Communications & News

An advisory board to promote community policing, a required foundational course on diversity and inclusion, and a university-wide infrastructure to promote and enhance anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion were among the recommendations put forward by members of George Mason University’s Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Task Force at a virtual town hall Tuesday, Feb. 23.

George Mason University has ordered an outside audit of the labor practices of L.T. Services and its subcontractors.

In the most recent episode of the Access to Excellence podcast, President Gregory Washington joined Wendi Manuel-Scott, a history professor in the School of Integrative Studies, and Shernita Parker, an assistant vice president for Human Resources at Mason, via Zoom to discuss the work being done by the university’s Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Task Force.

The President’s Innovation Advisory Council (PIAC), comprised of forward-thinking executives, signals Mason’s community-centric vision for its Arlington Campus and the emerging Rosslyn-Ballston innovation corridor.

In this fascinating conversation, President Gregory Washington speaks with Kevin Clark, director of original animation for preschool programming at Netflix, and retiring professor in the Learning Technologies Division in George Mason University’s College of Education and Human Development, about how technology and economics are helping fuel the rich entertainment content highlighting people of color, and how that programming can be a conduit for anti-racism efforts.

President Gregory Washington and members of Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Task Force invite the university community to the first of two virtual town hall meetings, which will be held 2-3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23.

As associate director of the LGBTQ+ Resources in the Center for Culture, Equity, and Empowerment (CCEE), formerly ODIME, Kinchen advises student groups, sits on many committees and does a lot of consulting and training with schools, colleges, and departments across the university that want to learn more about working with LGBTQ+ students.

Junior Dominique Dowling has been working to enact social change since high school. She joined the GMU NAACP chapter in her second year at Mason, and now she is the group’s vice president. Through the chapter, she has been involved in numerous panels and committees, which inspired her to do more anti-racism work on campus.“Being part of the NAACP has exposed me to different initiatives and people who have been doing this work for years,” said the integrative studies major. “It made me realize that anti-racism work requires an ongoing dedication because there is always work to be done.”

On Jan. 22, Mason President Gregory Washington spoke with Mason scientists Lance Liotta and Virginia Espina, who head the university’s effort to push the boundaries of technologies that are keeping its three university campuses safe from COVID-19. That includes a rapid-result saliva test, and development of an antibody test that can track a body’s response to the virus and vaccine.

Fighting climate change is a global imperative, and the consequences of inaction could be dire. But Mason's Andrew Light, who helped negotiate the Paris Agreement on climate, tells Mason President Gregory Washington that for the go-getters, opportunity awaits.

How did the election play into our national identity? How did Donald Trump mold the Republican Party in his image? How can we reform the Electoral College? Mason President Gregory Washington speaks with Schar School Dean Mark J. Rozell on where our politics goes from here.

We are nearing the end of a remarkably successful fall semester, especially considering where we started and what we’ve been through. Just five months ago, our greatest challenge was figuring out how we could deliver a Mason education to a record number of students during a global pandemic. Now, in two weeks, we will graduate a class at winter commencement that includes more than 4,600 graduates and more than 5,000 when counting students earning certificates.