Campus News

Mason partners with TimelyMD to improve student health and well-being

John Hollis — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 18:20:30 +0000

Mason partners with TimelyMD to improve student health and well-being John Hollis Mon, 10/24/2022 - 14:20

Mason and TimelyMD have partnered to improve student health and well-being. Graphic provided

George Mason University and TimelyMD have teamed up in an effort to improve student health and overall well-being with free and equitable access to mental health support.

The TimelyCare platform, which launched on October 17, provides a 24/7 virtual extension of campus counseling center resources to improve student well-being, engagement, and retention.

Using TimelyCare on a phone or other device, Mason students can now select from a wide-ranging menu of virtual care options from licensed counselors in all 50 states at no cost and without the hassle of traditional insurance.

Services included on-demand mental health and emotional support, appointment-based mental health counseling, psychiatric support, health coaching and digital self-care content in a hybrid model of care in collaboration with on-campus resources.

“TimelyCare is a great complement, and supplement, that enhances our existing university support services,” said Provost and Executive Vice President Mark Ginsberg. “Students now have more options when looking for help—wherever they are and whenever they have a need.” 

In addition, faculty and staff have access to support that empowers them to guide students to TimelyCare resources to help students achieve a sense of well-being, live healthier lifestyles and improve their mental health.

Benefits to students include convenient 24/7 care, reduced wait times, a diverse provider network and the peace of mind that comes from knowing that TimelyCare is a safe, secure, and HIPAA-compliant platform that follows campus-specific protocols to facilitate care coordination and follow-up to ensure continuity of care.

Student do not need insurance to access TimelyCare, and will have access to it until the last day of their graduating semester.

“The health and safety of our students is our top priority," said Rose Pascarell, Mason's vice president for University Life. “TimelyCare’s ease of use, convenience and immediacy make it easier than ever for our students to get the support they need, when they need it.” 

That’s just what Michelle Melo had in mind when the second-year master's student from Manila, Philippines, studying systems engineering first downloaded the TimelyCare app.

She said she found the platform “very easy” to use and of great value, especially to international students like herself who hail from cultures where there can be a stigma surrounding mental health issues.

“Having a resource to help our mental well-being will help us move away from the stigma that mental health is just a mood swing and actually assist us in receiving the help that we need,” Melo said.

The need for 24/7 access to high-quality care has never been more important. According to the American Council on Education, student mental health is the top concern of college and university presidents and is also the number one reason students leave college. A recent report by Gallup and the Lumina Foundation found that three out of four students in bachelor’s degrees programs who considered stopping out – stopping with the intention of returning to school – cited emotional stress as their reason.

Sixty percent of all students who have sought mental health support through TimelyCare said they would have done nothing if the service were not available, according to the company.

“Meeting the need for equitable, on-demand access to care is a critical challenge that extends beyond campus boundaries. TimelyCare allows colleges and universities like George Mason University to solve problems rather than just treat symptoms,” said Luke Hejl, TimelyMD CEO and co-founder. “Our mission at TimelyMD is to improve the health and well-being of college students by making virtual care accessible anytime, anywhere. Through TimelyCare, we are proud to deliver best-in-class health and well-being solutions to help students thrive.”

Founded in 2017, TimelyMD serves more than a million students at more than 200 campuses nationwide.

Topics

Office of the Provost

TimelyMD

Strategic Direction

Networking event connects graduate students with Arlington’s Movers and Shakers

Colleen Rich — Fri, 21 Oct 2022 16:49:09 +0000

Networking event connects graduate students with Arlington’s Movers and Shakers Colleen Rich Fri, 10/21/2022 - 12:49

George Mason University’s proximity to the nation’s capital attracts many students interested in engaging with political and civic leaders. Recently, graduate students at Mason Square (formerly Arlington Campus) attended Movers and Shakers, a professional networking event with Arlington’s business, government, and community leaders.

Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

Ziad Al Achkar and Emily Crawford were among this year’s student attendees. Al Achkar, a doctoral candidate in the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, attended the first Movers and Shakers event when in launched in October 2019 and was excited about its return from its pandemic hiatus. His research interest focuses on using technology and the digitalization of humanitarian aid.

“I spoke with a few people working with consulting companies in the D.C. area whose work matches up with my career aspirations,” Al Achkar said. “Movers and Shakers reinforced the importance of having clear ideas about your career aspirations and being able to articulate them quickly when meeting new people and potential employers.”

Crawford is pursuing a master’s in public policy at the Schar School of Policy and Government with an emphasis on higher education policy. She advocates for college affordability and accessibility and aspires to collaborate with leaders in the White House, Congress, and the U.S. Department of Education on behalf of students.

Connecting with changemakers with an impact on Arlington and the nation appealed to her. Movers and Shakers provided the opportunity to engage leaders and allowed Crawford to share her impact in the Arlington community as the Graduate and Professional Student Association’s vice president of Arlington.

“It was incredible to connect with leaders from the State Department, local nonprofits making a significant difference in our community, and fellow students,” Crawford said. “We are all working together to make meaningful change happen to make Arlington, Virginia, and the country a better place to live.”

Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

“Movers and Shakers is a wonderful opportunity to build strong connections between Arlington leaders and Mason as we undergo our expansion,” said Toni Andrews, senior associate director, Community and Local Government Relations for Mason Square. “It builds awareness about current programs at Mason Square and those coming to Fuse at Mason such as the College of Engineering and Computing.”

John Daniels, BA Government and International Politics ’17, MPA ’19, was among Arlington’s leaders who networked with student attendees. Daniels is the chief of staff to 48th District Delegate Rip Sullivan, serving as political and policy advisor, legislative assistant, scheduler, manager for constituent services, and financial manager for the delegate’s political activities.

The opportunity to connect with and mentor students drew Daniels to the event, whose Patriot Pride was evident in his enthusiasm. He encouraged students to not worry about having their lives completely mapped out post-graduation. For students interested in a career path similar to his own, Daniels advises maintaining relationships with fellow alumni and faculty, getting involved in local politics or taking on an internship on Capitol Hill or the General Assembly.

Other Arlington leaders participating in the event included Dulce Carrillo, supervisor of public engagement, Arlington Public Schools; Liz Nohra, senior director, strategic partnerships, PathForward; Anh Phan, outreach representative for Senator Mark Warner’s office; Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz; and Julius “JD” Spain Sr., community and civil rights leader, president, NAACP Arlington Branch.

Several students won a one-on-one networking lunch with Arlington leaders thanks to a drawing held at Movers and Shakers.

Topics

graduate student life

Graduate Education

Mason announces new Graduate Division in the Office of the Provost

Colleen Rich — Wed, 12 Oct 2022 14:15:33 +0000

Mason announces new Graduate Division in the Office of the Provost Colleen Rich Wed, 10/12/2022 - 10:15

The Office of the Provost is excited to announce the launch of George Mason University’s Graduate Division. The Graduate Division will be one of the major units of Academic Affairs within the Office of the Provost.

Photo by Sierra Guard/Creative Services

Its mission is to elevate graduate education at Mason by increasing the global impact of its graduate students and programs, fostering a collaborative culture of academic excellence, and contributing to the research productivity and the workforce development appropriate to an R1 institution. Leveraging economies of scale, the Division is designed to maximize strategic and targeted investments to augment and complement the efforts of Mason’s local academic units.

The Graduate Division will serve all graduate programs and students including pre-professional master's to research-intensive doctoral students by working with the schools and colleges to provide services and communication strategy assistance.

“The inception of the new Graduate Division is an important step in supporting graduate education programs and graduate students at our university,” said Mark Ginsberg, Mason Provost and Executive Vice President. “I am confident that it will enhance the graduate student experience at Mason while further elevating our nationally respected academic and research programs. I can’t wait to watch our students and programs continue to soar as a result.”

The Graduate Division will coordinate pre-enrollment activities to increase the visibility and recognition of Mason graduate education. It will also expand central programming and opportunities to enhance the graduate student experience, refine graduate policies and procedures to uphold the quality and integrity of graduate programs, and bolster internal and external relations to elevate graduate student career readiness and placement.

The Office of the Graduate Education will officially transition into the Graduate Division during the Fall 2022 semester. During its first year, the Graduate Division will focus on unveiling a new graduate online onboarding platform, offering a university-wide graduate teaching assistant training, and starting a new mentored anti-racism and inclusive excellence mentorship program.

“The launch of the new Graduate Division is the result of a two-year university-wide team effort,” said Laurence Bray, associate provost of graduate education. “It has been an honor and privilege to lead this initiative and work with so many amazing partners across campus to make the Graduate Division become a reality.”

Over the next several years, the Graduate Division expects to expand its services to better support all graduate students and programs. Initial plans include creating a graduate success center to optimize student experience and engagement, as well as leveraging externally funded projects to increase graduate funding support.

Topics

Campus News

Office of the Provost

graduate students

Graduate Education

Strategic Direction

Deltek Scholars Program created to fund Mason computer science graduates

Colleen Rich — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 13:26:28 +0000

Deltek Scholars Program created to fund Mason computer science graduates Colleen Rich Mon, 04/04/2022 - 09:26

Computer science students at George Mason University will benefit from a new donation by Deltek, the leading global provider of enterprise software and information solutions for project-based businesses, headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. A $100,000 investment from the company, establishing the Deltek Scholars Program, will provide scholarship support beginning in Fall 2022 to as many as eight graduate students pursuing their master’s degree in software engineering.

“We are honored that Deltek has chosen to invest in Mason students, and are eager to put these funds to use to advance our mutual goal of training a world-class tech workforce here in Northern Virginia,” said Mason President Gregory Washington.

The scholarship recipients can also gain access to internships at Deltek, networking and career-building opportunities, and funding for capstone projects. Recipients must be among the first generation in their family to attend college, thus contributing to the goal of bringing diverse talent to the tech workforce.

“Mason is a proven talent incubator for the Northern Virginia region,” said Mike Corkery, president and CEO of Deltek. “We’re looking forward to hosting interns from Mason, hiring more Mason graduates, and collaborating to advance Northern Virginia as a world leader in information technology.”

Deltek’s investment advances Mason’s participation in the Tech Talent Investment Program launched by the Commonwealth of Virginia in 2019. That agreement calls for Mason to raise matching funds in order to receive up to $125 million in state funding to produce a cumulative total of more than 7,500 master’s graduates in technology fields by 2039.

Corkery is also a member of Mason’s President’s Innovation Advisory Council, made up of industry, community, and government leaders helping guide Mason’s initiative to spark further innovation centered in Arlington’s Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. On April 6, Mason will host the groundbreaking ceremony for a new, 345,000 square-foot innovation headquarters under construction on its Arlington Campus, now called Mason Square.

Deltek’s founder, the late Donald de Laski, was a board member and a leading supporter of George Mason University for many years. The de Laski Performing Arts Building on the university’s Fairfax Campus is named in honor of him and his wife, Kathleen.

Topics

Tech Talent Investment Program (TTIP)

Campus News

Scholarships

computer science

College of Engineering and Computing

software engineering

Graduate Education

Mason has eight graduate programs in the top 25 nationally, with several leaping forward in U.S. News rankings

Mariam Aburdeineh — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 20:21:58 +0000

Mason has eight graduate programs in the top 25 nationally, with several leaping forward in U.S. News rankings Mariam Aburdeineh Mon, 03/28/2022 - 16:21

In This Story

Mark J. Rozell

Kenneth Ball

Jiayang Sun

Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services/George Mason University

George Mason University has eight graduate programs listed among the top 25 nationally, according to the latest rankings by U.S. News & World Report, reflecting the university’s reputation of being a top institution for advanced degrees.

The list was led by Mason’s part-time law program at the Antonin Scalia Law School, which is No. 1 among public institutions, followed by industrial-organizational psychology at No. 5 nationally. Rounding out the list were Mason’s intellectual property program, three programs at the Schar School of Policy and Government, as well as special education and elementary teacher education at the College of Education and Human Development.

Overall, Mason has 18 programs ranked in the top 50 nationally and 33 ranked in the top 50 among public universities. Several programs rose in the Best Graduate School Rankings, including statistics and biological sciences.

Mason on the Rise

“The continued rise in the national rankings of our respected academic programs is further affirmation about the quality of a Mason education and the esteem in how our programs are viewed nationally,” said Mark R. Ginsberg, Mason provost and executive vice president. “We are very pleased by and proud of the recognition our programs have received and the experience our students have.”

Mason is the fastest growing public university in Virginia and has conferred the highest number of master’s degrees of any four-year public institution in the state for the past five years. According to State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, Mason conferred nearly a third of the state’s master’s degrees for the 2020-21 academic year.

U.S. News ranks different programs at different times of the year, including rankings for online master’s programs, which were released in January, and the annual Best Colleges rankings released each fall.

Several programs that ranked in the top 25 are housed on the Arlington Campus—recently renamed Mason Square—which is less than five miles from Washington, D.C. Mason Square is undergoing a transformation as part of the Rosslyn-Ballston Innovation Corridor, an innovation district that will be the first of its kind in Virginia, and will serve as the home base for the Institute for Digital Innovation.

Scalia Law Soars to Top 30

Mason’s part-time law program is ranked No. 4 nationally and No. 1 among public universities, ahead of distinguished universities including University of Maryland, Temple University, and University of Houston. The school’s ranking, as a whole, rose 11 spots, to No. 30.

“For the first time, we are ranked nationally as a top 30 law school,” said law school Dean Ken Randall. “The ranking reflects the academic excellence of the Scalia law faculty, student body, and staff.”

“We are grateful for the university’s support of the law school,” he said. “The law school’s evening program—ranked as the fourth best part-time program nationally—has tripled its enrollment by leveraging technology and advancing our commitment to inclusive excellence.”

A Prominent Hub for Public Policy

Five Schar School programs (homeland security, public-policy analysis, nonprofit management, public finance, and local government management) are ranked as the top programs in Virginia, with homeland security leading the list at No. 7 nationally, and No. 6 among public institutions.

Mason’s homeland security program has made the nation’s top 10 list for five years straight.

“The Schar School’s interdisciplinary programs increasingly are being recognized as among the best,” said Schar School Dean Mark J. Rozell. “Most notable this year is the big jump in the ranking in nonprofit management studies—the largest one-year move we’ve ever seen.”

The nonprofit management program rose 14 spots, from No. 32 to No. 18 nationally.

“High-impact faculty work and recent exciting hires in that field are being noticed by our peers nationally,” Rozell said.

The Schar School’s location in the heart of the U.S. political scene provides students with extraordinary professional opportunities that supplement learning from professors with experience in everything from NGOs and nonprofits to top government agencies like the CIA, National Security Agency, and more.

Biological Sciences Leaps to Top 10

Many Mason programs significantly advanced in the rankings from last year, including biological sciences, which rose 71 spots to No. 119.

“The graduate programs at the School of Systems Biology (SSB) are constantly striving to enrich student experiences and improve learning outcomes,” said Iosif Vaisman, professor and School of Systems Biology director. “We are very happy that these collective efforts by our administrators, faculty, and staff bear fruit.”

“Our time to degree completion statistics is better than many peer programs, and our graduates are in high demand on the job market,” Vaisman said, noting students come from all walks of life. “All these successes to a great degree depend on the extremely strong research portfolios, publication record, teaching commitments, and reputation of faculty at SSB and its two research centers, the Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine and the Center for Infectious Disease Research.”

A Bright Future, Statistically Speaking

Statistics also jumped 29 spots, coming in at No. 54 nationally and No. 38 among publics.

Jiayang Sun, department chair of Statistics, said she is optimistic for another significant jump in the next ranking cycle.

“We have outstanding faculty who are national leaders in their areas of expertise,” Sun said. “We had remarkable growth and transformation under the new leadership.”

“We are very pleased and excited by the significant jump in the rankings by our Department of Statistics, and congratulate the entire department and its leadership for their success,” said Kenneth Ball, dean of the College of Engineering and Computing.

“The department has a very bright future and is contributing greatly to the success of the college as well as across the university,” he said.

Research funding for statistics has continued to surpass the department’s records since 2020, Sun said.

Ball touted the investment made by Mason's College of Engineering and Computing in the statistics programs, including more than $1.5 million for new faculty start-up funds and graduate research assistants, as well as other resources.

And a new partnership with Inova Health System has provided faculty with expanding collaborative research opportunities.

“We are modernizing our program offerings and looking forward to unique opportunities with the new School of Computing and some expected Virginia initiatives,” Sun said.

Methodology

The 2023 Best Graduate School rankings for business, education, engineering, law, medicine, and nursing are based on expert opinion about program excellence and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school’s faculty, research, and students, U.S. News reported.

The ranking data comes from statistical surveys of more than 2,150 programs and from reputation surveys sent to more than 23,200 academics and professionals, conducted in fall 2021 and early 2022.

Full Rankings

Below is a preview of Mason’s rankings for its graduate programs. It will be updated if additional rankings become available:

Part-time Law: No. 4 nationally, No. 1 among public institutions.

Intellectual Property: No. 19 nationally, No. 6 among public institutions (Best in Virginia).

Best Law School: No. 30 nationally, No. 11 among public institutions.

Contracts: No. 37 nationally, No 18 among public institutions.

Constitutional Law: No. 40 nationally, No. 19 among public institutions.

Corporate Law: No. 41 nationally, No. 17 among public institutions.

International Law: No. 67 nationally, 30 among public institutions.

Tax Law: No. 70 nationally, No. 33 among public institutions.

Criminal Law: No. 80 nationally, No. 38 among public institutions.

Trial Advocacy: No. 89 overall, No. 31 among public institutions.

Dispute Resolution: No. 103 nationally, No. 43 among public institutions.

Health Care Law: No. 108 nationally, No. 50 among public institutions.

Environmental Law: No. 122 nationally, No. 62 among public institutions.

Clinical Training: No. 148 nationally, No. 64 among public institutions.

Legal Writing: No. 169 nationally, No. 74 among public institutions.

Public Affairs: No. 39 nationally, No. 26 among public institutions.

Homeland Security: No. 7 nationally, No. 6 among public institutions (Best in Virginia).

Nonprofit Management: No. 18 overall, No. 14 among public institutions (Best in Virginia).

Public Policy Analysis: No. 24 nationally, No. 12 among public institutions (Best in Virginia).

Public Finance: No. 26 nationally, No. 19 among public institutions (Best in Virginia).

Leadership: No. 27 nationally, No. 19 among public institutions.

Local Government Management: No. 27 nationally, No. 24 among public institutions (Best in Virginia).

Part-time MBA: No. 67 nationally, No. 40 among public institutions.

Education: No. 67 overall, No. 52 among public institutions.

Special Ed: No. 15 nationally, No. 14 among public institutions.

Elementary Teacher Ed: No. 20 nationally, No. 16 among public institutions.

Engineering: No. 92 nationally, No. 56 among public institutions.

Industrial Engineering: No. 39 nationally, No. 29 among public institutions.

Statistics: No. 54 nationally, No. 38 among public institutions.

Computer Science: No. 63 nationally, No. 37 among public institutions.

Computer Engineering: No. 75 nationally, No. 44 among public institutions.

Electrical Engineering: No. 82 nationally, No. 49 among public institutions.

Civil Engineering: No. 89 nationally, No. 63 among public institutions.

Bioengineering: No. 103 nationally, No. 65 among public institutions.

Geology: No. 113 nationally, No. 81 among public institutions.

Mathematics: No. 115 nationally, No. 72 among public institutions.

Biological Sciences: No. 119 nationally, No. 66 among public institutions.

Physics: No. 132 nationally, No. 78 among public institutions.

Chemistry: No. 165 overall, No. 107 among public institutions.

Nursing Master's: No. 37 nationally, No. 23 among public institutions.

Nursing-DNP: No. 52 nationally, No. 38 among public institutions.

Public Health: No. 70 nationally, No. 45 among public institutions.

Social Work: No. 79 nationally, No. 54 among public institutions.

Economics: No. 74 overall, No. 40 among public institutions.

Psychology: No. 80 nationally, No. 47 among public institutions.

Industrial-Organizational Psychology: No. 5 nationally, No. 4 among public institutions.

Topics

Campus News

Rankings

Graduate Education

New Partnership Eases Transition to Grad School

Jennifer Anzaldi — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 15:40:22 +0000

New Partnership Eases Transition to Grad School Jennifer Anzaldi Wed, 03/16/2022 - 11:40

Matt Van Horn

The George Mason University School of Business recently set up a unique admission partnership with the University of Virginia at Wise. The pathway offers students who graduate from UVA-Wise the ability to streamline their applications to the master’s in accounting, master’s in finance, and master’s in management (MSM).

The master’s in management is designed for non-business majors who seek a foundation in business management. Program benefits include access to world-class faculty, individual advising and lifelong career coaching. Over the course of 11 months, MSM students will earn a master’s in management, complete an internship (150 hours), and participate in a global residency.

"The MSM program provides a unique opportunity to combine the diverse perspectives of the non-business undergraduate degrees with the targeted foundation in both the theory and practical application of business in areas such as organizational behavior, economics, finance, marketing, and others," says Victoria M Grady, associate professor of organizational behavior and academic director of the MSM Program. "It is exciting to be part of such a dynamic program. We are thrilled to share integrated partnerships with schools such as UVA-Wise."

Matt Van Horn, a student in the (MSM) program, is the first student to come through this pathway to Mason. When asked why he chose the pathway, Van Horn says it was because of Mason’s reputation and the easy nature of the application process.

“I always knew I wanted to go to grad school, but the graduate application process can be overwhelming,” Van Horn says. “The UVA-Wise pathway was almost too good to be true. It was like a yellow brick road through all the confusion.”

According to Van Horn, the MSM program has benefits that may not be obvious initially. The business school’s Office of Career Services is a “true benefit,” he says, and the staff works closely to meet student wants and needs. He emphasizes the excellent networking opportunities with other professionals in the Washington, D.C., area.

When asked how the MSM helped him develop, Van Horn says he now has a more realistic idea of the scope of the business world and the skills he needs to continue developing to be successful. “It allowed me to take what I already knew from undergrad and build on it,” he says.

He added that the professors are friendly and want their students to succeed, which he considers a strength of the program. Van Horn’s advice for students who are considering a School of Business master’s program is to reach out to any of the staff or faculty for more information.

If you would like your college or university to benefit from a similar partnership or pathway, please contact Kevin Connor, associate director of graduate admission, strategic initiatives in the School of Business.

Topics

Costello College of Business News

Master's in Finance Program

Master's in Accounting Program

Master's in Management Program

Campus News

Graduate Education

Online programs thrive at Mason, with six in the Top 20 according to latest U.S. News rankings

Colleen Rich — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 19:30:47 +0000

Online programs thrive at Mason, with six in the Top 20 according to latest U.S. News rankings Colleen Rich Mon, 01/24/2022 - 14:30

In This Story

Maury Peiperl

Photo by Getty Images

George Mason University has some of the nation’s best online master’s programs, with six of them in the Top 20, according to the just-released 2022 U.S. News & World Report Best Online Programs rankings.

“Mason’s online graduate programs provide ‘access to opportunity’ that, especially through the COVID pandemic, have been highly valued and are highly respected,” said Provost Mark Ginsberg. “The latest rankings affirm the quality of our online graduate programs and their consequential nature. We are very pleased that they are recognized as among the very best in the nation.”

Mason’s education programs led the list, with special education ranking best in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, and No. 7 nationally. As a whole, Mason’s education programs climbed five spots this year to No. 41. They are among 11 programs at Mason that also made the Top 50.

“These rankings reflect the well-earned national reputation of a degree in education from George Mason University,” said Bob Baker, interim dean of Mason’s College of Education and Human Development (CEHD). “They further demonstrate the widespread respect held for our exceptional faculty and graduates.”

“Despite the challenges of the pandemic, CEHD education programs are consequential in that we remain committed to making the online experience both rigorous and relevant,” Baker said. “We are recognized for affording a large number of students access to a very high-quality education that professionally prepares them to be career-ready and impactful.”

Other Mason programs in the Top 20 include Education for Veterans (No. 13 nationally and best in the D.C. area), its MBA in Business Analytics (No. 17 nationally and No. 11 among public institutions), its MBA in General Management (No. 19 overall and No. 11 among publics), and Industrial Engineering (No. 19 nationally, tied with George Washington University, and No. 15 among publics).

Mason’s Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs also advanced into the Top 100, rising 25 spots in just two years.

“Mason has always worked to provide the learning and development working professionals need—when, where, and in the way they most need it,” said Maury Peiperl, dean of the School of Business. “Our online MBA continues to do that, and to improve with deeper and deeper engagement with our customers, most of whom are in the Washington region.”

METHODOLOGY: According to its website, U.S. News ranks programs in five categories: student engagement, faculty credentials and training, services and technologies that allow students greater flexibility to take classes and labs from a distance, student excellence, and a survey of “high-ranking academic officials.”

Mason also ranked in these U.S. News categories:

MBA: No. 98 overall, No. 70 among publics.

MBA for Veterans: No. 64 overall, No. 49 among publics.

MBA (business analytics): No. 17 overall, No. 11 among publics.

MBA (general management): No. 19 overall, No. 11 among publics.

Business master's (non-MBA): No. 35 overall (tied with American University), No. 25 among publics.

Information technology: No. 42 overall, No. 29 among publics (tied with JMU and UMBC).

Education: No. 41 overall, No. 40 among publics.

Education for Veterans: No. 13 overall (best in the DMV), No. 13 among publics.

Education (curriculum and instruction): No. 21 overall, No. 21 among publics.

Education (educational administration and supervision): No. 20 overall, No. 19 among publics.

Special education: No. 7 overall, No. 7 among publics.

Engineering: No. 47 overall, No. 35 among publics.

Engineering (industrial): No. 19 overall (tied with George Washington), No. 15 among publics.

Topics

Campus News

U.S. News & World Report

Costello College of Business

College of Education and Human Development

Rankings

College of Engineering and Computing

Graduate Education

Mason President Gregory Washington extends Provost Mark R. Ginsberg’s term through June 2025

Melanie Balog — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 20:04:51 +0000

Mason President Gregory Washington extends Provost Mark R. Ginsberg’s term through June 2025 Melanie Balog Mon, 11/29/2021 - 15:04

George Mason University President Gregory Washington announced Monday that he has extended the term of Provost Mark R. Ginsberg through June 2025.

Ginsberg was appointed interim provost in March 2020 by George Mason interim President Anne Holton. That August, Washington named him to the position permanently for a two-year term to expire in August 2022.

An 11-year veteran of Mason, Ginsberg had served as dean of Mason’s College of Education and Human Development since 2010.

“Mark represents continuity and stability at a time of great change at Mason,” Washington said. “As provost, he has guided our academic community through the uncharted waters of COVID response, and positioned the Office of the Provost for the future with a timely and thoughtful restructure.”

Mark Ginsberg, Provost and Executive Vice President. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services/ George Mason University

On Oct. 20, Ginsberg shared his plan for the university’s future, “A Vision for Mason’s Next Era: From Great to Greater” with the Mason community.

“Students are learning differently and faculty are teaching differently, because the world is changing rapidly before our eyes,” Ginsberg said. “The years ahead will present unprecedented challenges and opportunities that fundamentally will alter how Mason delivers on its mission in support of our students, faculty and staff as well as the Commonwealth of Virginia and broader community. I am thrilled to continue leading the academic efforts for Virginia’s largest, most diverse, and most innovative public university.”

Ginsberg's career spans more than 40 years as a professor, psychologist and administrator. He has published extensively in the areas of education, psychology, human development and human services. He served as the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) from January 1999 until June 2010, and prior to that was chair of the Department of Counseling and Human Services in the Graduate Division of Education while also a faculty member in the School of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University.

“The feedback that the Provost Extension Review Committee received about extending Provost Ginsberg's contract was overwhelmingly in favor of him continuing in this role,” said Faculty Senate Chair Melissa Broeckelman-Post. “I am delighted that we will continue to work together to support Mason faculty, students, and staff as we continue to grow the university's dual missions of providing an accessible, excellent education and conducting research of consequence.”

Ginsberg received his master's and doctoral degrees from The Pennsylvania State University, and his bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Cortland. He completed an Internship (APA Approved) in Clinical Psychology while a Fellow at the Yale University School of Medicine.

Topics

Campus News

Faculty and Staff News

Mason’s largest and most diverse class of graduates ready to tackle world’s challenges

Colleen Rich — Fri, 14 May 2021 14:46:37 +0000

Mason’s largest and most diverse class of graduates ready to tackle world’s challenges Colleen Rich Fri, 05/14/2021 - 10:46

In This Story

Gregory Washington

President Gregory Washington congratulated the graduates on their achievements from the newest building on the Fairfax Campus, Horizon Hall.

George Mason University on Friday afternoon honored its largest and most diverse graduating class in history with its 54th Spring Commencement.

The virtual event, livestreamed on GMU-TV, featured recorded remarks from First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and was a part of a week of that included well-attended, in-person graduation recognition events for Mason's schools and colleges.

Mason’s Class of 2021 includes 9,904 degree earners and 821 certificate earners from 90 countries, 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and foreign military installations.

The 6,364 students earning bachelor’s degrees were 51.4% from underrepresented groups, an all-time Mason high, and about one-third of bachelor’s degree earners were in the first generation of their families to earn a four-year degree.

Biden, a long-time instructor at Northern Virginia Community College, said that Mason is special to her for the role it plays in educating her former students and for its participation in the Joining Forces initiative she launched as Second Lady, with then-First Lady Michelle Obama, to support the military community.

Awarded an honorary degree from Mason, Biden encouraged the graduates to treasure moments of humor, gratitude, joy and kindness even at the worst of times and to find strength by lifting and leaning on others.

First Lady Jill Biden was this year's guest speaker, and she received an honorary doctor of humane letters from Mason.

“No one can promise you that life will always be beautiful,” Biden said. “But there will always be beauty—in the world around us, in the people we love, in the strength of our communities.

“Life is calling. It will be heartbreaking and hopeful. It will be bruised and beautiful. Give in to it. You’re ready for whatever comes your way.”

Mason President Gregory Washington, taking part in his first Spring Commencement, praised graduates for overcoming “a historical level of adversity and uncertainty” to earn their degrees amid a pandemic, a challenge faced by no other graduating class in a century.

Students this year showed incredible resilience by adapting to new ways of learning, embracing public health measures that kept coronavirus rates low on campus, and employing creative solutions for safe social activities.

Washington said the graduates’ perseverance further prepares them for future success.

“Through your determination, you’ve achieved things you might not have thought yourselves capable of achieving,” Washington said. “We call that learning. We call that education. And best of all, we call that growth.”

The ceremony also featured the awarding of the Mason Medal, the university’s highest honor, to former rector Tom Davis, who served seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Davis, also the former chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, has served on Mason’s Board of Visitors for the past eight years, including as rector from 2014 to 2020.

Mason Board of Visitors Rector James Hazel presented the Mason Medal to former congressman Tom Davis who served on the Mason BOV from 2014 to 2020.

During that period, Mason achieved several milestones, including earning its first designation as a Carnegie Tier 1 research university while also expanding opportunities for students to attend Mason. Davis also has been an adjunct professor in the Schar School of Policy and Government.

“During your time here at George Mason you’ve been exposed to a myriad of cultures, ideas and values,” Davis told the graduates. “Hopefully you’ve come to understand that we all look alike through different lenses, and that understanding and respecting differing perspectives can make us richer and wiser individuals.”

Commencement culminated a week of “mini” ceremonies for which more than 10,000 graduates and guests signed up to attend. That includes more than 1,800 graduates and guests from the Class of 2020, which did not get to participate in in-person graduation events last year.

With the Class of 2021, Mason solidifies its standing as the largest producer of tech talent in Virginia. Among bachelor’s degree earners, 37% are in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, as are 25% of graduate degree earners.

Mason alumnus and composer Vincent Oppido and College of Visual and Performing Arts Dean Rick Davis, who co-wrote Mason's alma mater, "Patriot Pride," joined a group of Mason singers to perform it.

The top undergraduate majors are the same five as last year, only in a different order: information systems and operations management went from fourth to first this year, followed by information technology; criminology, law and society (first to a tie for third); psychology (remained third); and computer science.

Among the 3,083 master’s degree earners, the top five programs are in the same order for the third consecutive year—curriculum and instruction, special education, data analytics engineering, education leadership, and business administration.

Among the 294 doctoral degree earners, the top programs are in education, psychology, economics, public policy, and conflict analysis and resolution —the same five and same order as last year—with bioinformatics and computational biology tying for the fifth spot.

The university awarded 163 law degrees.

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Graduation

Campus News

Mason Lighting the Way: Sharrell Hassell-Goodman

Colleen Rich — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 14:15:27 +0000

Mason Lighting the Way: Sharrell Hassell-Goodman Colleen Rich Wed, 03/31/2021 - 10:15

Mason Lighting the Way

Spotlights from the Task Force

More than 130 faculty, staff and students are working on George Mason University’s Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Task Force, which is taking a hard look at the current state of diversity and inclusivity efforts at the university and making recommendations for the future.

These individuals come from across our campuses and bring their different skill sets and expertise to this work. In this series, we will spotlight members of the task force and find out what drives them.

Sharrell Hassell-Goodman. Photo provided

Sharrell Hassell-Goodman
Doctoral Student, Higher Education Program

Committee: Co-chair, Student Voice

One of the things Sharrell Hassell-Goodman loves about George Mason University is its diversity. Prior to coming to Mason, Hassell-Goodman studied at Miami University in Ohio, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in early elementary education and two master’s degrees, an MEd in education leadership and MS in college student personnel.

Mason’s diverse student body was a welcome change for her.

“I loved seeing so many Black and brown faces,” she said.

She also worked on the student services side of universities, including a stint as director of sorority and fraternity life at Ohio State.

Now Hassell-Goodman is working on a PhD in higher education with a specialization in women and gender studies and social justice, and enjoys working on the academic side of Mason. She has taught courses in the School of Integrative Studies on identity, social justice, and social science research.

As a first-generation college student herself and one of the founders of the Black Graduate Student Association at Mason, she understands the importance of supporting students and has focused some of her research on first-generation students. Her research interests also include Black women in higher education, social justice advocates in higher education, identity and leadership, and critical participatory action research.

“I really wanted to look at the experiences of those who are historically marginalized,” said Hassell-Goodman.

For her dissertation research, Hassell-Goodman has been inspired in part by a group of Black women in academia, a movement that is often called #Blackintheivory in social media. In fact, she has her own “research collective.”

“It was students and alumni talking about their experiences in the academy, and then the world shifted,” Hassell-Goodman said of how George Floyd’s death changed the conversation. “[Then] Black women, who identify as first-generation college students, from across the country were interested in being a part of this research collective.”

The stories and experiences of these women are informing Hassell-Goodman’s research. Her dissertation is titled “An Endarkened Feminist Critical Participatory Action Research Project: First-Generation Women of the African Diaspora.”

As co-chair of the Student Voice Committee of the Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Task Force, Hassell-Goodman had the opportunity to present at both town halls and bring forward recommendations from the committee that included adding anti-racism to the university’s research agenda, more courses on anti-racism and inclusion topics, and faculty training to create more inclusive classrooms.

“The students on this committee represent many different demographics, but all want to interrupt all forms of oppression,” she said. “I am so impressed with these students and how committed they are.”

She also feels this task force provides a great opportunity. Not only have all the student committee members learned more about how a university works, they are involved in this process at an optimal time.

“We are at a place where we are creating action,” she said. “Students are so central to this process, and Mason is thinking of students first.”

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Mason President Gregory Washington extends Provost Mark R. Ginsberg’s term through June 2025

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Mason Lighting the Way: Sharrell Hassell-Goodman

Mason Lighting the Way

Spotlights from the Task Force

Sharrell Hassell-GoodmanDoctoral Student, Higher Education Program

Committee: Co-chair, Student Voice

Topics

Sharrell Hassell-Goodman
Doctoral Student, Higher Education Program