Dr. Gregory Washington
President of George Mason University
Gregory Washington became George Mason University’s eighth president on July 1, 2020. Since then, he has led the institution through a period of significant growth and innovation—expanding access to college education, accelerating and focusing research, and deepening George Mason’s influence as a talent pipeline for the Washington, D.C., region and the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The Wall Street Journal ranks George Mason among the Top 35 public universities nationally, more than 100 spots higher than before Washington arrived.
With campuses in Fairfax, Arlington, Manassas, and Songdo, South Korea, and an enrollment of about 40,000, George Mason is Virginia’s largest and most diverse public university. George Mason is one of only five institutions nationwide to be classified as both an R1 research university and a Higher Access, Higher Earnings university by the Carnegie Foundation and the American Council on Education.
George Mason is ranked 32nd among U.S. public universities by The Wall Street Journal, 47th by Forbes, and 57th by U.S. News & World Report. In addition, The Wall Street Journal ranks George Mason as the 12th public university nationally for salaries earned by graduates. That is No. 1 in Virginia. U.S. News & World Report and The Wall Street Journal rank George Mason as the top public university in Virginia for upward mobility.
In fall 2025, George Mason welcomed its largest incoming class. The 2025 graduating class featured the most degree earners in George Mason history, more than 11,000 students hailing from 117 countries and 49 states. About 1 in 4 undergraduates is a first-generation college student. George Mason has been recognized as a Minority Serving Institution.
Why Us? Why George Mason University?
“If you set out to construct what a great public research university should be, you’d come up with a university like the one we have. George Mason is one of the greatest human development initiatives in the history of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Who has greater impact? The university that helps the few, or the university that helps the many?”
— Dr. Gregory Washington
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Bold Solutions for a Changing World
George Mason’s Grand Challenge Initiative will drive solutions for a peaceful, healthy, and prosperous future. Explore the initiative.
Guiding Northern Virginia’s growth through innovation and partnership
Under President Gregory Washington’s leadership, George Mason University is driving a new era of innovation and economic vitality in Northern Virginia. Anchored by the 345,000-square-foot Fuse at Mason Square, in Arlington, about four miles from the U.S. Capitol, the university has created a collaborative hub that connects students, faculty, industry, and government in the shared pursuit of digital innovation. Fuse houses faculty and students working with the Institute for Digital Innovation (IDIA) and its partners, and graduate programs from George Mason’s Long Nguyen and Kimmy Duong School of Computing—the first school of its kind in Virginia. Fuse is also home to the Energy Exploration (E2) Center.
Fuse at Mason Square.
George Mason is nationally recognized for quantum science, robotics, and autonomous systems and started Virginia’s first public artificial intelligence master’s program. As part of the commonwealth’s Tech Talent Investment Program (TTIP), launched in 2019, George Mason is committed to graduating nearly 16,000 students in computing by 2039—advancing the commonwealth’s goal of adding 25,000+ tech-degree graduates and strengthening Virginia’s position as a national hub for technology and innovation.
Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Relations Trishana E. Bowden (pictured left to right) poses with Long Nguyen and Kimmy Duong, President Gregory Washington, and College of Engineering and Computing Dean Ken Ball next to the namesake sign for the Long Nguyen and Kimmy Duong School of Computing at the Grand Celebration for Fuse at Mason Square.
George Mason’s sponsored research expenditures increased by 64% between 2020 and 2025. The university also is on the National Academy of Inventors Top 100 list for patents granted in 2025. The College of Public Health – the first of its kind in the state – opened in 2022 on the Fairfax Campus.
Monique van Hoek (pictured on right) is a professor in the School of Systems Biology and a recognized leader in her field, with more than 60 publications and five patents.
The Science and Technology Campus (SciTech) in Manassas anchors Virginia’s new Innovation District, jointly led by George Mason, Prince William County, and the City of Manassas. The university has developed partnerships that have led to the Life Sciences and Engineering Building, the Innovation Town Center, and the University Village at Innovation.
Students participate in a week-long Life Science Skill Development Course on George Mason University’s Science and Technology Campus hosted by the Innovation District.
"The most surefire way to strengthen an innovation ecosystem is for a top-tier research university, local industry, and the community to join together in partnership. George Mason University catalyzes our region like no other entity. Whether it’s the I-66 corridor or any other avenue of progress in Northern Virginia, all roads lead through George Mason."
— Dr. Gregory Washington
The Life Sciences and Engineering Building, a 132,000-square-foot facility that opened in 2025, supports students enrolled in STEM-H majors, including kinesiology, materials science, forensic science, bioengineering, and mechanical engineering. It also enhances research collaboration with the Forensic Science Research and Training Laboratory—commonly known as the “body farm”—a nationally distinctive facility that enables hands-on forensic research and training for George Mason students and law enforcement professionals. The SciTech Campus also is home to a nanofabrication facility, Northern Virginia’s only academic/core clean room facility accessible for workforce training and research/development by faculty, staff, students, and external partners.
Life Sciences and Engineering building on the Science and Technology Campus.
Student Virginia Nardelli and Ethan Ahn, associate professor of Electrical Engineering, in the Nanofabrication Facility on the Science and Technology Campus.
In 2024, Washington helped Mason Korea mark its 10-year anniversary, with the campus growing from 34 students to more than 700, expanding George Mason’s global presence in Asia. Mason Korea welcomed its largest class in Spring 2026.
Mason Korea welcomes largest class for Spring 2026.
The Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation provides hands-on training from Smithsonian Institution scientists in Front Royal, Virginia. George Mason is one of the few universities to partner with the Smithsonian Institution in this way.
Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation students on the Front Royal Campus.
Expanding Opportunity Through Access, Innovation, and Impact
George Mason University is promoting prosperity by ensuring that all Virginians have access to opportunity. Through a student-first, innovation-driven approach, George Mason is strengthening the commonwealth’s tech workforce, driving economic mobility and preparing graduates to lead in a rapidly evolving world. George Mason’s six-year graduation rate is above the national average, with no marked disparities based on ethnicity or economic status, and George Mason graduates earn among the state’s highest salaries.
ADVANCE students at the main campus of George Mason University.
To expand educational access and economic mobility, Washington created the Mason Virginia Promise (MVP), a bold commitment to provide every Virginian with a pathway to a George Mason degree or the support to launch a business. MVP, which partners with community colleges around the state, is an extension of the ADVANCE Program, a nationally recognized transfer partnership with Northern Virginia Community College. The university also offers direct admission to qualified students from 40 select high schools in eight Northern Virginia school divisions.
To address the loss of government and federal contracting jobs, the university launched the Mason Career Academy so displaced workers could upskill and reskill to land new positions in a rapidly shifting local economy.
Mason Enterprise, the university’s statewide hub for entrepreneurial support through its 27 Small Business Development Centers, further expands George Mason’s ecosystem of opportunity. In 2025, Mason Enterprise companies received $2.8 billion in follow-on funding, and the organization supported more than 58,000 entrepreneurs, small business owners, students, and research faculty through counseling, product development, intellectual property advice or residency in one of its incubators.
George Mason, which began a branch of the University of Virginia before becoming an independent university in 1972, also plays a vital role in Virginia’s national reputation as the top state for education (CNBC, 2025). About 85% of graduates are employed in the Washington, D.C., metro area, including 73% in Virginia, and more than 40% of degrees are awarded in high-demand STEM and health fields. George Mason, with more than 250,000 alumni, is delivering on its promise to fuel the state’s workforce, and its future.
Massieh Kordi Boroujeny (CEO & PI), InvisibleID, George Mason University
Access to Excellence
George Mason University is a comprehensive research institution powered by thought leaders across disciplines. In conversations with these experts, President Gregory Washington explores ideas that highlight the groundbreaking work of George Mason faculty, examine emerging trends in higher education, and engage the broader community in discussions that shape our shared future.
The future classroom: Teaching and learning in age of AI
On this episode of Access to Excellence, Ingrid Guerra-López, dean of George Mason’s College of Education and Human Development, joins President Gregory Washington to discuss the future of education in a rapidly changing world and why the irreplaceable human elements of teaching will define the profession's future even as technology transforms it.
Listen to this episode.