Meet the Graduate Division Team

Meet the Graduate Division Team

  • Headshot of Dr. Stephanie Bluth.

    Associate Director for Graduate Professional & Career Development, Graduate Education

    In the Associate Director role here at Mason, Dr. Bluth (she/her/hers) provides direction for the expansion and development of graduate student training alongside Graduate Student Life and University Career Services offices spanning the University. Dr. Bluth comes to Mason with over 13 years’ experience in graduate student services, curriculum development, and mentoring and career programming. She joined Mason after serving as the Director of Graduate Student Success at Sam Houston State University in Texas.
  • Smiling woman with long, blonde hair wearing a light pink dress shirt.

    Laurence Bray, PhD

    Senior Associate Provost for Graduate Education
    Associate Director in the Department of Bioengineering

    Dr. Laurence Bray is the Senior Associate Provost for Graduate Education and leader of the Graduate Division at George Mason University.
  • Headshot for Sora Buck.

    Graduate Program Assistant
    The Graduate Division

    Sora has recently joined the Graduate Division team at George Mason University. As a Graduate Program Assistant, she assists the team by working on the Graduate Teaching Academy and Communication Academy. Sora received her B.S. in Psychology from George Mason University in 2012 and is excited to be back as staff supporting the Graduate Division.
  • Parag V. Chitnis headshot

    Associate Professor of Bioengineering
    PhD Program Director
    Administrative Faculty Fellow in the Provost Office

    Parag Chitnis joined the Department of Bioengineering at George Mason University in 2014. He co-directs the Biomedical Imaging Laboratory, and is one of the founding member of the Center for Adaptive Systems of Brain-body Interactions. He also serves in several leadership and service roles. Dr. Chitnis is the Director of the Bioengineering PhD program. Here he oversees all administrative aspects of Bioengineering graduate program including admissions into the PhD program, approval of study plans, and proposal and dissertations exams. As an Administrative Faculty Fellow in the Provost Office, Dr. Chitnis has contributed to several university-wide initiatives to improve funding support for Mason graduate students, to create policies for safeguarding student rights, and most recently to develop a recommendations and an implementation plan for a new Graduate Division at Mason. For his contributions and services, Dr. Chitnis was selected as a State Finalist for the Outstanding Faculty Award (Rising Star Category) by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.
  • Headshot of Joe Crawford

    Graduate Education Assistant, Graduate Education an Office of the Provost

    Joe joined the Mason community as a part-time temp in February, 2018. He was assigned to the Accreditation and External Reporting Office (AERO) to assist with preparation of a self-study accreditation report for all Mason student licensing programs. After that he briefly worked in Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) to assist with externship and internship program tracking and databases.
  • Headshot of Amber Elston.

    Graduate Assistant for Graduate Education, Office of the Provost

    Amber joined the Graduate Education team recently in Fall 2022. She is currently an MPH student concentrating in epidemiology here at Mason. In the Office of the Provost for Graduate Education, she is a graduate assistant working on communications and marketing.
  • Headshot of Nicole Kim.

    Graduate Funding Assistant
    The Graduate Division

    Nicole joined the Graduate Division in the Office of the Provost in 2023 and assists with the internal graduate student support in finances, including fellowships, grants, scholarships, awards, and other forms of student support.
  • Headshot for Dr. Candace Lacayo.

    Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Faculty Fellow, Graduate Division
    Associate Professor, Athletic Training Education, College of Education and Human Development
    Clinical Education Coordinator, Athletic Training Education, College of…

    Dr. Candace Lacayo is an Associate Professor and the Clinical Education Coordinator of the Master of Science in Athletic Training Program. She is also the Faculty Fellow for Inclusive Excellence within the Graduate Division.
  • Headshot for Pallavi Rai Gullo

    Director of Graduate Academic and Student Affairs, Graduate Education, Office of the Provost

    Pallavi (she/her/hers) is the Director of Graduate Academic and Student Affairs in the Office of Graduate Education within the Provost's Office. She focuses on graduate policy development and implementation, management of the graduate academic appeal and policy exception process, provision of technical assistance to academic units, and carrying out the Office of Graduate Education's diversity, inclusion and equity initiatives. Pallavi joined Mason in 2017 after serving as Director of Legal Clinics for George Washington University (GW) Law School. Her professional life prior to academic administration included teaching and non-profit law. She holds a BA from Brandeis University as well as an MA.Ed and JD from GW. Outside of work, she enjoys time with friends and family and loves experiences and discussions that involve travel and good food.
  • Akitta Robinson

    Graduate Education Manager, Graduate Education an Office of the Provost

    Akitta (she/her/hers) joined the Office of Graduate Education in 2012. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in East Asian Studies with a minor in Business Management and is currently working towards a master's degree in Social Entrepreneurship here at Mason. Akitta serves as the Financial Manager for the Office of Graduate Education by providing oversight to internal graduate student support finances.