SPIRIT
S P R I N G 2020
A M A G A Z I N E F O R T H E G E O R G E M A S O N U N I V E R S I T Y CO M M U N I T Y
Meeting Students Where They Are Higher education is evolving to meet the changing needs of students, and Mason is leading the way.
MASON NAMES EIGHTH PRESIDENT | L AWYERING UP | A BRIDGE FOR TR ANSFERS
F E AT U R E S Meeting Students Where They Are 14 Higher education is changing, and George About the Cover
Mason University is changing along with it. Not only are we working hard to improve the student experience and the transfer process, we’re expanding our online offerings.
Illustration by Joan Dall'Acqua Photo by Evan Cantwell
18 Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @MasonSpirit for alumni news, events, and more. ecome a fan of the Mason Spirit on B Facebook for links to photos, videos, and stories at www.facebook.com/ MasonSpirit. heck our website for a behindC the-scenes look at the Spirit, more alumni profiles, and breaking news at spirit.gmu.edu.
Advancing Toward a Four-Year Degree For community college students looking to transfer to a four-year institution, the roadblocks they encounter along the way are often too much to overcome. ADVANCE, a partnership between Mason and Northern Virginia Community College, is looking to change that—and create a model for other institutions across the nation to follow.
‹ Mason professor Laura Kosoglu, associate chair of the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering, took the students in her CEIE 432/532 Foundation Design class to the Core Campus Project construction site on the Fairfax Campus to watch the foundation being poured for the building that will replace Robinson Hall. Photo by Evan Cantwell.
Up 24 Lawyering By offering real cases, real clients, and real experience, the law clinics at the Antonin Scalia Law School help Mason law students transition from the class room to the courtroom.
Reasons to Go to Class 28 14Whether it’s been two months or 10 years since you last stepped into a classroom, the excitement you felt when discovering an amazing class sticks with you. In this feature, the Mason Spirit takes a peek at some of the most innovative courses offered at Mason.
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3 PR E S I D E N T I A L A N N O U N C E M E N T 4 FR O M O U R R E A D E R S 5 @MASON 34 I N Q U I R I N G M I N D S 4 0 S H E L F L I FE 4 2 A LU M N I I N PR I N T 43 PAT R I OT PR O FI L E 46 From the Alumni Association President
A L U M N I P R O F I L E S 44 Jilian Fazio, MS ’10, PhD Environmental Science and Public Policy ’16 47 Joseph Sakran, BS Biology ’99 49 Deborah Willis, PhD Cultural Studies ’03
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FUN FAC T The clouded leopard gets its name from its large cloud-like spots. Find out more on page 44.
52 M A S O N M E M O R I E S MORE ON THE WEB When you see this graphic, follow it to the magazine’s website for more: spirit.gmu.edu. Spring 2020 M A S O N S P I R I T | 1
MASON SPIRIT A MAGAZINE FOR THE GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY
FIRST WORDS
spirit.gmu.edu
TAKE A CLOSER LOOK During my term as interim president, I’ve observed the university through a far wider lens than I could have as a Mason faculty member or even as the Virginia Secretary of Education. I’ve learned so much listening to our students’ personal stories, visiting with leading researchers, and discussing Mason’s role as a talent source with employers. I’ve been afforded a vantage point I wish every member of the Mason community could experience, including our alumni. What I can do is share with you my experiences and, in doing so, convey the many ways you can play an active role in the Mason success story. This I already knew: Our students are impressive and inspiring. I’ve hosted a series of student dinners at Mathy House, and whether the guests are ROTC students, undocumented students, Early Identification Program students, or another group, many share similar stories: They deal on an almost daily basis with financial chal lenges and/or job or family responsibilities in their quest to become a first-generation college graduate. Their attitude is can-do, their circumstances fragile, and their determination immeasurable. I can assure you that the financial support they receive, including your philanthropic support, can be the difference for some between earning a career-launching Mason degree or struggling economically, possibly for the rest of their lives. Another aspect of the “Mason education” I’ve received in recent months is the depth of our research. I have toured amazing Mason research facilities and learned from faculty and student researchers who are working toward breakthroughs in some of the most pressing issues of our time, from disease prevention to climate change to cybersecurity, just to name a few. I’ve also witnessed the emergence of the Institute for a Sustainable Earth, a burgeoning Mason powerhouse that is pulling together more than 500 Mason faculty members across disciplines, including internationally renowned meteorologist Jagadish Shukla, conservation biologist Tom Lovejoy, and climate communication scientist Ed Maibach. A supportive and engaged alumni network is critical to our research, as well as our academic success, because our alumni are among our greatest ambassadors in the community, which can lead to new partnerships and additional opportunities and support for our students and faculty. I’ve also gained a greater understanding of the extent that region and state employers value access to the career-ready, diverse workforce that Mason produces. These employers have told me, for example, that they value our graduates in technical fields especially because they are such effective communicators. Others report how frequently Mason students or graduates respond to a job offer with “Can I start right now?” Our graduates are not only prepared, they’re eager. Alumni can help our students land internships and jobs by coming back to campus to share their expertise on advisory boards and panels, participating in career fairs, providing networking opportunities, and, of course, by hiring Mason graduates. Our students and faculty have much to gain from your involvement and support. And I bet your experience will be like mine—the closer you get to Mason, the prouder you will be. Anne Holton President 2 | S P I R I T. G M U. E D U
M A N AG I N G E D I TO R Colleen Kearney Rich, MFA ’95 A S S O C I AT E E D I TO R S Melanie Balog Priyanka Champaneri, BA ’05, MFA ’10 Rob Riordan, MPA ’19 E D I TO R I A L A S S I S TA N T Liam Griffin CO N T R I B U TO R S Mariam Aburdeineh, BA ’13 Christopher Bobo Mary Lee Clark Damian Cristodero Hannah Harmison Nanci Hellmich John Hollis Buzz McClain, BA ’77 Corey Jenkins Schaut, MPA ’07 Pam Shepherd Greg Sullivan Michelle Thompson Preston Williams Jiaxi Zhang D E S I G N A N D I L LU S T R AT I O N Joan Dall'Acqua David Lewis Marcia Staimer P H OTO G R A P H Y A N D M U LT I M E D I A Ron Aira Melissa Cannarozzi Evan Cantwell, MA ’10 Lathan Goumas Ian Shiff P R O D U C T I O N M A N AG E R Brian Edlinski E D I TO R I A L B O A R D Trishana E. Bowden Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Relations Michael Sandler Interim Vice President for Communications and Marketing Christine Clark-Talley Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations
Mason Spirit is published three times a year by the Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations and the Office of Communications and Marketing. For the latest news about George Mason University, check out www.gmu.edu. George Mason University is an equal opportunity employer that encourages diversity.
Gregory Washington Named George Mason University’s Eighth President n late February, the George Mason University Board of Visitors announced the selection of Gregory Washington as the uni versity’s eighth president. Washington is the Stacey Nicholas Dean of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). He will join Mason on July 1. “When the board set out to fill this position, we were deter mined to find someone who was both a strategic thinker with the vision to see our future and a mobilizer with the ability to inspire our community to build on Mason’s success,” says Rector Tom Davis. “Dr. Gregory Washington stood out in a very com petitive search. He showed tremendous vision for the future of our region and how we fit in, and displayed the ability to motivate and inspire our community. I look forward to working with him and seeing him position Mason as a leader in higher education.” “I am honored to accept this position and thrilled to lead Mason at this exciting time,” Washington says. “What attracted me to Mason was its reputation for having real impact, providing access, and for its commitment to inclusive excellence. Those values are in direct alignment with how I operate as an academic leader. I look forward to helping continue to accelerate the trajectory of the institution. The Mason community has laid an extraordinary foundation and my job is to take us forward and build on that success. I feel really blessed to have been given this opportunity and can’t wait to get started.” Washington is an accomplished researcher who specializes in dynamic systems, with an emphasis on the modeling and control of smart material structures and systems. He is the author of more than 150 technical publications in journals, edited volumes, and conference proceedings. At UCI, Washington launched new graduate and under graduate programs with the Paul Merage School of Business and the School of Humanities, and he is leading the develop ment of next-generation advanced mobility systems at the Horiba Institute for Mobility and Connectivity with an $8.5 million gift from Horiba, one of the top 25 analytical and life sciences instrumentation companies in the world. He is a proven leader in both faculty recruitment and enrollment, having hired one of the most diverse engineering faculty cohorts in the country—bringing in more than 60 new faculty, with more than 40 percent being women or from underrepresented populations. In addition, he expanded undergraduate enrollment by 1,100 students and graduate
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enrollment by more than 200 in seven years. He also launched a freshman experiential learning initiative that has led to more than 60 percent of UCI undergraduate engineering students conducting research. Washington’s selection culminates an eight-month search. The search committee included members of the Board of Visitors; faculty, student, alumni, and staff representatives; and members of the George Mason University Foundation Board of Trustees. Washington is Mason’s first African American president. He earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, all in mechanical engineering, at North Carolina State University. “Greg’s enthusiasm for the job is obvious,” says Vice Rector Jimmy Hazel, JD ’84, search committee co-chair.“ He articu lated a vision for Mason and our region that will continue Mason’s growth as one of the best universities in the country.” “Gregory Washington is the Mason story,” says search committee co-chair and Faculty Senate chair Shannon Davis. “His experience as a first-generation college student who rose through the ranks of higher education, coupled with his honesty and ability to bring people together, will enable him to connect with our community on a level that is rare for a president.” Washington and his wife, Nicole, were formally introduced to the university community at a reception following the Board of Visitors’ February meeting. To see more coverage of Washington's introduction to the Mason community, visit bit.ly/gmuprez.
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FROM OUR READERS
WE ASKED AND YOU ANSWERED SPIRIT FA L L 2019
A M AG A Z I N E F O R T H E G E O R G E M A S O N U N I V E R S I T Y CO M M U N I T Y
In the Fall 2019 issue of the Mason Spirit, we asked alumni to share their memories of the Original Building on the Arlington Campus. Many of you wrote in. Here, we share the responses from three alumni. To see the others, visit bit.ly/gmuoriginal.
BRIGHT FUTURES Source Code Providing a solution to the state’s tech worker shortage
A M A Z I N G A M A ZO N ALU M N I | SU PP O R TI N G E M E R G I N G AR TI S T S | M E E T PR E S I D E N T H O LTO N
We want to hear from you. Letters to the editor are welcomed. Send correspondence to Colleen Kearney Rich, Managing Editor, Mason Spirit, 4400 University Drive, MS 2F7, Fairfax, Virginia 22030. Or send an email to spirit@gmu.edu. Need to change your address or update contact information with us? Or prefer not to receive the magazine in the mail any longer? Just let us know via email at development@gmu.edu.
➤As a 1990 graduate of the law school and someone who has the opportunity to visit the existing structure from time to time, the improvements in the space are monumental, and I know that the expansion will only serve to stamp the Arlington Campus as a go-to spot for future lawyers, innovators, and public policy wonks. However, it was definitely interesting and memorable to have attended law school over four years at night in the old department store. Walking in from the parking lot to a “comfy” library and even smaller café won’t be forgotten, and what will always remain etched in my memory is the ascent up the escalator to our classrooms. Truth be told, you kind of forgot what the physical plant was once you had the opportunity to interact and learn from incredible legal minds, both as professors and fellow classmates. I am definitely proud of my degree from the Antonin Scalia Law School, née George Mason University School of Law, and am excited about the direction the school has taken since my graduation and wouldn’t trade those years for anything. Jeff Kramer, JD ’90
THE SHADOW OF SEGREGATION ➤As one who would later go on to practice civil rights law, I distinctly remember on the bottom floor there
Yearbook photos show the Original Building over the years.
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being two men’s and two women’s rooms, all right next to one another; a constant reminder of how far we had come as a nation and the gravity of the endeavor we had undertaken. Mark D. Dix, JD ’98
LAW AND LOVE ➤I grew up in Arlington so I remember shopping at Kann’s with my mother and being excited to ride the escalator. My husband, William Brewer, and I met during law school when we worked on the “Urge to Merge” campaign to convert the International School of Law into a state school as part of George Mason University. We were part of an active group of students lobbying the Virginia legislature and working closely with Til Hazel to make the dream come true. One evening when Bill and I were taking a study break in an open area on the second floor of the building, he asked me to marry him. We were married during our third year of law school. After graduation, we moved to Morgantown, West Virginia, where we have had successful and active law practices and raised our family. Little did I know when I started law school that the Kann’s building would help chart out the rest of my life for me! Susan (Slenker) Brewer, JD ’80
Correction In the “Emerging Artists” story in the fall 2019 issue of the Mason Spirit, we incorrectly spelled Andrew Jorgensen’s name. We apologize for the error.
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Arlington Campus Celebrates 40 Years
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ason’s Arlington Campus cele brated its storied past during a 40th anniversary commemoration in Van Metre Hall in November. Mason interim president Anne Holton joined other university, state, and local officials in recognizing the university’s positive presence in Arlington since 1979 and its prom inent role as a hub for current and future regional innovation. Holton referenced the “glorious past and present and our exciting future” and Mason’s consistent role within the community during that 40 years when she recalled the Arlington Campus’s start in the old department store building next door; its current home
in Van Metre Hall, Vernon Smith Hall, and Hazel Hall; and the upcoming Institute for Digital InnovAtion (IDIA). She cited the extraordinary work that has been done on the campus since its outset. At the heart of the expanded campus will be a state-of-the-art, 400,000-square-foot building that will be home to IDIA, a university think tank that will welcome more than 1,200 entrepreneurs, researchers, technologists, and business leaders from the public and private sectors to anchor Arlington’s innovation district. —John Hollis
Arlington Campus concept
Building the University for the Future
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n November, Governor Ralph Northam announced Mason will receive $235 million from the state as part of the Tech Talent Investment Program. The funding will support Mason’s role as a producer of graduates in high-demand fields and spur the expansion of the Arlington Campus. The Commonwealth of Virginia signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with 11 universities. The first of two Mason MOUs calls for the state to invest $125 million in Mason to produce 7,538 master’s graduates in computer science and related fields over the next 20 years. Mason will match these dollars for a total investment of $250 million. The second MOU calls for the state to invest $110 million in Mason to confer 8,410 undergraduate degrees in tech fields over that same period. All funding is subject to state appropriations. In all, Mason will produce about 30 percent of 25,000 additional graduates in tech fields over the next two decades to serve region and state employers, including Amazon, which announced last year that the company plans to hire 25,000 employees over 10 years for its HQ2 located in Arlington County. The state funding will support the expansion of Mason’s Arlington Campus, which will include the Mason Institute for Digital InnovAtion, the anchor of an innovation district inspired by similar districts established around the country by research universities and their partners, which will contribute to economic growth and job creation along the Rosslyn–Ballston Corridor.
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Wu Named President of Baruch College
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n February, the City University of New York (CUNY) System named George Mason University Provost and Executive Vice President S. David Wu the eighth president of Baruch College, effective July 1. “I am deeply honored, and abso lutely thrilled and humbled, to be the next president of Baruch College,” Wu says. “My time at Mason has been one of tremendous growth and learning, and provided me with the oppor-tunity to work with colleagues who shared the vision of creating the best quality education for our students and a powerhouse for new ideas and new paradigms for research and learning that change the world. “Over the last six years, I have been fortunate to work with a tremen dously talented team and help the university to achieve a whole new level of national recognition and prominence. Everything I have learned at Mason has prepared me for this next step in my journey and for that, I am immensely grateful.”
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“I want to personally thank David for his hard work and commitment to Mason,” says Interim President Anne Holton. “He has been an extra wordinary partner over the past six months, providing leadership and support during this transition. I am grateful for all he has done for the university. I also want to congratulate him on this opportunity, which is a great move for him both profession ally and personally.” Wu was instrumental in helping to shape Mason’s vision for offering access to excellence. Since joining the university in 2014, he has played a leading role in the university’s emergence as a top-tier research institution, and he has spearheaded the university’s strategic priorities. During his tenure, Mason experi enced the fastest enrollment growth in Virginia, increased stu dent diversity and academic out comes, and became the youngest institution to receive Carnegie tier-one research designation.
One of Wu’s signature achieve ments was to elevate multidisci plinary academic and research col laboration at Mason, which led to the creation of the Mason Impact initiative to enrich student learning, and the creation of multidisciplinary research institutes in bioealth inno vation, sustainable earth, and transnational crime. During his tenure, the sponsored awards for research, scholarship, and creative work increased by nearly 80 percent. During the past two years, Mason jumped 90 places in the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Ed ranking based on “educational impact and the lifetime benefit to students.” Wu will remain at Mason through the spring, and Holton will name an interim provost with input from Mason deans, faculty, and other university leaders. A search for Mason’s next provost will be led by Mason’s newly selected president, Gregory Washington. —Pam Shepherd
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New Cyber Living Innovation Lab Comes to Arlington
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new Cyber Living Innovation Lab will provide exper iential learning opportunities to students from univer sities across the region, thanks to $2.5 million in funding as part of a statewide initiative. Mason will use funds awarded by the Commonwealth of Virginia to establish the lab, which will serve as an inte gral part of the Mason-led Northern Virginia Node of the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) starting in fall 2020. The facility, which will be housed in Vernon Smith Hall on Mason’s Arlington Campus, adjacent to the future Institute for Digital InnovAtion, will feature 3,000 square feet dedicated to cybersecurity research, training, and experiential learning. It will align with the CCI’s strategic aim of growing workforceready cybersecurity and cyberphysical system security talent. CCI’s Northern Virginia Node is a consortium of more than 60 Northern Virginia-based universities, colleges, and private, nonprofit, and government organizations, all sharing a commitment to building innovation capacity by focusing academic research and development, supporting an entre preneurial ecosystem, and aligning education and training with industry needs. The CCI includes four regional nodes across the state, each led by a university. The commonwealth approved
$2.5 million for each regional node last year, as well as an additional $500,000 each in capital funding for the neces sary equipment that will help educate students through 11 distinct initiatives in the areas of research, talent devel opment, and entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Cyber Living Innovation Lab will include autonomous vehicle sensor platforms to study 5G performance and secu rity vulnerabilities. The platforms will support lidar, radar, stereo, and night vision cameras that will be deployed on a fleet of vehicles to simulate autonomous driving. The lab will also study the impact of 5G on the security of industry and smart manufacturing, and the vulnerability of the supporting power grid. “Our impact on research and development, talent cultivation, and economic impact is magnified by our partner ships and our ability to leverage and combine efforts to achieve our mutual goals,” says Northern Virginia Node director Liza Wilson Durant, the associate dean for strategic initiatives and community engagement at Mason’s Volgenau School of Engineering. —John Hollis
Justice Kagan Gives 2019 Wilkins Lecture
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.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan said in a visit to Mason in November that “it’s long past time to stop” voting strictly along party lines when confirming Supreme Court justices because it politicizes the process in a way that is detrimental to the court’s purpose and stature. Justice Kagan spoke with Robinson Professor of Public Affairs Steven Pearlstein at the second annual Roger Wilkins Lecture in the MIX at Fenwick Library. The pair discussed a wide range of topics, from the day-to-day workings of the Supreme Court to Kagan’s clerks “de-snarking” her sharply worded dissenting opinions. Watch the event at bit.ly/kagangmu. Spring 2020 M A S O N S P I R I T | 7
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A Bold New Model to Improve Public Health
POINT of PRIDE Since 2013, Mason and Partners (MAP) Clinics have provided more than $2 million in medical care to the underserved in Northern Virginia.
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o address the critical public health needs in Northern Virginia and beyond, the College of Health and Human Services launched the Population Health Center in October. “The Population Health Center is a hub where re searchers, faculty, students, care providers, and com munity partners come together to develop innovative approaches to research, interprofessional care, and professional development to improve public health. Experiential learning opportunities are available for all involved, with the goal of moving the needle on the health of the populations we serve,” says Dean Germaine Louis. Located on Mason’s Fairfax Campus in the Peterson Family Health Sciences Hall, the center facilitates partnerships between academia and community and houses state-of-the-art facilities for telehealth, research, and clinical care. The 10th Mason and Partners (MAP) Clinic, a no-barrier free clinic, will be located there, as will the Kaiser Permanente Community Wellness
Hub. Funded by a grant from Kaiser Permanente, the hub is where co-located community partners will be able to provide resources to address access to housing, food, and prescriptions. The Claude Moore Scholars program, an initiative to build a career-ready workforce of students who are pursuing higher education health career pathways, is also located in the center. Mason faculty members Alison Cuellar; Caroline Sutter, MSN ’01, DNP ’12; and Rebecca Sutter, MSN ’01, DNP ’12, have been appointed as codirectors of the center and serve as advisors to Dean Louis. Cuellar oversees faculty-led research initiatives, Rebecca Sutter oversees interprofessional care delivery, and Caroline Sutter oversees workforce development efforts. With the college’s faculty, these leaders bring their respective expertise to build a groundbreaking model for inter professional collaboration among public health researchers, practitioners, community partners, and students. —Michelle Thompson
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A Bond That’s Thicker Than Water
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he McKinley triplets from Sterling, Virginia, began swimming for Mason’s swimming and diving teams as freshmen. Criminology, law and society major Mia competes in the backstroke, while criminology, law and society major Sophie and busi ness major Tim each compete in freestyle, breaststroke, and butterfly. Mia and Tim were named to the 2018–19 Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll. Sophie had six podium finishes, including a win in the 400meter individual medley race against the University of Delaware. “We have a really close bond,” Sophie says of her siblings. “We know how to sup port each other, and we look to each other. It’s fun when we’re all together.” —Hannah Harmison
Committed to Reducing Virginia’s Teacher Shortage
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airfax County Public Schools needs to fill about 2,000 teaching vacancies a year. TEACHERtrack @ Mason, a new program in Mason’s College of Education and Human Development (CEHD), aims to help mitigate that teacher shortage by encouraging high school students in Northern Virginia to embrace teaching as a profession. “We feel it is our duty to make sure we are preparing the next generation of teachers for our students,” says Roberto Pamas, director of TEACHERtrack @ Mason and the former principal of O.W. Holmes Middle School in Fairfax. Launched in fall 2019, the program is just one of sev eral Mason- and CEHD-led initiatives to address Virginia’s teacher shortage. Mason is one of the first public insti tutions in Virginia to offer four-year undergraduate degrees in teacher preparation in elementary education, special
education, and childhood education for diverse learners. CEHD dean Mark Ginsberg is leading an exploration for the commonwealth about the causes of and possible solutions for the state’s teacher shortage. Participating in the project, which is funded by the provosts of Virginia’s public universities, are representatives from the Virginia Department of Education and the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, as well as leaders from community colleges and other four-year, university-based teacher preparation programs. “We have an ambitious plan,” says Ginsberg. “Now we have to find out who will help build out identified solutions, including finding the necessary funding to address the critical issues for the state and nation.” —Damian Cristodero
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Mason’s track and field team recently “adopted” Daniels Run Elementary School in Fairfax.
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Mason Student-Athletes Head Back to School
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n a crisp October morning, several Mason baseball players could be seen playing catch with a group of elementary schoolers during recess—although they were throwing more gently than they normally would on the baseball diamond. After recess, they returned to the classroom to help the students with their reading skills. This was a typical day of volunteering for Mason’s baseball players, a task that they thoroughly enjoy. Mason’s baseball team adopted Providence Elementary School in Fairfax in spring 2019 as part of Intercollegiate Athletics’ Adopt a School program. The baseball players visit the school as often as schedules allow—primarily during their off-season. The players look forward to their visits, as they get to momentarily escape their responsi bilities on the field and in the classroom and focus their energy on helping others. “It slows life down,” says graduate student Bailey Klein, BS Economics ’18, who is a catcher on Mason’s team. Mason Athletics started to partner with area elementary schools in 2017 with the women’s basketball team being the first to adopt a school—Matthew Maury Elementary in Alexandria. Since then, four teams have joined the program.
“We try to accommodate both the team’s and the school’s goals,” says Dawn Hicks, director of community relations for Mason Athletics, who works to connect Mason’s teams with the different public schools in the area. Mason alumna Laura May, BS Education ’83, MEd Curriculum and Instruction ’01, who teaches sixth grade at Providence, says that having visitors in the classroom acts as a catalyst for some students, capturing their attention and giving them extra energy to complete their work. Plus, it is something for students to look forward to throughout the week. The Adopt a School program is still growing with Mason’s wrestling team recently adopting Lanier Middle School and the track and field team adopting Daniels Run Elementary School, both in Fairfax. City of Fairfax Schools superintendent Phyllis Pajardo, MEd Administration and Supervision ’93, is a proponent of the program and enjoys its continued growth. “It’s a really great way to give back,” says the Mason alumna. “It’s just a delight.” —Liam Griffin
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A Wing and a Performance Space
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ducation is at the heart of who we are,” Rick Davis, dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, told about 200 invited guests at the December opening of the new Hylton Performing Arts Center Education and Rehearsal Wing on the Science and Technology Campus. The 17,000 square feet of added space—including two large rehearsal halls, six music practice rooms, and two classrooms—greatly expands the Hylton Center’s use as a place to educate, rehearse, perform, and collaborate in Prince William County. “The opening of this new wing not only means an expansion of educational offerings at the Hylton Center, but also the opportunity for this community to fully enter into the entire life cycle of artistic creation,” says Davis, who is also executive director of the center. The Hylton Center’s education initiatives reach thou sands of students every year and include community programs for children and adults. The wing features two impressive spaces that enable arts groups to stage fullscale rehearsals or performances: a large rehearsal hall, which matches the floor size of the center’s main stage in Merchant Hall; and a second rehearsal hall, matching the footprint of the Gregory Family Theater. The latter hall is named the Ballard Postma Studio in recognition of a gift from Hans and Mary Postma of Haymarket, Virginia. The $13.5 million expansion of the center has been funded in part by a $6 million grant from the Common wealth of Virginia, along with the generous support of hundreds of private donors, including a lead gift of more than $7.5 million from the Cecil and Irene Hylton Foundation.
The entrance to the wing features a painting by Mason School of Art alumnus Nathan Loda, MFA ’15, depicting participants in the Veterans and the Arts initiative. A gift from Buck and Julie Waters named the Waters Walk, a corridor gallery that features artwork by Manassas-based visual artist David Labrozzi. “This new wing represents exponential opportunities, both for chamber members and the businesses who will use the spaces for meetings, conferences, and special events, but also for all of us who work here and live in this community as well,” says Bishop Lyle Dukes, chair of the Prince William Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. All of the new spaces will be extensively used by com munity arts organizations that partner with the Hylton Center. Among these is Performing Arts for Kids, a group that raises money to enable local school children to receive free tickets to Hylton Center performances. The group has brought 45,000 students to the center over the past five years. Recognizing that achievement, the space around the six practice rooms is named the Performing Arts for Kids Hub, through a generous gift from group cofounder Claire Machosky-Ullman and her husband, Al Ullman. These and other contributions have spurred the Hylton Center’s Capital and Endowment Campaign, which is now more than 75 percent of the way toward achieving its $31.5 million goal. Other major contributors to the campaign include Bennett, Atkinson, and Associates PC; the Wall Foundation; NOVEC; Micron; Donald Coulter and Rosemary Enright; the Parr Family; Eileen Roberts; and Jim and Barbara White. —Rob Riordan, MPA ’19 Spring 2020 M A S O N S P I R I T | 11
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Turning on the Jets
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here’s no question that Nabih “Nino” Dandan, BS Health, Fitness, and Recreation Resources ’17, now has a foot in the door in the business of minor league baseball. It’s Dandan’s swift feet, in fact, that have recently brought so much attention to his employer, the triple-A Gwinnett Stripers, the Atlanta Braves’ top minor league affiliate based in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. By day a corporate partnership trainee, on game nights Dandan dons a skintight gray racing suit, goggles, and gym shorts as he transforms into his between-innings entertainment persona, “The Fridge.” At six feet two and around 300 pounds, fans seem to expect Dandan to be a slow runner as he begins his footraces that take place along the Stripers’ outfield fence. But there’s more to this College of Education and Human Development graduate than meets the eye. Dandan plays to the crowd’s expectations as he pretends to be winded and lumbers slowly as each race starts, allowing his opponent a lengthy head start.
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That’s when, to the crowd’s surprise, he “turns on the jets,” as the former high school football player from Richmond, Virginia, puts it. The twist parodies a more earnest footrace promotion that the Braves do down the road in Atlanta, and the crowd loves it, Dandan says. The promotion has taken off. After the initial video featuring The Fridge received millions of interactions on Facebook, Dandan was even featured on ESPN’s SportsCenter. Dandan’s experience has been unique, to say the least. “It’s been a long season and my body hurts, but it’s been an awesome experience and I’ve loved every minute of it.” —Greg Sullivan
@
MASON
MEET THE MASON NATION Amy Sullivan Job: Head of Preservation Services, University Libraries he spotlight doesn’t shine particularly brightly on the preservation lab that’s tucked away on the third floor of Fenwick Library. Still, Amy Sullivan loves her job as the head of preservation services, where she works to ensure the safety of items in Mason’s libraries and collections. For the past five years, Sullivan has embraced every day of work protecting old books, preserving knowledge, and planning for the worst. Finding Her Passion: After studying English and communication as an undergraduate, Sullivan describes how she became involved with work in the library through the process of elimination. “I knew I wanted to do something with books, but I didn’t know what that was,” she says. When she was introduced to the many roles within the library by a colleague, she knew that this was her future. “I thought, ‘This is it! This is the thing!’” Her work in the library focuses on preparing plans for possible misfortunes that may befall Mason’s many books and other artifacts and taking preventative action to maintain their safety. Disaster Plans: In her time at Mason, she has worked on expanding the different disaster plans for University Libraries and improving the preservation lab located within Fenwick Library. Notably, she was also responsible for creating a custom enclosure for an antiwar petition that was posted on Mason’s Fairfax Campus during the Vietnam War. The petition is now displayed in Fenwick Library. Tools of the Trade: Sullivan’s preservation lab resembles a combination of a traditional science lab and a craftsman’s workshop. In one corner of the room is a fume hood to safely contain different gas chemicals, which is across from a 19th-century board shear that is as imposing as one would imagine. The tool is an instrument that uses a six-foot blade to cut and trim with precision. These are just some of the tools that Sullivan uses to create tuxedo boxes, clamshells, and other custom enclosures for some of Mason’s more delicate artifacts. Leaving a Legacy: Sullivan notes that her position is more rewarding than she anticipated. She says the most fulfilling part of her work is “knowing that the collection will be here when I’m not.” Through her work in preservation, she protects knowledge for future generations. “You never know what people will need in the future,” she adds. She does make one request of Mason students who make use of the library’s many resources: “Please don’t do anything to the books that I can’t undo.” —Liam Griffin
PHOTO BY RON AIRA
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Meeting Students Where They Are As higher education is evolving to meet the changing needs of prospective students, George Mason University is taking the lead.
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t is estimated that there are more than a million Virginians with some college education but no degree. The Commonwealth of Virginia is interested in removing the barriers to a degree for these citizens, and so is George Mason University. So, what exactly is keeping this large group of potential students from investing in their education and re-entering the classroom? Some point to cost and time. Others think it might be the classroom itself.
“I think younger students can have a challenging time understanding the value of a college education. When they see all the ways they can learn new things online— whether it is through YouTube, LinkedIn, or many other online sources—it’s a hard sell for young people who also have financial constraints,” says Janette Kenner Muir, associate provost for academic initiatives and services. When Mason adopted its strategic plan in 2014, it set goals for creating accessible pathways to degrees and new delivery formats to meet the needs of a diverse group of students. In fall 2016, Mason Provost S. David Wu established the Office of Academic Innovation and New Ventures to formalize the exploration, launch, and maintenance of new educational ventures at Mason. The team in this office leads the university in forging partnerships that accelerate the development of accessible academic pathways for Mason’s student population, which includes first-generation students, adult learners, and active-duty military and veterans. “We have to change our assumptions about the kind of students who are in our classes and who attend college these days,” says Muir, who is a member of the New Ventures team. “If we were a small, four-year private [college], we’d have a very different demographic. But the reality is that our students are often older, and they juggle many things in their lives. We have to find ways to meet them where they’re at, and we also need to think more about how they learn and what modalities work best for different individuals.” Many of the changes taking place in higher education have been spurred on by the Commonwealth of Virginia as initiatives of governors or the legislature. Since the strategic plan was unveiled, Mason has excelled in improving the transfer process and developing online degree programs and is receiving accolades for both.
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Improving the Transfer Process Of the 80 percent of community college students nationally who say they want to complete a bachelor’s degree, only 20 percent actually do so. Mason has worked to remove the obstacles to a four-year degree with the creation of the ADVANCE Program, a partnership between Mason and Northern Virginia Community College that provides a more seamless path from community college to a bachelor’s degree, saving students time and money.
We also are fortunate to have a high level of trust among the leadership of these two institutions—and that has power. —Janette Kenner Muir
Just a few years old, ADVANCE is quickly becoming a national model for other states. In 2018, the Chronicle of Higher Education named the NOVA-to-Mason path “one of the nation’s most successful transfer partnerships,” and the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition also recognized the partnership with its 2019 John N. Gardner Institutional Excellence for Students in Transition Award. (For more information about ADVANCE, see page 18). Now, everyone wants to know Mason’s secret. Muir says she is often approached at conferences by people who want to know how Mason got the faculty to work together, and she will warn them that it is not “an easy lift.” “We are fortunate to have a very engaged faculty, and we’ve held summits where faculty get to sit down together and have deeper conversations about pathways and learning outcomes. We’ve been able to watch some wonderful ‘aha’ moments happen,” says Muir. “We also are fortunate to have a high level of trust among the leadership of these two institutions—and that has power.” The commonwealth has also caught on. One of the statewide projects that Muir is working on is called Transfer Virginia, which is an initiative of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), the state’s coordinating body for higher education. SCHEV is in the process of approving what they are calling “passport” credits and a 30-credit uniform certificate. Every Virginia community college will offer these 16 passport credits, which will transfer to any four-year institution in the state. In addition, the passport credits will be offered online and made available in high schools that offer dual enrollment. The 30-credit certificate is expected to cover most of the general education requirements. Muir is quick to point out that the new SCHEV program is legislatively driven. Virginia legislators had been getting complaints about the way credits transfer from community colleges to the state’s four-year schools. “The goal is to make this transfer process more transparent and accessible for students,” says Muir. “Everybody’s engaged in making the transfer experience better because when you look at the general data, students are losing at least 15 credits when they transfer—and that’s on the low end.”
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One of the Nation’s ‘Biggest Movers’ in Online Education Another state-supported initiative aimed at Virginians with some college credits but no degree is the Online Virginia Network. Cofounded by Mason with Old Dominion University in 2017, the network now includes the Virginia Community College System and brings a selection of George Mason and Old Dominion online programs to one web portal, allowing busy adult learners to find and enroll in high-demand degree programs and finish their bachelor’s degrees online. Mason has also entered into a partnership with Wiley Education Services to help expedite the creation of online degree programs. Mason was recently featured in an article from Inside Higher Ed for being one of the “biggest movers” for online education in 2018. According to data on postsecondary enrollment released by the U.S. Department of Education, 12,753 Mason students enrolled in at least one online class in 2018, with 2,164 of that number taking every class online. This is a 25 percent increase from 2017’s numbers. Currently, eight out of 10 undergraduate students at Mason take at least one online course.
By the Numbers Total enrollment 2018: 37,316 100% online students 2018: 2,164 Partially online students: 10,589 Total online enrollment 2018: 12,753 Total online enrollment 2017: 10,199 % increase 2017 to 2018: 25% Total online enrollment 2015: 7,901 % increase 2015 to 2018: 61.4%
“Expanding our online presence is the right move for Mason,” says Michelle Marks, MS ’93, PhD ’98, vice president for academic innovation and new ventures. “There is definitely an urgency here. Our students are wanting more online options, and our region is counting on us to provide educational access for our diverse student population. We’ve made some big moves in the online space, and we still have more to do. It’s not like online is the future. Online is now.” And the online programs are also being recognized. In the U.S. News & World Report 2020 online rankings, seven Mason programs made it into the top 50, with several others making significant gains over last year. Mason’s special education master’s program is ranked 10th, up from 16th last year. The master’s program in accounting is ranked 19th nationally, up from 39th last year and 56th in 2018, and the computer information technology master’s pro gram, at No. 24, is ranked in the top 25 for the third consecutive year. “Online programs are now mainstream,” Marks says. “Students across the country are increasingly choosing online. Rankings like these are indicators that Mason’s programs are strong, and we are on the right path.” Mary Lee Clark, Damian Cristodero, John Hollis, and Colleen Kearney Rich, MFA ’95, contributed to this story.
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PHOTO BY EVAN CANTWELL
Advancing Toward a Four-Year Degree BY P R I YA N K A C H A M PA N E R I , B A ’05, M FA ’10
For community college students looking to transfer to a four-year institution, the roadblocks they encounter along the way are often too much to overcome. ADVANCE is looking to change that—and create a model for other institutions across the nation to follow.
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Of the 80 percent of community college students nationally who say they want to complete a bachelor’s degree, only 20 percent actually do so after seven years. For the rest, the obstacles they face—credits that don’t transfer, money and time lost, a lack of connection at the four-year school—far too often leaves them feeling further behind than where they started, in debt, and unable to move forward professionally. George Mason University and Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) wanted to find a better way. They wanted to build a bridge for those students—and they wanted to do it together. “Our region is booming and CEOs can’t find enough talent,” says Michelle Marks, MS ’93, PhD ’98, vice president for academic innovation and new ventures at Mason. “We knew we had to work harder to take down barriers that prevent talented students from completing their degrees.”
ADVANCE welcomed its inaugural class of 319 in fall 2018. One year later, student enrollment had shot up to 692, almost 20 percent higher than projected goals. By 2030, enrollment could swell to more than 6,500 students.
The ADVANCE Program is quickly becoming a national model for the transfer process. In 2018, the Chron icle of Higher Education named the NOVA-to-Mason path “one of the nation’s most successful transfer partnerships.” The National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience The result is ADVANCE, a Mason/NOVA part and Students in Transition also recognized the nership that provides a more seamless and afford part nership with its 2019 John N. Gardner able path from community college to a four-year Institutional Excellence for Students in Trans degree, saving students time and money—an ition Award. average of $15,000 on the cost of a bachelor’s degree for most students. IDENTIFYING THE OBSTACLES Mason and NOVA have a lot in common. As the largest institutions of their kind in Virginia— According to Ashlie Prioleau, executive director NOVA the largest two-year institution, and of ADVANCE, data show that students starting Mason the largest public research university— their postsecondary education at a community together, they serve more than 110,000 students. college—an option that comes at a lower price The student populations at both are highly point than most four-year institutions—clearly diverse in ethnicity, age, and employment status. had the drive and intention to continue their studies and earn a bachelor’s degree. So what Mason enrolls almost twice as many transfer was stopping them? students as any other Virginia four-year institution. Each year, 3,000 students come to Mason di “Students were saying it’s because so many of their credits wouldn’t transfer. Or they don’t rectly from NOVA.
"OUR REGION IS BOOMING AND CEOS CAN’T FIND ENOUGH TALENT. WE KNEW WE HAD TO WORK HARDER TO TAKE DOWN BARRIERS THAT PREVENT TALENTED STUDENTS FROM COMPLETING THEIR DEGREES." —Michelle Marks
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PHOTO BY LATHAN GOUMAS
Success coach Sharon Kim divides her time between Mason’s Fairfax Campus and Northern Virginia Community College’s Annandale Campus.
“IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT OPENING THE DOOR TO A FOUR-YEAR DEGREE. IT’S ABOUT UPWARD SOCIAL MOBILITY.” —Ashlie Prioleau
have enough money to cover the new and surprising cost of a four-year degree. So many of these students are also working parents, along with other unique circumstances that we in higher education can’t just overlook,” says Prioleau. When the curriculum between two institutions does not align, students trying to transfer literally end up paying the price in both money and time. A 2017 U.S. Government Accountability Office report estimates that students transferring between institutions in the years 2004 to 2009 lost an average of 43 percent of their credits.
VANCE automatically clear Mason’s admissions process. The other aspects of the program are tailored to bypass most obstacles. Prioleau says that the pathways—an aligned curriculum with detailed course plans—are key to the program’s success. “It just creates so much less stress for the students.” An aligned curriculum for specific majors ensures that students waste neither time nor money on excess credits at both NOVA and Mason as long as they follow the course plan outlined in their pathway. ADVANCE’s 102 pathways focus on areas where regional employers initially expressed a need for talent, including health care, teacher education, and technology, but have grown to encompass majors such as computer game design and neuroscience.
Yet the advantages of having a bachelor’s degree when job hunting are proven. According to the Center for Education and the Workforce, 65 percent of jobs in 2020 will require, at minimum, either a bachelor’s degree, an associate’s degree, or some college credits. And when that degree is earned “Faculty are the superstars of ADVANCE,” says in a region like Northern Virginia, already a hub Marks. “Each pathway is a result of Mason and for major employers in high-demand fields, the NOVA faculty working together to ensure that benefits only compound. courses align and move students forward in their “It’s not just about opening the door to a four- programs. You can’t overstate the value of these year degree,” Prioleau says. “It’s about upward collaborations. The two-to-four-year disconnect social mobility.” exists between higher ed institutions across the country, and our faculty has been able to over come it.” A NEW MODEL OF TRANSFER ADVANCE was designed to be a joint admissions ADVANCE students are treated like Mason program: NOVA students signing up for AD students from their first day, receiving a Mason 20 | S P I R I T. G M U. E D U
ID card and immediate access to all Mason services, including University Libraries and Career Services. Dedicated support staff guide the students every step of the way.
As an ADVANCE student success coach, Sharon Kim, BA Psychology ’03, MEd ’08—who di vides her work week between Mason’s Fairfax Campus and NOVA’s Annandale Campus—is often listening more closely than students realize. “I try to pay attention to questions students ask, or stories that they share, so that I can identify specific support that students will need,” she says. This means that when a student is sharing a personal anecdote, the wheels in Kim’s head are turning, and those stories turn into opportu nities to point out resources, whether they be child-care options, learning strategies, or career resources. Kim’s current caseload of 350 includes online students, adult learners, student-parents, international students, and more. “We look at the whole person,” says Kim, who was also a transfer student from NOVA before earning her Mason degrees. “It’s not just about academics. We try to empower students to re move barriers. Every student’s knowledge varies, and meeting them where they are is key to providing support.” As part of a three-year partnership with AD VANCE, InsideTrack student success experts will work directly with Mason and NOVA ad visers, faculty, and counselors to provide training, development, and the certification of coaches, managers, and program partners. InsideTrack is also developing an ongoing training, certification, and quality-assurance program, as well as a suc cess coaching handbook tailored to ADVANCE students’ needs.
PHOTO BY LATHAN GOUMAS
A WORLD OF SUPPORT
DIEGO ORTEGA BUSINESS MANAGEMENT PATHWAY After spending four years in the U.S. Marines, Diego Ortega took an aptitude test as part of his transition out of the military. To his surprise, one of the possible career fields he matched for was human resources. With that knowledge in hand, he enrolled at NOVA, where he found himself thinking, “If you know exactly what you want to do, there should be something that helps guide you down that path.” Then one day at NOVA, a poster caught his eye. It was for ADVANCE. “I was trying to set myself apart and trying to be one step ahead of my peers, and it seemed like something I could really take advantage of.” After joining the program’s inaugural class in fall 2018, he began using all the opportunities he now had at his fingertips. Through Mason’s University Career Services, he procured an internship with the Patriot Pollinator Coalition. He’s also attended several campus events. But the best part, Ortega says, is the way the ADVANCE pathway has created a map to lead him exactly where he wants to be. “It’s taken a lot of stress out of the equation.”
GROWING FOR THE FUTURE The program’s initial successes have not gone unnoticed, with external support and recog nition coming from multiple areas. The Strada Spring 2020 M A S O N S P I R I T | 21
Education Network awarded ADVANCE a $1 million, three-year grant in early 2019. The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation announced a $250,000 award, to be shared jointly between ADVANCE and the Early Identification Pro gram (EIP), in September 2019.
PHOTO BY LATHAN GOUMAS
Area employers have also pledged their support. A gift from the Northrop Grumman Foundation will establish a scholarship fund for ADVANCE students pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics degrees. Support from the Micron Technology Foundation will provide both stipends and coaching support for NOVA engineering students transferring to Mason, as well as ADVANCE outreach into local high schools.
SOFIA ESCOTO BIOLOGY PATHWAY As a student in the biology pathway, Sofia Escoto is clearly enamored of her subject, citing classes she’s taken in cell biology and genetics as further stoking her interest. She joined the inaugural ADVANCE class in fall 2018 after graduating from Oakton High School in Vienna, Virginia. She knew she wanted to one day go to Mason, and she liked that ADVANCE streamlined all of her course requirements. While she knew what field she wanted to focus on, she wasn’t so sure about her future career after graduation. Enter her success coach, Sharon Kim. “I was talking about what classes I would need to take, because I wasn’t sure what I really wanted to do after school, and she told me to take a career test,” Escoto says. The test suggested she consider a career in teaching. Kim then suggested Escoto work at the tutoring center at NOVA as an initial tryout of the field. “That’s where I work now,” Escoto says. “She gave me the idea to apply there.” Escoto began her first semester at Mason in spring 2020.
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Prioleau emphasizes the push for a more direct pipeline taking students from graduation and straight into jobs with area employers. “Our goal in the second year of the program is to build out more and more of these [employer] connections,” she says. “We’re working on more commitments for these employers, who have given us funding already, to hire our students.” And, like the students it serves, ADVANCE has big dreams of its own. “The purpose is to create a national model for other institutions to replicate,” Prioleau says. She’s had several con versations with other universities and commun ity college systems, all interested in learning how to implement a similar program at their institutions. “ADVANCE has certainly achieved more than we expected, faster than we expected, and there’s still plenty of work ahead,” says Marks. “Mason’s goals are always big, but they’re also individual. Every ADVANCE student that makes it across the finish line and earns a degree—that’s a major win for students, families, and our region. It’s what our program and our university are here to do.”
BY THE NUMBERS
102
PAT H WAY S T O D E G R E E S
39
1,092 STUDENTS
% OE NF RI ON AL LUEGDUIRNATL ESCTHU-DR EE NL ATT SEWD E R E
48
D E G R E E PAT H WAY S
%
O F INAUGUR AL S T UDEN T S QUALIFIED FO R PELL G R AN T S
$15,000
PHOTO BY EVAN CANTWELL
AV E R A G E S AV I N G S O N T H E CO S T OF A BACHELOR’S DEGREE
$2.3M RAISED
F R O M E M P L OY E R S A N D F O U N D AT I O N S FOR SCHOLARSHIP AND PROGR AM SUPPORT
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PHOTO BY RON AIRA
Lawyering Up In Scalia Law’s legal clinics, Mason students handle real cases for real clients, which changes the lives of both parties. BY M A R I A M A B U R D E I N E H , B A ’13
Third-year George Mason University law students Samanta Martinez-Villarreal and Emily Ahdieh had been preparing for their moment in court for months. Their client, who was being detained in an immigration detention center, was relying on their legal advocacy to be reunited with his family. It all came down to a moment in front of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security immigration judge. “We were both a bit nervous because we thought, ‘This is this man’s life,’” says Martinez-Villarreal, who, with Ahdieh, put together the client’s bond motion, got
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declarations and affidavits from his family, and gathered supporting evidence to defend why he should be released. “His life was determined by how well we did in five min utes [of arguing the case].” Ahdieh and Martinez-Villarreal successfully got their client out on bond. They are two of six students in the Antonin Scalia Law School’s new Immigration Litigation Clinic, where students advocate for clients facing a range of complex immigration proceedings. From helping refugees to defending freedom of speech to advocating for families facing the struggles of mental
Samanta Martinez-Villarreal and Emily Ahdieh are two of six students advocating for clients as a part of the new Immigration Litigation Clinic.
illness, Scalia Law’s nine legal clinics provide students with substantive insight into what it takes to be a prac ticing lawyer. “The clinics are an indispensable part of the legal edu cation at Scalia Law, helping students put what they learn in the classroom into practice with real clients and actual legal cases, all under the guidance of experienced practitioners,” says Peter Davidson, deputy dean for strategic initiatives at Scalia Law. “[The clinic] has taught me more about being an attorney, how court proceedings actually work, how to read the rules and figure out how each [part of the litigation pro cess] works,” Martinez-Villarreal says. Each clinic—including the Immigration Clinic, which was made possible by a gift from Leonard Bennett, BS Finance ’89, JD ’94—gives students a leg up when it comes to applying for a job.
Did You Know ? Mason Class of 2001 law alumni William Consovoy and Thomas McCarthy of Consovoy McCarthy Park PLLC serve as supervising professors of the Administrative Law and Supreme Court Clinics.
“There’s only a few opportunities that law students have to actually be in court, and those opportunities usually don’t have somebody’s liberty on the line,” Ahdieh says. “It makes Scalia a more holistic school to have oppor tunities like this—it’s a great opportunity that the school offers for students that they didn’t have before.” The Innovation Law Clinic also made its Mason debut this year. “Innovation law brings together all the legal issues an entreprenuer faces when translating a cool idea into a real-world business,” says Mason law professor Sean O’Connor, who leads the clinic. The first cohort includes third-year students Samantha Levin, Kayleen Hansen, and Aris Hart, who have assisted a nonprofit working to get incorporated and gain taxexempt status, a Mason student developing a technology that may be patentable, and a fashion designer navigating the legal intricacies for branding her business. Spring 2020 M A S O N S P I R I T | 25
Learning how to address the judge, formulate your argument, evaluate a fact pattern fairly quickly, and put your case together in a very short period of time—you need those skills to practice in any area of the law.
PHOTO BY RON AIRA
—Mary Parnell
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“One reason I decided to go to law school was to take my interests and skills and direct them toward helping people—here we can help people be as successful as they can in their endeavors,” says Levin. “It’s been absolutely amazing to take what we’ve learned in classes and learned doctrinally and apply that to real-life practice, real-life clients, and help people in a way that lawyers can.” In the Free Speech Clinic, many cases are in areas cur rently underrepresented by free speech advocates, so students have the opportunity to make an impact. “The students work on actual cases in order to get aca demic credit, which is great because they get hands-on experience, and it’s not like a classroom assignment,” says JoAnn Koob, director of Mason’s Liberty and Law Center, which hosts the clinic. “It actually affects people.” Recently, clinic students conducted legal research to sup port a proposed bill in the Virginia General Assembly that would provide greater protection against censorship
to student journalists and publications. They also sup ported a legal challenge to state restrictions on vanity license plates and helped settle a case where an individual was arrested for publicly criticizing a police officer. Clinic students also have the chance to make profes sional connections. In the Law and Mental Illness clinic, students handle involuntary commitment hearings and medication-overobjection hearings to help people who may be a harm to themselves or others get the assistance they need. Stu dents have the opportunities to connect with the attor neys leading the clinics and overseeing the cases, as well as with the justices, says attorney Mary Parnell, who oversees the clinic with Fairfax County assistant county attorney Lynda Abramovitz. The skills learned in these clinics are applicable to any future lawyer. “Learning how to address the judge, formulate your argument, evaluate a fact pattern fairly quickly, and put your case together in a very short period of time—you need those skills to practice in any area of the law,” says Parnell. Without the clinics, the Mason law experience wouldn’t hold the same weight. “It’s one thing to discuss policy and theory in a classroom, and it’s quite another to actually get up there and practice it,” says Martinez-Villarreal. “We will debate policy all day in classes, but we have to keep in mind that there are actual people on the other side of those policies, and [policies] impact people in a real way.”
Clinically Effective
Free speech, innovation, immigration, and mental health are just the beginning. Here are four more clinics that provide students with experiential learning opportunities.
MUSIC TO THEIR EARS From artists to nonprofits to small businesses, students in the Arts and Entertainment Advocacy Clinic gain experience interviewing clients, clearing rights for their artistic projects, and advising them on contracts and next steps. “[The clinic] provided such a wonderful experience for me as a law student, and I want to assist in providing other students with that same kind of hands-on learning and experience,” says Terrica Carrington, JD ’16, a Scalia Law adjunct professor who volunteers as a supervising attorney for the clinic and is vice president of legal policy and copyright counsel at the Copyright Alliance in Washington, D.C. “It’s the kind of experience I went to law school to get.”
SERVING THE TROOPS Established in response to the legal needs of deployed servicemembers after the terrorist attacks of September 11, the Mason Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic (M-VETS) provides free representation to active-duty members of the armed forces, veterans, and their families, while offering law students practical legal advocacy experience. Since its inception, M-VETS has served more than 250 clients and provided the equivalent of more than $3.3 million in pro bono legal services.
AGENC Y AC TIVIT Y In the Administrative Law Clinic, students work closely with practicing attorneys at Consovoy McCarthy Park PLLC to learn about all aspects of administrative law. Monitoring agency activity, analyzing legislative proposals, conducting research, and drafting comments and briefs before agencies and in-action litigation are all highlights of the clinic.
SUPREME EXPERIENCE Students in the Supreme Court Clinic provide pro bono legal representation before the U.S. Supreme Court. By working on briefs for real clients, they not only learn how the Supreme Court takes and decides cases, but they also gain insight into the practice of law at the highest level of the U.S. judicial system.
Third-year law students (from left) Kayleen Hansen, Aris Hart, Samantha Levin, and Innovation Law Clinic professor Sean O’Connor discuss intellectual property law and strategic business plans for their client in the fashion industry.
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REASONS
TO GO TO CLASS
At George Mason University, innovative approaches to teaching and learning are a point of pride. We even have a name for it: Mason Impact. ILLUSTRATIONS BY MARCIA STAIMER
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ason Impact offers all students opportunities designed to help them develop problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication skills while tackling significant global ques tions and other challenges. This learning can happen in the classroom and through research, creative activities, civic engagement, entrepreneurship, or study-abroad experiences.
With so many innovative courses offered at Mason, it was hard to narrow down the list. But read on for a peek into some of the most exciting courses across our campuses.
HANDS-ON CSI
Students in the Forensic Science Program in the College of Science have many opportunities to get their hands dirty—sometimes literally. Located in a quiet residential neighborhood adjacent to campus, the Mason Crime Scene House has eight rooms that have each been carefully set up to recreate the details of very real crime scenes that Forensic Science Program director Mary Ellen O’Toole and her experienced team of crime scene investigators have worked in the past. In FRSC 516 Forensic Drone Photography, students learn how to fly drones equipped with sophisticated cameras and use a state-of-the-art FARO 3D crime scanner to analyze a simulated head-on car accident. They work alongside Mason Police, as well as the police departments from Fairfax City and Fairfax County, during the field experience.
ENTERPRISING EXTERNSHIPS
In the College of Health and Human Services, graduate students majoring in health administration and health informatics participate in semester-long capstone projects where they are paired with organizations and complete a project on behalf of the company. The program is a win-win for the employers and the students—and students graduate with practical experience in their chosen fields. Students have worked on projects dealing with opioid abuse and suicide attempts in rural America for Inspire Corp. and financing social determinants of health for Mason’s Center for Health Policy Research and Ethics. Students present a poster session at the end of the semester to showcase their knowledge and experience.
READY FOR YOUR CLOSE UP?
Each year, Mason film and video studies students collaborate with a guest director to produce and crew a short film on location for the Mason Film Lab. Students gain real crew experience, building their producing skills, crew credits, and technical expertise. Students in FAVS 311 Producing I spend class time over the semester in pre-production for the location shoot, then collaborate on set with students in Cinematography (FAVS 331) and Sound Editing and Recording (FAVS 333) to crew the film. Each film is written and directed by a celebrated guest director, with Mason film and video studies professors producing and supervising. Recent directors included Colette Burson (showrunner for the Golden Globe-nominated HBO series Hung) and Nefertite Nguvu (director of the award-winning feature film In the Morning). The students gain valuable insight into future careers after graduation, and many have used Mason Film Lab credits on their resumes to land positions on major film sets.
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TELL IT TO THE JUDGE
The location of the Antonin Scalia Law School in Arlington gives students exceptional opportunities to gain substantial practical experience—and to earn credit while doing it. Through the school’s many legal clinics, students provide free legal assistance to clients under the supervision of Scalia Law faculty, alumni, and other ex perts. Clinics offer the opportunity to work on cases before the U.S. Supreme Court or provide legal help to active-duty service members, veterans, and their families. See story on page 24 for more information.
IF YOU COULD TURN BACK TIME
The faculty in Mason’s Department of History and Art History believe the best way for a student to learn HIST 300 Historical Methods is by actually working as a historian and poring through archives to discover new stories to tell. In the Dead in Virginia section of this class, taught by Mason history professor Mills Kelly, students select a local family cemetery to research in detail. They use what they’ve found to build a digital exhibit on the cemetery and create a writing project on a historical topic or event that happened during the lives of the people buried there. So, for instance, students might find the grave of a recently freed slave and then write about the experience of freedom following the Civil War. In history professor Cynthia Kierner’s Washington’s World section of the course, students travel to Mount Vernon to conduct research at the Fred W. Smith Library for the Study of George Washington. Their scholarly work is published online in the Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington.
THE POWER OF PLAY
In an escape room—a story-themed room where teams use clues and tools to free themselves before a deadline—effective decision making, clear com munication, creative thinking, and collaboration are essential. These same skills are also critical—and highly sought after—in the workplace, so it made sense when School of Business instructors Jackie Brown, MA English ’12, and Cameron Harris, BA Integrative Studies ’06, along with some of their Mason colleagues, developed a course where creating an escape room was the final project. Multiple classroom activities and assignments, as well as in-class and out-of-class instruction and participation, went into developing the clues and challenges for the escape rooms. Two classes participated in the pilot offering and attempted to solve each other’s escape rooms. The multidisciplinary class is being offered again this spring.
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THIS IS ONLY A TEST
The mission of the Center for Security Policy Studies at the Schar School of Policy and Government is to facilitate students’ exploration of security studies, regardless of their degree program. Each semester the center hosts a crisis simulation, which lets students take the underpinning security studies and public policy concepts from their classes and research and apply them to detailed topical scenarios. During the full-day exercises, participants play the role of individual countries, or use team organizations to simulate military, executive, and diplomatic bureaucracies. The center draws on expert practitioners and professional simulation designers from government and the military to construct and conduct realistic, beneficial, and stressful exercises. Recent simula tions have thrust students into roles as negotiators in a heated nuclear weapon dispute with North Korea, as senior officials in an unfolding crisis between China and Japan in the East China Sea, and as leaders of nations responding to an escalating situation in the Baltic States.
INTERNSHIP SEMESTERS
The Peacebuilding Fellows Program at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution is an academic program for selected students interested in gaining hands-on experience and understanding com munities that are struggling to live peacefully together. Fellows attend classes on the Arlington Campus two days a week and participate in an internship. The Arlington location provides the benefit of easy access to internships with U.S. government agencies and international organ izations, meetings with policy makers, and visits to peace-focused institutions and organizations. In recent semesters, fellows have interned at the Institute of World Politics and Fairfax County Office for Alternative Dispute Resolution.
The Global Fellows is a similar program, also on the Arlington Campus, for students interested in government, international politics, and global affairs. In addition to their classes and internship, students participate in lunch seminars with current and former government leaders, nonprofit organizers, and elected officials. Global Fellows have interned at Human Rights Watch, Fair Trade America, and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, among others.
THE WORLD IS YOUR CLASSROOM
Explore the Great Blue Hole off the coast of Belize, study Afro-Caribbean music and dance with professional and community artists in Cuba, or look at crosscultural research in the United Kingdom through the lens of the Harry Potter films. Mason’s Global Education Office provides international learning opportunities in more than 60 countries, ranging from one week to a full academic year. To see what students did over the Winter Break, go to bit.ly/gmubreak.
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OUT OF THIS WORLD
A senior design team of 14 students from three Volgenau School of Engineering departments worked together on experiments that are being integrated into one small satellite about the size of two smartphones. The satellite, called a ThinSat, is scheduled to take the experiments into Earth’s lower orbit this spring on a rocket whose main mission is to deliver cargo to NASA’s International Space Station. Students in the Department of Systems Engi neering and Operations Research provided the parameters for the designs and helped test the projects after they were created. Seniors in the Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Mechanical Engineering created the hardware and software for the experiments, which include a thermal battery shield and a method to scan a range of ultra-high radio frequencies used by ham radio to see which are suitable for inexpensive, lowbandwidth satellite communications in the Washington, D.C., area.
SMITHSONIAN-MASON SCHOOL OF CONSERVATION
Bring your boots, pack some clothes you don’t mind getting dirty, and come ready to work hard and spend long days in the field. No outdoor experience required! The Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation offers a semester-long residential program at the 3,200-acre Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, where students learn from world-class Smithsonian researchers. Students spend 16 weeks living near red pandas and maned wolves and studying wildlife ecology and endangered species conservation.
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LET’S GET CLINICAL
Mason researchers Ali Weinstein of the Department of Global and Com munity Health and Lynn Gerber of the Department of Health Adminis tration and Policy teach Foundations of Clinical Research, a two-course sequence to prepare Honors College students for clinical research. In the first semester, students learn about research processes, from experiment design to interpretation of data, focusing on conducting health research on people in a clinical setting. In the second semester, students are assigned to a research site where they complete a research project under the mentorship of clinical pro fessionals. Students spend roughly eight hours a week interning and meet in class biweekly to discuss their research experiences. Internship sites include Inova Health System, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, National Institutes of Health, and other prestigious facilities.
LEARN FROM THE MASTERS
Mason dancers have the opportunity to learn from the hottest choreographers in the field through a long-standing guest artist residency program. Renowned choreographers come to campus each year, cast dancers, and conduct rehearsals for a performance of one of their works. Guest choreographers have included Mark Morris (who has an honorary degree from Mason), Twyla Tharp, and Doug Varone. Mason hosts a number of visiting writers in fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction each semester who workshop student work and give a reading. The Fall for the Book festival also gives students the opportunity to interact with famous writers such as Stephen King and Elizabeth Strout. Recently Mason creative writing students had the opportunity to sit down with The Handmaid’s Tale author Margaret Atwood when she was on campus.
FOR THE WIN
Mason’s School of Kinesiology graduate students, who are certified athletic trainers, provide medical care to about 5,000 students engaged in afterschool sports in 16 Prince William County middle schools through the ACHIEVES Project. The graduate students gain valuable clinical exper ience, and the middle school students receive great care. In addition, the project has helped create the largest re pository of information in existence on sports-related injuries for middle school-aged children. Students and faculty use this information for research that not only helps to improve care for children in PWCS but also health and safety for children nationwide.
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INQUIRING MINDS
The tanker Richard G. Matthiesen navigates the ice of the Arctic while under the command of Capt. Ralph H. Pundt. Photo courtesy of Capt. Pundt of the Maine Maritime Academy, a consultant for the grant.
Navigating the New Arctic As opportunities for accessing limited resources escalate and these routes become more accessible, many nations will find increased interest in the region. —Elise Miller-Hooks
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ew trade routes in the Arctic mean unprecedented traffic and industrialization are likely to follow. So, with the support of a $3 million, five-year National Science Foundation grant, Volgenau School of Engi neering’s Elise Miller-Hooks and a multidisciplinary team of scientists are taking a closer look at what those new routes will mean for the region’s infrastructure and governance. Using mathematical modeling and geophysical, com putational, and social-systems knowledge, the team, which includes Volgenau’s Celso Ferreira and Sara Cobb of the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, plans to closely examine issues pertaining to what could be vast changes ahead. “As the Arctic routes open, world trade flows could shift,” says Miller-Hooks. “We hope to understand what that means for different countries, and also what it means for the Arctic and its communities.” Miller-Hooks and her team will estimate the expected impact—both good and bad—that is inherent with a significant increase in people, shipping, and infrastruc ture needs as a result of the world’s focused attention. Additional drilling for oil will pose additional risks to the environment and local fish and animal ecosystems, as well as the people who depend on them for their way of life.
“With growth, we expect conflict,” says Miller-Hooks, who specializes in the study of infrastructure resiliency. “As opportunities for accessing limited resources escalate and these routes become more accessible, many nations will find increased interest in the region.” Because of the added risk of pollution and social conflict, Cobb, the Drucie French Cumbie Professor and the director of Mason’s Center for the Study of Narrative and Conflict Resolution, has already begun working with local communities in Alaska’s North Slope Borough. She is designing a conflict early warning system framework to head off potential problems while supporting local resilience and adaptive governance processes. Ferreira of the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering will quantify the impact of the region’s melting ice cap by predicting storms and waves, and measuring storm surge, coastal erosion, and rising sea levels on coastal waterways and infrastructure. “One of our goals,” he says, “is to determine how we can protect coastal infrastructure in a changing Arctic environment.” Weighing environmental, social, and national security concerns will require a delicate balance, but Miller-Hooks says her team is excited to get started. “It’s a new frontier, and an important frontier to U.S. national security,” she says. —John Hollis
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RESEARCH
A Cold Truth ason anthropology professor Susan A. Crate was among the more than 100 authors from 30 countries on the Inter governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which produced the report The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate. Released in September 2019, the report assesses the impact of climate change on ocean, coastal, polar, and mountain ecosystems, as well as the conse quences for the human communities that depend on them and options for adaptation and climate-resilient development. The thawing of the Earth’s cryosphere re gions are problematic on several levels, the report notes. The cryosphere includes the Earth’s frozen components, from glaciers and ice shelves to permafrost and seasonally frozen ground. Crate, whose contributions to the report included working with adversely affected communities in Northeast Siberia, says that it was imperative that scientists present the threats posed by climate change in a way that ordinary people can understand. “People have to know how climate change will affect their own lives,” she says. An environ mental anthropologist in Mason’s Department of Environmental Science and Policy, Crate has been working with indigenous communities in Siberia since 1988. Her recent research has focused on understanding local perceptions and adaptations of Viliui Sakha communities in the face of climate change. This is the third report generated by IPCC, which was created in 1988 by the World Mete orological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme to provide govern ments at all levels with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies. —John Hollis
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Did You Know
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oted conservation biologist Thomas Lovejoy was recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia as one of two recipients for the 2019 Virginia Outstanding Scientist award. Lovejoy, a University Professor within Mason’s Department of Environmental Science and Policy and the scientific director for Mason’s Institute for a Sustainable Earth, is the first Mason faculty member to receive the honor.
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INQUIRING MINDS
Modeling a Way for Patients to See Clearly
olgenau School of Engineering researcher Qi Wei understands the fear and frustra tion of having eye issues. “I don’t have stra bismus, but I’m very nearsighted,” she says. “I’ve had glasses since I was 7 years old.” Wei is studying strabismus, which is mis aligned crossed eyes, and trying to find a better way to treat this problem, which affects 18 million people in the United States, many of them children. “Strabismus can be debilitating because people with the condition develop double vision, blurred vision, eyestrain, or other symptoms impairing daily activities,” says Wei, who teaches in the Department of Bioengineering. It is also hard to diagnose and treat effec tively. Typically, the condition is treated with surgery that manipulates one or more of the eye’s extraocular muscles. Generally, surgeons
rely on experience and intuition to decide the best surgical treatment, she says. Wei is part of a team of researchers from different universities who are creating a datadriven computer model of the eye for diag nosing and treating strabismus with the sup port of an $1.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. Although a few computer models for the treatment of the condition exist, Wei and colleagues are fine-tuning their model, using clinical data from 50 strabismic patients. The team will test hypotheses that they hope will advance treatment of two common types of strabismus. “We hope the neuro-biomedical model we are developing will help doctors better deter mine how best to treat strabismus,” she says.
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—Nanci Hellmich
Black Holes on a Collision Course
NASA.GOV
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ason PhD student Ryan Pfeifle , BA Physics '17, and his thesis advisor, astrophysicist Shobita Satyapal, co-authored a study with others that reveals the location of three galaxies set on a collision course—each with a black hole at its center. The researchers were originally looking for pairs of black holes in merging galaxies when they made their discovery. Using high-powered ground and space telescopes to take a closer peek at the frenetic activity taking place roughly one billion light-years from Earth, the team of scientists soon realized they had stumbled upon a rare finding. “Dual- and triple-feeding black holes are very rare,” says Satyapal, a pro fessor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy within Mason’s College of Science and leader of the Black Hole Galaxy Connection research group at Mason. “But such systems are actually a consequence of galaxy mergers, which we think is how galaxies grow and evolve.” Gas and dust emanating from supermassive black holes typically make it difficult to see light coming from the black holes, but the researchers got around that hurdle by using infrared and X-ray images. NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and observations from the Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona, led by Barry Rothberg, were critical in confirming these active black holes. —John Hollis
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RESEARCH
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wo Mason economists have examined how the Catholic Church transformed European kinship structures in the Middle Ages. In their paper “The Church, Intensive Kinship, and Global Psychological Variation,” published in the journal Science, the researchers test the theory that historical exposure to the medieval Catholic Church dissolved strong intensive kinship systems, which consequently led to greater individualism, less conformity, and more fairness and trust toward strangers. “Human psychology varies widely around the globe on dimensions such as individualism and conformity,” says Jonathan Schulz, the lead author and assistant professor of econ omics at Mason. “In this paper, we link this psychological variation to the medieval Catholic Church’s systematic dismantling of strong kin networks such as extended families, clans, and lineages.”
“Kin-based institutions are among humans’ most fundamental institutions,” says Schulz. “They organize social life around the world and include norms related to cousin marriage, polygamy, the tracing of descent, and coresidence of the extended family. Several thinkers have theorized that the church mar riage prohibitions dismantled strong extended kin networks.” The researchers found that the church’s strict incest taboos and family policies, such as banning the marriage of cousins, may have been responsible for dismantling Europe’s kin-based institutions during the Middle Ages and moved the region toward independent and isolated nuclear or stem families. Mason Department of Economics assistant professor Jonathan Beauchamp, Duman Bahrami-Rad from Harvard’s Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, and Joseph
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The Catholic Church and Intensive Kinship
Henrich of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research coauthored the paper with Schulz. “This hypothesis has never been system atically empirically tested,” says Beauchamp. “In addition, we set out to test the novel hy pothesis that individuals’ psychology adapted to the loosening demands of the dissolving kin networks in Europe, which fostered a more individualistic, impersonal psychology.” —Mary Lee Clark
How Safe Is Your Medicine Cabinet? n a new study published in Environment International, Mason epidemiologist Anna Pollack and her colleagues discovered links between chemicals that are widely used in cosmetic and personal care products and changes in reproductive hormones. A total of 509 urine samples were collected from 143 women ages 18 to 44, who had no known chronic health conditions and had never taken birth control, and measured for environmental chemicals that are found in personal care products, such as parabens, which are antimicrobial preservatives, and benzophenones, which are ultraviolet (UV) filters. “This study is the first to examine mixtures of chemicals that are widely used in personal care products in relation to hormones in healthy, reproductive-age women,” says Pollack, who teaches in the College of Health and Human Services.
This multichemical approach more closely reflects real-world environmental exposures and shows that even low-level exposure to mixtures of chemicals may affect reproductive hormone levels. Another noteworthy finding of the study is that certain chemical and UV filters were associated with decreased reproductive hormones in multichemical exposures, while others were associated with increases in other reproductive hormones, underscoring the complexities of these chemicals. “What we should take away from this study is that we may need to be careful about the chemicals in the beauty and personal care products we use,” Pollack says. “We have early indicators that chemicals such as parabens may increase estrogen levels. If this finding is confirmed by additional research, it could have implications for estrogen-dependent diseases such as breast cancer.” —Jiaxi Zhang
ILLUSTRATION BY MARCIA STAIMER/GETTY IMAGES
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‘George’ Visits Mason Korea More than 100 people attended the unveiling of a new George Mason statue on the Mason Korea campus in Songdo, South Korea. The statue was created by sculptor Kim Tae Jin at Yebon Artworks in Korea, and the installation was supported by Mason Korea's parent association. And an important tradition continues— students are already rubbing his toe for luck. Photo by Doug Kim
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SHELF LIFE
Recently published works by Mason faculty
Artificial Intelligence, Mixed Reality, and the Redefinition of the Classroom Scott M. Martin, associate professor and director, Computer Game Design This book (Rowman & Littlefield, June 2019) examines the effect of modern technological advances on education and the classroom. Technological advances have shifted the educational landscape with new methods of conveying information. Personalized learning maps are now able to enhance recommendations for academic intervention and create more effective methods of knowledge acquisition. This book highlights how technologies can positively affect the educational process and inspire further applications of technology.
Imagined Life: A Speculative Scientific Journey among the Exoplanets in Search of Intelligent Aliens, Ice Creatures, and Supergravity Animals James Trefil, Robinson Professor, and Michael Summers, professor, Physics and Astronomy This book (Smithsonian Books, September 2019) brings readers on a marvelous experimental voyage through the possibilities of life—unlike anything we have experienced so far—that could exist on planets outside our own solar system.
Workplace Attachments: Managing Beneath the Surface
Age of Iron: On Conservative Nationalism
Victoria Grady, assistant professor, Management; Patrick McCreesh, adjunct professor, School of Business; James Grady; and Ian Noakes
Colin Dueck, professor, Schar School of Policy and Government
This book (Routledge, July 2019) analyzes the human phenomenon of attachment as it applies to the workplace. The authors go into detail discussing the origins of attachment as a product of evolution, while further diving into the effects of attachment behavior on individual workers and organizations through case studies and practical research.
The South and the Transformation of U.S. Politics Jeremy D. Mayer, associate professor, and Mark J. Rozell, dean, Schar School of Policy and Government, with Charles S. Bullock and Susan A. MacManus This book (Oxford University Press, September 2019) describes and analyzes
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the ways in which demographic change has shaped politics in the South since the late 1960s and may enable the Democratic Party in the future to retake politics in the region, and even shut out Republicans from the nation's highest office.
Age of Iron (Oxford University Press, October 2019) describes the shifting coalitions over the past century among foreign policy factions within the Republican Party and shows how President Donald Trump upended them in 2015-16. The book offers a balanced summary and assessment of President Trump’s foreign policy approach, analyzing its strengths and weaknesses.
Owl of Minerva Eric Pankey, professor, Creative Writing Taking its name from the Roman goddess of wisdom and her companion bird, Owl of Minerva (Milkweed Editions, October 2019) turns attention to the physical world, scouring it for evidence of the spiritual as the poet travels through such places as Appalachia, Venice, the Caribbean, and the American Midwest.
Late Night with Trump: Political Humor and the American Presidency
Symmetricity
Samuel Robert Lichter, professor, Communication, and Stephen J. Farnsworth
This album, the first full-length project led by Shawn Purcell, exemplifies the capabilities of the jazz guitar. Across 10 tracks, Purcell’s guitar is accompanied by saxophone, piano, organ, bass, and drums to create melodies that span from warm to outright euphoric. The improvisational nature of this album is reminiscent of everything jazz can be.
The hosts of late-night television programs are no strangers to political humor, but the line between political critique and satire has become increasingly blurred. This book (Routledge, December 2019) uses an array of content analysis techniques to examine how the treatment of Donald Trump differs from previous presidents.
Shawn Purcell, adjunct faculty, Jazz Studies
FLIRTING WITH DISASTER It was Superstorm Sandy that inspired Mason historian Cynthia Kierner to write her latest book Inventing Disaster: The Culture of Calamity from the Jamestown Colony to the Johnstown Flood (UNC Press, November 2019). The stories told about disaster and its survivors led her to wonder about the origins of responding to disasters this way—or what Kierner calls “a culture of disaster.” What is a “culture of disaster?” A predictable, almost ritualized, series of responses to a calamity that causes death and destruction for a community. Any culture of disaster is a product of its time and place. In other words, understandings of disasters and responses to them were different in, say, 17th-century England and 19th-century China—different from each other and from what we do in 21st-century America. In the modern United States, when disaster strikes, the media quickly provides basic information to people outside the affected area. Soon, these brief quantitative reports of losses of lives and property are supplemented by moving human-interest stories. Meanwhile, government and humanitarian groups arrive at the site to provide relief and maintain order. Once the immediate crisis has passed—or has at least passed out of the public's consciousness—the more affluent survivors file their insurance claims, while the authorities consider regulations or other initiatives that might prevent future disasters or limit their effects. Then, another disaster comes along, and the entire process begins all over. Was there anything in your research that surprised you? The exploding steamboats! They were everywhere in 19th-century America. One estimate is that 233 steamboats exploded between 1816 and 1848 alone—an average
of more than 10 each year—leaving thousands dead, thousands more injured, and the bodies of many others unrecovered and uncounted. The frequency of steamboat disasters and the publicity surrounding the carnage led to public demands for government intervention, which eventually resulted in the steamboat safety acts of 1838 and 1852, the first federal laws to regulate private corporations. While I never expected steamboats to be such a major part of my story, because of their cultural and political significance, they became the subject of my sixth chapter. Do you have a favorite disaster? That’s a really funny question! I’d probably say the Richmond Theatre fire of 1811. Fires were common at the time, but fatalities from fires were surprisingly unusual. At least 72 people died in this fire. As a result, it had a tremendous emotional and cultural impact. There were heart-wrenching stories of victims (mostly women and children), fire-related sermons, and even children’s books. There was a huge public funeral for the victims. The Monumental Church on Broad Street, at the site of the theater, was built to commemorate the tragedy. —Colleen Kearney Rich, MFA ’95
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ALUMNI IN PRINT
Recently published works by Mason alumni
The Theory and Craft of Digital Preservation Trevor Owens, MA History and New Media ’09 In this book (Johns Hopkins University Press, December 2018), Owens synthesizes work on the history of preservation in a range of areas and sets that history in dialogue with work in new media studies, platform studies, and media archaeology. Owens, the head of dig ital content management for library services at the Library of Congress, is an adjunct faculty member at American University and the University of Maryland. He is also the author of Designing Online Communities. Spy Pilot: Francis Gary Powers, the U-2 Incident, and a Controversial Cold War Legacy Francis Gary Powers Jr., MPA ’95, and Keith Dunnavant The plane crash and subsequent capture of CIA pilot Francis Gary Powers was widely covered by the media in the early 1960s. After his U-2 plane was shot down over Russian territory, Powers spent 21 months in captivity. This book (Prometheus, January 2019) uses letters, inter views, and recently declassified government information to shed light on the events following the crash. Powers is the founder and chairman emeritus 42 | S P I R I T. G M U. E D U
of the Cold War Museum. He is also the author of Letters from a Soviet Prison and travels the world for speaking engagements. George Washington and Native Americans: “Learn Our Arts and Ways of Life” Richard Harless, PhD History ’12 This book (George Mason University, February 2019) explores George Washington’s experience with and thoughts on Native Americans, contending that Washington deserves credit for his continued efforts to implement a policy based on the just treatment of America’s indigenous peoples. Harless, a retired public-school educator and a former fellow at the Fred W. Smith Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon, currently teaches at various colleges, including St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Deepening Growth: Powerful Lessons to Cultivate Your Personal Transformation Ralph Plaskett, BS Information Technology ’06 In this book (March 2019), Plaskett reveals the essential areas of growth that develop clarity and illuminate purpose. In 20 lessons, readers take on an
action-oriented study intentionally designed to stimulate a transform ation journey. Plaskett is the founder of the Plaskett Institute, a professional coaching and consultancy firm. Wasted Pretty Jamie Beth Cohen, BA English ’97 Set in Pittsburgh in 1992, this novel (Black Rose Writing, April 2019) is about a star student and lacrosse player deter mined to protect her body, her future, and her heart. Cohen’s writing has appeared in TeenVogue. com, the Washington Post, Salon, and other outlets. She currently lives in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, with her family and pet.
An Instrument of Peace: The Full-Circled Life of Ambassador Guillermo Belt Ramírez Daniel I. Pedreira, MS Peace Operations ’14 This biography (Lexing ton Books, June 2019) focuses on one of Cuba’s most important diplomats of the 20th century. Belt represented a generation of diplo mats who, after bearing witness to the horrors of war, resolved to create the United Nations and regional organizations such as the Organization of American States. Pedreira was born in Miami, Florida, and is pursuing a PhD in political science from Florida International University.
Valley of Spies
Ready: What to Expect When Starting a Business
Keith Yocum, BA Philosophy ’75
Lyndsey Clutteur DePalma, MBA ’11
In this novel (Keith Yocum, May 2019), an American woman vanishes in New Zealand. There is no body, no witnesses, and no explanation. A CIA investigator is pulled out of early retirement in Western Australia to investigate.
Starting a business is no easy task. As the founder of a holistic tea shop, DePalma has firsthand experience with the trials and tribulations that are synonymous with start ing your own business. This book (Liveliest Press, September 2019) guides prospective business “parents” on the path to “birthing” their business.
Yocum, the author of four novels, lives in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. He was a semifinalist for the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award with his Vietnam War mystery Daniel.
DePalma currently resides in Arlington, Virginia, with her partner and two children.
PAT R I O T P R O F I L E
Ryan Pfeifle YEAR: PhD student MAJOR: Physics HOMETOWN: Gainesville, Virginia
Growing Up a Science Kid: Physics PhD student Ryan Pfeifle, BA Physics ’17, has tinkered in the sciences all his life, but it wasn’t until he got to high school that his strong affinity for astronomy became clear. Pfeifle credits his AP Physics teacher for discussing “the big bang” in such an interesting way that it captured his imagination. He’s been hooked on studying the cosmos ever since. “That day, I knew that astronomy was what really interested me,” he says. “It’s just so fascinating.” He hopes to someday get the opportunity to venture into space and see it for himself. Generating Some Buzz: Pfeifle was part of a team of Mason researchers, called the Black Hole Galaxy Connection group, who were the talk of the entire science community last fall when they discovered a rare trio of supermassive black holes in a system of merging galaxies a billion lightyears away (see story on page 36). Pfeifle co-authored a paper with Mason astrophysicist Shobita Satyapal, his PhD advisor, and others. The team’s study was published in the Astrophysical Journal and quickly drew global media attention, ranging from CNN to the New York Times.
On Becoming a Household Name within the Science Community: After the black hole story was published in September, media requests were coming in fast and furious, and demands for Pfeifle’s time came from all directions. There was even a British tabloid that credited Pfeifle and the team with discovering the origins of life. “That was the only article in which I wrote to the editor and said, ‘This needs to be fixed’ because it was so wrong,” he says. Pfeifle’s life has slowly returned to normal, and he somehow managed to balance his many school and personal commitments. “It was really such a crazy time.” The Best Part of the Experience: Pfeifle says what struck him most about the entire experience was seeing firsthand all the enthusiasm that his team’s research generated. “I would log onto Facebook and Twitter and check the comments section,” he says. “Sometimes the comments would make me laugh, sometimes they’d make me mad. But, on the whole, it was really cool to see so many people excited about science.” —John Hollis
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class notes
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he clouded leopard cubs romp around their enclosure at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo for a few hours each day. The cubs—a male, Paitoon, and a female, Jilian—are the newest residents on the zoo’s Asia Trail and made their public debut last fall. Once a week, those gathered to watch the cubs get to chat with Mason alumna Jilian Fazio, MS ’10, PhD Environmental Science and Public Policy ’16, who knows a lot about clouded leopards. A postdoctoral research fellow for the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conser vation Biology Institute, Fazio has been working with cloudeds since she was a graduate student at Mason and an animal keeper on the Asia Trail. And yes, Jilian the cub is named after her. Fazio is the clouded leopard species survival plan coordinator and international studbook keeper, which is a volunteer position she was elected to in 2016. “The studbook itself is a historical record of all the clouded leopards that we’ve housed and information about the individuals globally,” she says. When Fazio, who also teaches in Mason’s School of Integrative Studies, says “we” she is referring to all the keepers of clouded leopards worldwide. The records are incredibly detailed and include information about the animal’s genetics, how it was reared (by people or by leopard), and specifics about its personality, especially if it is aggressive.
PHOTOS BY LATHAN GOUMAS
A Champion for Clouded Leopards
This information is extremely valuable because there is still a lot unknown about the cloudeds, which the International Union for Conservation of Nature Endangered Species Commission lists as “vulnerable.” Breeding the cloudeds in zoos has proved challenging and sometimes deadly. Keepers have found pairing the leopards while they are still cubs may produce more harmonious outcomes. That’s where Fazio comes in as a matchmaker of sorts to the cloudeds. While a master’s student, Fazio worked at the Thailand Clouded Leopard Consortium on a behavioral assessment to determine which cats are more likely to be reproductively successful. Cubs are usually born in the late winter or early spring, and by April, it is matchmaking time, which is now Fazio’s job. “I decide which cats to pair to make the best genetic matches and maintain population demo graphics,” she says. “I try to pair them before they are sexually mature, so that they’re not solitary cats for the rest of their lives.” Fazio is excited to have the cubs at the zoo to represent the conservation of the species. The more people who watch the leopards and learn something about them, the more champions they can get for the species. “There are so many species in need of conservation efforts nowadays that we really need people to understand what zoos do and how they can help us meet our goals,” she says. —Colleen Kearney Rich, MFA ’95
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1970s
Barry Brodd, BS Law Enforcement ’75, retired from a 29-year career as a police officer at the federal and municipal levels. He is now owner of a consulting firm that provides expert witness services in use of force, wrongful death, and police practices cases. Barbara (Bobbie) Beidleman Coleman, BA Sociology ’76, retired from the Volusia County Public School System as an elementary school coun selor in May 2017. She volunteers in two public schools and has a tutoring business. She also earned a master’s degree in counsel ing and human resource development from South Dakota State University in 1995. Suellen Pometto, BS Biology ’77, earned a PhD in entomology from Clemson University in August 2019, after a career as a stay-athome mom to five children. Pometto will continue to work as an instructor and to do research on the butterfly proboscis at Clemson. Her husband, Dr. Tony Pometto, BS Biology ’76, whom she met at Mason, encouraged her educa tional pursuits in education and entomology after he came to Clemson University
as chair of the Department of Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences in 2008. Pometto credits “Dr. Johnston (Invertebrate Zoology), Dr. Walter (Chemistry, Organic Chemistry), and Dr. Don Crawford,” among others, for inspiring her at Mason.
1980s
Charlie Calkins, JD ’81, received the prestigious William and Catherine Booth Award from the Sal vation Army after 22 years of service. The William Booth Award is one of the highest awards that may be conferred upon an indi vidual by the Salvation Army. Nominees for the award are chosen on the basis of dedication to service to man and out standing humanitarian effort within the commun ity. Calkins was recognized for many achievements within the organization, including raising the money so that each child in the nonprofit’s afterschool program could have their own laptop. Lucia (Prenzel) Knudsen, BS Business Administration ’82, retired from CVS after 20 years leading software development teams. After graduating from Mason, Knudsen spent 38 years in
information technology with six companies, including AT&T. Zobair Younossi, MD, BS Biology ’84, is currently a professor and chair of the Department of Medicine at the Inova Fairfax Medical Campus. The College of Health and Human Services (CHHS) recently honored Younossi by establishing a Research Scholars Award in his name, the first research scholarship for CHHS students. Younossi received the 2008 Alumnus of the Year Award in recog nition of his pioneering research in liver disease and contributions to the health care field. Rev. Juliana Holm, BA English ’86, MS Informa tion Systems ’97, and her churches, the Brush Valley Fusion of Faith in Madisonburg and Rebersburg, Pennsylvania, are recipients of the 2019 Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Grants. She will travel to Israel and Europe to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and of Christian
history. Holm holds a master of divinity degree from Howard University School of Divinity in addition to her degrees from Mason.
1990s
Frank Dixon, BS Electri— cal Engineering ’90, MS Systems Engineering ’02, is a department head at the U.S. Navy’s Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division. Lisa Zargarpur, BM Music ’92, MA Music ’95, was elected in November 2019 to sit on the Prince William County School Board representing the Coles District in Virginia. Michael Troutman, BS Management ’94, is now the chief scientist for infor mation operations at L3Harris, an international communications and defense contractor. His previous work has included supporting 9/11 recovery efforts at the World Trade
Center, communications engineering for Super Bowls XXXVII and XL, and designing a secure coastal IP network for offshore gaming. Troutman and his wife, Rhonda, a College of Science employee, support the university and com munity through educa tional scholarships and donations to the Hylton Performing Arts Center. Mike Sylvester, BS Management ’96, joined Amtrak as the director of loyalty marketing for Amtrak Guest Rewards. He will be responsible for growing the program’s membership and engage ment. He is also a member of Mason’s Honors College Advisory Board and, in fall 2019, began his 23rd year as an official statistician for Mason basketball home games. Naseema Sait, MEd Cur riculum and Instruction ’98, reports that “getting a master’s in curriculum development with a focus on teaching English (continued next page)
What’s New with You? We are interested in what you’ve been doing since you graduated. Moved? Gotten married? Had a baby? Landed a new job? Received an award? Submit your class notes to alumni.gmu.edu/whatsnew. In your note, be sure to include your graduation year and degree. Spring 2020 M A S O N S P I R I T | 45
DEAR FELLOW
Patriots A
s my term as president comes to an end on June 30, 2020, I would like to share with you some of the things the Alumni Association board has accomplished or is working on this spring. Using our newly adopted strate gic plan, we formed working committees to focus on alumni engagement where you live, work, and play.
We updated our Volunteer Interest Form to be more userfriendly and direct you to our active committees or an alumni outreach officer. The Alumni Association is now more visible in the region and on campus. In November, we had our first Alumni Gold Rush at a men’s basketball game. We have made collaboration a priority and have had successful events with Student Involvement, Athletics, and New Student and Family Programs, and by combining efforts with alumni affinity chapters and aca demic units at the university. This spring you will have an opportunity to self-nominate for a board member ballot position, increasing access for you to participate directly in activities and give input on decisions. I encourage you to explore our website at alumni.gmu.edu and be an active alumni Patriot. Thank you for allowing me to serve as your president of our Alumni Association. It has been the highlight and pinnacle of my volunteer service to George Mason Uni versity. My family and I are so very proud to have been able to give back in so many ways. Go Mason! Patriots for Life! Together we thrive, Jen Shelton, BS Public Administration ’94 President, George Mason University Alumni Association
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language learners (ELL) at Mason was the best thing ever for my career. I retired in 2013 after teaching high school for almost two decades. Now I teach ELL to adults part-time in Loudoun County. I also volunteer teaching conversational English at the senior center in Loudoun.” Jacqueline (Jackee) Schools, BA Government and Politics ’98, JD ’01, was elected international president of Alpha Phi International Fraternity. Paul Kelly, BA History ’99, was reelected to the Three Rivers School District Board in Grants Pass, Oregon. Kelly continues to run Knobs-Etc.com and joined Linx Technologies as an inside sales manager. He also was named Skyline Conference Girls Soccer Coach of the Year for the second straight year.
2000s
Julie (Julianna) Carpenter, MA History ’00, was appointed executive director of the Cincinnati chapter of the American Institute of Architects in August 2019. Robert Latham, MS Physics ’00, was awarded U.S. Patent 2019/0339247-A1 in November for the invention of a scientific method that establishes when a tunnel was made in the ground. He invented this method to support the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) at the U.S. southern border. After discovering a drug or human trafficking tunnel under the border line, DHS needed a way to determine who the property owner was at the time the tunnel was created. Latham is a lead engineer at MITRE Corporation. Dann Sklarew, PhD Environmental Biology and Public Policy ’00, has been promoted from associate to full professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at Mason.
Col. W. Preston McLaughlin, USMC (Ret.), MA History ’01, has been ap pointed to the board of directors for the Center for a Secure Free Society, a 501(c)3 think tank in Washington, D.C. He has also been inducted as a com panion into the Naval Order of the United States in the National Com mandery Chapter in Washington, D.C. Dennis Butler, BS Administration of Justice ’02, CERG ’04, is the chief of police in Ottawa, Kansas, and has been appointed to the governing board of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, which has more than 30,000 members from 146 countries. Butler is the 2011 Distinguished Alumnus of the Year for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Justin Jacobs, BA Communication ’02, is a senior associate and director of business development and marketing at Gordon, a Chantilly, Virginia-based consulting firm. In this role, he has led the teaming and proposal efforts to land the multidiscipline design firm contract on many of George Mason University’s major architectural and engineering projects over the last five years. These include the new reno vations to Robinson Hall and Harris Theatre and network infrastructure upgrades on the Fairfax Campus, an upcoming addition to Katherine G. Johnson Hall on the Science and Technology Campus, and a major stormwater relocation and building demolition project that will make way for the new building on the Arlington Campus. Jacobs also recently served as president of the D.C. chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Services. Doug Currin, BA Communication ’03, a television broadcaster, received the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for anchoring breaking news. He recently became news anchor at WATE-TV (ABC) in Knoxville, Tennessee.
class notes
Hanaa Unus, BSW ’05, has joined Shenandoah University’s Office of Spiritual Life as a chaplain, making her the first clergy member in the uni versity’s history who does not identify as Christian. Unus, who recently moved to Winchester, Virginia, is also the university’s first Muslim com munity coordinator. Chaplains at the university minister to people of all faiths. Unus, who is Muslim, graduated in May from Hartford Seminary in Connecticut.
Choosing His Lane
W
hen he was 17 and a student at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Fairfax, Joseph Sakran, BS Biology ’99, was shot in the throat with a .38 caliber bullet during a fight after a football game. This single experience changed the trajectory of his life and inspired him to pursue a career in medicine. Now Dr. Sakran, he works both as a trauma surgeon at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and as an activist against gun violence.
Paul Winfree, BS Economics ’05, has published a book titled A History (and Future) of the Budget Process in the United States: Budget by Fire (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019). Winfree is the direc tor of the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation.
This year Sakran is on sabbatical from Johns Hopkins as one of six Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellows, named by the National Academy of Medicine and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, working in Washington, D.C., on health-related legislative and regulatory issues with members of the U.S. Congress or the executive branch.
Bernadine Futrell, MEd Curriculum and Instruction ’06, PhD Education ’09, is an author of the recently published book ConnectED Leaders: Network and Amplify Your Superintendency (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019). ConnectED Leaders is a call to action for superintendents and school system leaders to grow, lead, and engage in professional leadership networks.
“This is the most gratifying and rewarding profession one could have,” he says of his decision to become a surgeon. He says the most challenging part of his work involves informing family members that they have lost a loved one. “Having to walk into a waiting room and explain to a mother that her child is never coming home again is heartbreaking. This never gets easier.”
Paul M. Kerlin, MA Political Science ’06, was elevated to counsel at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. He practices white-collar criminal and complex civil litigation defense work with the firm’s Washington, D.C., office. Matthew Smith, BA Integrative Studies ’07, relocated after eight years in Edinburgh to Denver, Colorado, where he is senior technical product manager for Pana. Daniel Wood, BS Administration of Justice ’08, has joined Bishop Fox, the largest private professional services firm focused on offensive security testing, as associate vice president of
In 2018, in response to a statement from the National Rifle Association that requested doctors “stay in their lane” regarding gun violence, Sakran founded This Is Our Lane, a movement where health care professionals share their exper iences about the human toll of gun violence, which he describes as “a public health problem.” “I never planned on being an activist,” he says. Still, he finds himself as a key voice in efforts to curb gun violence. Ultimately, he would like to see more civility in discussions of gun violence, and to “see change happen in a more expedient and effective manner.” While Sakran says there is no one solution regarding gun violence in America, he believes “it requires a multifaceted approach that engages stakeholders from all walks of life.” Although Sakran found his time at Mason formative in a number of ways, it was the university’s diversity that had the most impact on him. “As the son of immi grant parents, [diversity] was a perspective that I had always appreciated, but never understood how crucial it was until my time at Mason,” he says. “The unique lens that others bring to the table allows one to see aspects of an issue or problem that perhaps they would have never noticed.” —Liam Griffin
(continued next page)
Spring 2020 M A S O N S P I R I T | 47
PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER BOBO
class notes
More than 230 people gathered at the Fairfax Campus in Dewberry Hall to celebrate alumni at the Mason Black Alumni Chapter’s inaugural Forty Under 40 event. In addition to raising more than $5,000 for the Black Scholars Endowed Fund, the chapter recognized Benson Cooke (above, pictured with Janae Johnson, BS Psychology ’11, MA ’15) with honorary membership. Cooke oversaw the Black Peer Counseling Center, later the Peer Empowerment Program, for many years at Mason, becoming an advisor, advocate, and mentor to many. Read more about the event at bit.ly/gmu40u40.
consulting. Wood will lead all of Bishop Fox’s service lines and enhance current service line capabilities, develop strategic initiatives, and provide thought leader ship to the firm. Prior to joining Bishop Fox, Wood was the manager of security engineering and technology at Bridgewater Associates, a hedge fund managing more than $160 billion in institutional investor funds. Samantha Courtney, BA Music ’09, received a Loudoun County 40 Under 40 award in 2019. The annual award program honors rising business and
community leaders under the age of 40. Courtney is the director of develop ment for the Loudoun Education Foundation.
Association of Social Workers (VA), and the Greater Washington Society of Clinical Social Work.
Cynthia Dumas, BS Psychology ’09, graduated in 2019 from the Catholic University of America National School of Social Service with a master of social work with a clinical concentration. She was elected to the International Honor Society in social sciences. She is also a member of the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the National
2010s
Mounir Alafrangy, BA History ’10, successfully completed a mission at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Alafrangy was one of four crew members, known as analog astronauts, who were selected out of a large pool of applicants to be part of HERA’s Mission XX, a
(continued on page 50)
2019 –20 G E O R G E M A SO N U N I V E R S IT Y A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT Jennifer Shelton, BS Public Administration ’94 PRESIDENT-ELECT Sumeet Shrivastava, EMBA ’94
Kerry McAfee, BA History '94 Raymond Wotring, BA Government and International Politics ’05
VICE PRESIDENT Tyree Carlson, BS Social Work ’96
ALUMNI CHAPTER REPRESENTATIVES ANTONIN SCALIA LAW SCHOOL Jesse Binnall, BA Communication ’01, JD ’09
TREASURER Gleason Rowe, BA Global Affairs ’11
BLACK ALUMNI David Atkins, BS Decision Science ’90
HISTORIAN Mariana Cruz, BS Civil and Infrastructure Engineering ’11
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Position open
AT-LARGE DIRECTORS Phil Abbruscato, BA Government and International Politics ’15, JD ’18
COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Kathi Huddleston, PhD ’08
Ailsa Ware Burnett, BS Public Administration ’93, MA Sociology ’96, MPA ’08 Yoshie Davison, MSW ’09 Molly Grimsley, BA Art (Studio) ’81
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COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES Ashley Phayme, BA Communication ’08 COLLEGE OF SCIENCE Taylor Sargent, BS Physics ’14
COLLEGE OF VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS Position open LAMBDA ALUMNI Aléjandro Asin, BA Sociology ’11 LATINO ALUMNI Rolando Flores Santos, BA Global Affairs ’18 SCHAR SCHOOL OF POLICY AND GOVERNMENT Colin Hart, MA International Transactions ’93 SCHOOL FOR CONFLICT ANALYSIS AND RESOLUTION Lori L. Farro, BA Conflict Analysis and Resolution ’14, MS Conflict Analysis and Resolution ’16 SCHOOL OF BUSINESS Becky Anderson, BS Accounting ’10 VOLGENAU SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING Hadi D. Rezazad, ENGR ’03, PhD Information Technology ’09
class notes
Creating an Inclusive Visual History
W PHOTO BY ALICE PROUJANSKY
hile Deborah Willis, PhD Cultural Studies ’03, was working on her doctoral studies at Mason, she received the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship, commonly known as the MacArthur “genius” grant. She is the first alumnus/a to receive the prestigious award. Willis is a university professor and chair of the Department of Photography and Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, where she teaches courses on photography and imaging, iconicity, and cultural histories visual izing the black body, women, and gender.
The author of Posing Beauty: African American Images from the 1890s to the Present and the coauthor of two NAACP Image Award-winning books, The Black Female Body: A Photographic History and Michelle Obama: The First Lady in Photographs, Willis is also a photographer. Her photography exhibitions include “The Academic Body” at the American Academy in Rome and “In Pursuit of Beauty” at Express Newark in New Jersey. You’ve been quoted as saying, “What I learned at Mason was how to have a different conversation about art.” How so? Cultural studies as a field broadened my con versation about art beyond description. One of my most powerful experiences as a curator and photographer is discovering artists and photo graphers who embrace the broad idea of art and social practice as they explore the com plexities of life. My images and writing have addressed critical questions in the broad areas of photographic history and popular culture. I have consistently
focused my photography on themes such as beauty, race, and gender. I noticed assumptions are still made through the historical gaze about the black female body. I see myself in the tradition of the role as an artist and scholar, in that I feel that not only must we create, we are also motivated to develop a more inclusive history of American photography by researching and writing about photography that has been overlooked. What is the best piece of advice you ever received, personally or professionally? Know that there’s a place for you at the table… and/or behind the camera. Believe that you have a voice. Professor Robin D.G. Kelley writes that he has three words pinned on his desk: love, study, struggle. These words are central to me as well. We must love the work that we are doing in pursuit of beauty and justice and, in order to do so, we must embrace the struggle and continue to study and participate in making our lives matter as well. Employers want to hire well-rounded graduates. How do the arts and humanities factor into that equation? The arts and humanities not only help us see and understand the world around us, they also—through a critical lens—envision the world as it could be. We must take every opportunity to shift the conversation to broader narratives and to consider hope for our future. We need to engage in more open conversations about a fair and equitable future that educates us all. —Preston Williams
Spring 2020 M A S O N S P I R I T | 49
class notes
PHOTO BY LATHAN GOUMAS
45-day confined space mission simulation to Phobos, a moon of the planet Mars. Emily Jefferson, BS Admin istration of Justice ’10, was elected to the State Bar of Michigan Administrative and Regulatory Law Sec tion’s Executive Council for a three-year term. Iina Kuuttila, BA Anthro pology ’12, has started a career at the United Nations, working as the project lead on a Women, Peace, and Security program at the
United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Security in Asia and the Pacific. Kuuttila is coordi nating the center’s project for Pacific states on gun violence and illicit small arms trafficking from a gender perspective, empowering civil society to assume a greater role in arms control efforts. Laura Pond, MA Arts Management ’14, married Steven Foy on October 12, 2019, at the Richmond Raceway. The bride and her
maid of honor, Char Manlove-Laws, MA Arts Management ’14, became friends through Mason’s Arts Management Program. Milton Muldrow, PhD Environmental Science and Public Policy ’16, is a pro fessor and chair of the science department, as well as the founding chair of the environmental science and policy department at Wilmington University in New Castle, Delaware. He is also an associate director of NASA Delaware Space
EDITOR’S NOTE: Class Notes are submitted by alumni and are not verified by the editors. While we welcome alumni news, Mason Spirit is not responsible for information contained in Class Notes.
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Grant and the founder of Phantom Ecology LLC. A father of five, Muldrow and his wife, Linda, recently celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary. Alex Frazier, BA History ’17, was selected for the pres tigious Virginia Manage ment Fellows program, offered by the Common wealth of Virginia in collab oration with the Office of the Governor and the School of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech. During the
Mason alumna Charniele Herring, BA Economics ’93, is the first woman and first African American to serve as majority leader of Virginia’s House of Delegates. She has represented Virginia’s 46th district since 2009. In February she met with Mason students in Richmond during this year's Mason Lobbies event.
two-year fellowship, he will work with the Department of Conservation and Recre ation, planning and imple menting youth recreational programs with an empha sis on youth participant recruitment from under served communities. Adam Carpenter, PhD Environmental Science and Public Policy ’19, welcomed his new son, Thomas, in June 2019, joining George, age 4.
class notes
Obituaries ALUMNI AND STUDENTS
Paul T. Burke, BA Business and Public Administration ’68, d. October 28, 2019 Kirk D. Wrigley, BA Psy chology ’71, d. October 3, 2019 Rosemary B. Goodwin, BA Sociology ’72, d. July 22, 2019 Mary L. Ronk, MEd Elementary Education ’75, d. September 10, 2019 Phyllis J. Clancy, BSN ’76, d. October 13, 2019 Diane A. Perry, BA Psy chology ’76, d. September 9, 2019 Herbert Brooks, JD ’77, d. August 28, 2019 Nancy A. Newman, BSN ’77, MSN ’80, d. November 5, 2019 Christa Haefner Sullivan, BSN ’77, d. November 15, 2019 James P. O’Halloran, BA Sociology ’79, d. September 9, 2019 John Sacharanski, JD ’81, d. August 20, 2019 Lauris M. Eek III, MBA ’83, d. October 25, 2019 Carolyn L. Olson, MEd Curriculum and Instruction ’83, d. November 14, 2019 Audrey K. Reniere, BS Business Administration ’83, d. November 18, 2019
Shirley G. Vasy, MEd Education Administration and Supervision ’83, MEd Counseling and Devel opment ’98, d. October 27, 2019 Lisa Pulizzi Brady, BA Art (Studio) ’84, d. October 10, 2019 Joseph P. Martin, BS Decision Science ’84, d. October 5, 2019 Janice Hagan, MEd Cur riculum and Instruction ’85, d. September 30, 2019 Beverly J. Roach, BA Art (Studio) ’85, d. August 1, 2019 Dort S. Bigg III, JD ’86, d. October 29, 2019 Barbara B. Kyle, BA Psy chology ’88, CERB Geron tology ’88, d. July 8, 2019 Patricia M. Martell, MEd Education Administration and Supervision ’90, d. September 11, 2019 Zachary D. Miller, BA English ’90, d. October 13, 2019 Charlene T. Phillips, MEd Curriculum and Instruction ’92, DA Education (Com munity College) ’01, d. Oct ober 26, 2019 Lance W. Whitesel, CERG Software Systems Engineering ’99, MS Computer Science ’99, d. August 19, 2019
Greg J. Cunningham, BIS ’00, d. November 15, 2019 Dana Grabiner, MEd Curriculum and Instruction ’00, d. November 6, 2019 Myrna Oliver, BA English ’00, d. July 13, 2019 Lawrence Wink Jr., MEd Education Leadership ’00, d. November 18, 2019 Jill Crafton Dart, BS Health Science ’03, d. November 26, 2019
Matthew A. Parker, MS Computational Science ’03, d. September 22, 2019 Scott R. Stackhouse, BS Economics ’03, d. Novem ber 11, 2019 Jill B. Rinehart, BA Art and Visual Technology ’06, d. October 19, 2019
Adrian D. Dahood-Fritz, PhD Environmental Science and Public Policy ’17, d. September 2, 2019 Shannon N. Meyer, student, d. August 31, 2019 Kent A. Rawlings, former student, d. October 3, 2019
David Tao, BA Government and International Politics ’08, BS Finance ’08, d. Au gust 17, 2019
FACULTY, STAFF, AND FRIENDS Roger Stough, professor emeritus of public policy, died on September 6, 2019. He was 79. Stough was one of four faculty members responsible for founding the institution that would become the Schar School of Policy and Government. From 1990 to 2013, he was the Northern Virginia Chair in Local Government and Eminent Scholar Professor of Public Policy. In his time at Mason, Stough taught and mentored hundreds of students, served as a director for several programs and centers, and published dozens of journal articles, books, and other writings. He was the principal investigator for grants and contracts totaling more than $50 million from agencies ranging from NASA to the Federal Transit Administration. He taught for more than 45 years at eight different institutions, including Johns Hopkins and Indiana University. He is survived by his wife and two sons. Andrew Hughes Hallett, University Professor emeritus of public policy and eco nomics in the Schar School of Policy and Government, passed away at home on December 31, 2019. He was 72. Born in London, he held degrees from the University of Warwick, the London School of Economics, and the University of Oxford. Prior to coming to Mason, he taught at the University of Bristol, Erasmus University, Newcastle University, University of Strathclyde, and Vanderbilt University. As a Fulbright Fellow, he was a visiting professor in economics at Princeton University from 1992 to 1994. He was a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and a longtime consultant to the European Commission, European Central Bank, International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the European and Scottish Parliaments. He is survived by his wife, his three children, and his sister.
Spring 2020 M A S O N S P I R I T | 51
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES
MASON MEMORIES
Mason yearbooks are available online. To see the collection and the 1969 Advocate, go to bit.ly/madvocate69
Do you fondly remember certain places within the Mason commu nity that exemplified the “college experience”? Did a specific Mason professor or mentor influence your life and career? If so, tell us about it. Send your submission to spirit@gmu.edu. Please keep submissions to a maximum of 500 words.
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A T O U R O F T H E FA I R FA X C A M P U S , C I R C A 1 9 6 9
M
y Mason memory is of the George Mason Campus of 1969 as seen from the air on page 6 of the George Mason Yearbook Advocate 69. The campus con sisted of six buildings, and in 1969, you could walk from one side of the campus to the furthest point in five minutes or less. If you pulled into the student parking lot five or ten minutes ahead of time, you could make it to class even if it was in the South Building or the library. The first building around the Quad was the North Building, which had the chancellor’s and dean’s offices, as well as other offices, and classrooms and offices on the second floor. The West Building had utilities in the basement, as well as a tunnel to the South Building. The first floor had math classrooms, and the second floor had physics labs and classrooms. The South Building had biology classrooms and labs on the first floor, and chemistry labs and classrooms on the second floor. The basement held the Ordinary, which was the student union of its day. Students would gather between classes for card games, lunch from the grill, and music from a jukebox. The bookstore and student activity offices were also located there. Friday or Saturday night dances were also held in the Ordinary. The East Building had classrooms on the first and second floors, mostly English and foreign languages, although some philosophy classes were here. Next to the East Building was Lecture Hall. Two of the lecture rooms functioned as classrooms, but the large Lecture Hall 1 was the auditorium for our campus. If the chancellor or another person wanted to speak to a large
student group, Lecture Hall 1 was the room that could hold the largest number. The Agora Society presented stage plays there, and movies were shown on a regular basis. Live bands and the GM Choir presented concerts here. Mrs. Duffner held Speech 151 in Lecture Hall 1, and Professor Kanyan held Music 101 as well. The library was the last building on campus at the time. Students would check out books or study on two levels, and the library could also arrange interlibrary loans with other libraries in the area. In addition, there was a conference room on the second floor where the History Department held senior-level seminars. The field behind the South Building served as a site for baseball and football games, and the entire campus celebrated George Mason Day each spring in the Quad between the four buildings. The 1968 Graduation was held in Lecture Hall 1, and the 1971 Graduation was located between Lecture Hall and South Building. Several clubs used a house on Route 123 called the “Missing Link,” and the History Department moved their offices into a house on Roberts Road. The basketball team played home games in the W.T. Woodson High School gym. From these beginnings, the campus grew into the George Mason University of today.
Charles C. Ballenger, BA History ’71, is a U.S. Navy veteran. He lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and volunteers at the VA Medical Center there.
Invite George to a quiet night in He’ll let you pick the movie. Geo. Mason wines are available online and in store! Support student scholarships at George Mason University while enjoying a bottle or two.
Find wines at local retailers and online at geomasonwines.com
4400 University Drive, MS 3B3 Fairfax, Virginia 22030
MASON
GIVING
DAY 04/02/20
TOGETHER, WE ARE MASON CELEBRATING 50 YEARS—The Class of 1969 was on campus last fall for their 50th reunion. These Golden Patriots enjoyed a champagne brunch, a tour of Campus, a special historical exhibition in Fenwick Library, and an interactive presentation with University Libraries archivist Bob Vay, BA History 2/7/20 11:11 AM ’92, who recorded their recollections of their time at Mason.
PHOTO BY JOHN BOAL PHOTOGRAPHY
the Fairfax t_GivingDayAd_v1.indd 1