrisonburg City Schools serving as Vice-Chair.