George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...
research university
A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kn ...
in
Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent
City of Fairfax, Virginia
The City of Fairfax ( ), colloquially known as Fairfax City, Downtown Fairfax, Old Town Fairfax, Fairfax Courthouse, FFX, or simply Fairfax, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. At the 2010 census the po ...
postal address in the
Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area
The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgi ...
. The university was originally founded in 1949 as a
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...
regional branch of the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
. Named after
Founding Father
The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...
of the United States
George Mason
George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of the three delegates present who refused to sign the Constitution. His writings, including ...
in 1959, it became an independent university in 1972. The school has since grown into the largest public university in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Mason operates four campuses in Virginia (
Fairfax,
Arlington,
Front Royal
Front Royal is the only incorporated town in Warren County, Virginia, United States. The population was 15,011 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Warren County.
History
The entire Shenandoah Valley including the area to become ...
, and
Prince William
William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales.
Born in London, William was educa ...
), as well as a campus in
Incheon, South Korea. The flagship campus is in Fairfax.
The university is
classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". Two professors were awarded the
Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics during their time at George Mason University:
James M. Buchanan
James McGill Buchanan Jr. (; October 3, 1919 – January 9, 2013) was an American economist known for his work on public choice theory originally outlined in his most famous work co-authored with Gordon Tullock in 1962, ''The Calculus of Consen ...
in 1986 and
Vernon L. Smith in 2002.
EagleBank Arena
EagleBank Arena (originally the Patriot Center) is a 10,000-seat arena in the eastern United States, on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, a suburb southwest of Washington, D.C.
Opened in 1985, it is the home of Patr ...
, a 10,000-seat arena and concert venue operated by the university, is located on the Fairfax campus. The university recognizes 500 student groups as well as 41 fraternities and sororities.
History
1949–1972
In 1949, the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
created an extension center to serve
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...
.
The extension center offered both for credit and non-credit informal classes in the evenings at various pre-existing venues.
The first for credit classes offered were: "Government in the Far East, Introduction to International Politics, English Composition, Principles of Economics, Mathematical Analysis, Introduction to Mathematical Statistics, and Principles of Lip Reading."
By the end of 1952, enrollment was 1,192 students.
A resolution of the
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...
in January 1956 changed the extension center into University College, the
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...
branch of the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
.
John Norville Gibson Finley served as director. Seventeen freshmen students attended classes at University College in a small renovated elementary school building in
Bailey's Crossroads starting in September 1957.
In 1958 University College became George Mason College.
The
City of Fairfax purchased and donated of land just south of the city limits to the University of Virginia for the college's new site, which is now referred to as the
Fairfax Campus. In 1959, the
Board of Visitors
In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual ...
of the University of Virginia selected a permanent name for the college: George Mason College of the University of Virginia. The Fairfax campus construction planning that began in early 1960 showed visible results when the development of the first of Fairfax Campus began in 1962. In the Fall of 1964 the new campus welcomed 356 students.
During the 1966 Session of the
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...
, Alexandria delegate
James M. Thomson, with the backing of the University of Virginia, introduced a bill in the General Assembly to make George Mason College a four-year institution under the University of Virginia's direction. The measure, known as H 33, passed the Assembly easily and was approved on March 1, 1966, making George Mason College a degree-granting institution. During that same year, the local jurisdictions of
Fairfax County
Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria, Virginia, Alexandria and ...
,
Arlington County
Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...
, and the cities of
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
and
Falls Church agreed to appropriate $3 million to purchase land adjacent to Mason to provide for a Fairfax Campus with the intention that the institution would expand into a regional university of major proportions, including the granting of graduate degrees.
George Mason University (1972–present)
In 1972, Virginia separated George Mason College from the University of Virginia at Charlottesville and renamed it George Mason University.
In 1978,
George W. Johnson was appointed to serve as the fourth president.
Under his eighteen-year tenure, the university expanded both its physical size and program offerings at a tremendous rate.
Shortly before Johnson's inauguration in April 1979, Mason acquired the
School of Law
A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction.
Law degrees Argentina
In Argentina, l ...
and the new Arlington Campus. The university also became a doctoral institution.
Toward the end of Johnson's term, Mason would be deep in planning for a third campus in
Prince William County
Prince William County is located on the Potomac River in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 482,204, making it Virginia's second-most populous county. Its county seat is the independent city of Manassas ...
at
Manassas. Major campus facilities, such as Student Union Building II,
EagleBank Arena
EagleBank Arena (originally the Patriot Center) is a 10,000-seat arena in the eastern United States, on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, a suburb southwest of Washington, D.C.
Opened in 1985, it is the home of Patr ...
, Center for the Arts, and the Johnson Learning Center, were all constructed over the course of Johnson's eighteen years as University President. Enrollment once again more than doubled from 10,767 during the fall of 1978 to 24,368 in the spring of 1996.
Dr.
Alan G. Merten was appointed president in 1996. He believed that the university's location made it responsible for both contributing to and drawing from its surrounding communities—local, national, and global. George Mason was becoming recognized and acclaimed in all of these spheres. During Merten's tenure, the university hosted the
World Congress of Information Technology in 1998, celebrated a second
Nobel Memorial Prize-winning faculty member in 2002, and cheered the
Men's Basketball team in their
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
Final Four appearance in 2006. Enrollment increased from just over 24,000 students in 1996 to approximately 33,000 during the spring semester of 2012, making Mason Virginia's largest public university and gained prominence at the national level.
Dr.
Ángel Cabrera
Ángel Cabrera (; born 12 September 1969) is an Argentine professional golfer who has played on both the European Tour and PGA Tour. He is known affectionately as ''"El Pato"'' in Spanish ''("The Duck")'' for his waddling gait. He is a two-tim ...
officially took office on July 1, 2012. Both Cabrera and the board were well aware that Mason was part of a rapidly changing academia, full of challenges to the viability of higher education. In a resolution on August 17, 2012, the board asked Dr. Cabrera to create a new strategic vision that would help Mason remain relevant and competitive in the future. The drafting of the Vision for Mason, from conception to official outline, created a new mission statement that defines the university.
On March 25, 2013, university president Ángel Cabrera held a press conference to formally announce the university's decision to leave the
Colonial Athletic Association to join the
Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10). The announcement came just days after the Board of Visitors' approval of the university's Vision document that Dr. Cabrera had overseen. Mason began competition in the A-10 during the 2013–2014 academic year, and Mason's association with the institutions that comprise the A-10 started a new chapter in Mason athletics, academics, and other aspects of university life. ''
The Chronicle of Higher Education
''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals (staff members and administrators). A subscription is required to re ...
'' listed Mason as one of the "Great Colleges to Work For" from 2010 to 2014.
''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' listed Mason as one of the "Top Workplaces" in 2014. The
WorldatWork
WorldatWork is a global association for human resources management professionals and business leaders focused on attracting, motivating, and retaining employees. WorldatWork works to promote the role of human resources as a profession, offering t ...
Alliance for Work-Life Progress awarded Mason the Seal of Distinction in 2015. The
AARP listed Mason as one of the Best Employers for Workers Over 50 in 2013.
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
established a chapter at the university in 2013.
In 2018, a
Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request:
* Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Australian act
* ...
lawsuit revealed that conservative donors, including the
Charles Koch Foundation
The Koch family foundations are a group of charitable foundations in the United States associated with the family of Fred C. Koch. The most prominent of these are the Charles Koch Foundation and the David H. Koch Charitable Foundation, created b ...
and
Federalist Society
The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (abbreviated as FedSoc) is an American conservative and libertarian legal organization that advocates for a textualist and originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Headquarter ...
, were given direct influence over faculty hiring decisions at the university's law and economics schools. GMU President Ángel Cabrera acknowledged that the revelations raised questions about the university's academic integrity and pledged to prohibit donors from sitting on faculty selection committees in the future.
Dr.
Ángel Cabrera
Ángel Cabrera (; born 12 September 1969) is an Argentine professional golfer who has played on both the European Tour and PGA Tour. He is known affectionately as ''"El Pato"'' in Spanish ''("The Duck")'' for his waddling gait. He is a two-tim ...
resigned his position on July 31, 2019, and became president of
Georgia Tech
The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...
.
Following Cabrera's resignation,
Anne B. Holton served as interim president until June 30, 2020.
On February 24, 2020, the Board of Visitors appointed
Gregory Washington as the eighth president. He started at George Mason on July 1, 2020. Washington is the university's first African-American president.
On March 23, 2020, George Mason shifted to exclusively online instruction during the COVID pandemic. Hybrid instruction occurred for the Fall 2020, Spring 2021, and Fall 2021 semesters. The university offered a combination of online and in-person instruction.
Campuses
George Mason University has four campuses in the United States, all within the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Three are in the
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...
suburbs of the
Washington, D.C. metropolitan area
The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgi ...
, and one is in Virginia's
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a Physiographic regions of the world, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsy ...
.
The university also has one campus in South Korea, in the
Songdo International Business District
Songdo International Business District (Songdo IBD) is a smart city or "ubiquitous city" & " Private town " built from scratch on of reclaimed land along Incheon's waterfront, southwest of Seoul, South Korea and connected to Incheon Internat ...
of
Incheon.
Between 2005 and 2009 the university had a campus at
Ras al-Khaimah
Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) ( ar, رَأْس ٱلْخَيْمَة, historically Julfar) is the largest city and capital of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. It is the sixth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al A ...
,
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...
.
The Blue Ridge campus, just outside Front Royal, is run in cooperation with the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
.
Fairfax
The university's Fairfax Campus is situated on of landscaped land with a large pond in a suburban environment in
George Mason, Virginia
George Mason is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 census was 9,496. It consists of George Mason University and some adjacent neighborhoods to the south and southwest of the c ...
, just south of the
City of Fairfax in central
Fairfax County
Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria, Virginia, Alexandria and ...
. The
District of Columbia
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
is approximately from campus. Notable buildings include the student union building, the Johnson Center; the Center for the Arts, a 2,000-seat concert hall; the Long and Kimmy Nguyen Engineering Building; Exploratory Hall for science, new in 2013; an astronomy observatory and telescope; the Art and Design Building; the newly expanded Fenwick Library, the
Krasnow Institute; and three fully appointed gyms and an aquatic center for student use. The stadiums for indoor and outdoor track and field, baseball, softball, tennis, soccer and lacrosse are also on the Fairfax campus, as is Masonvale, a housing community for faculty, staff and graduate students.
Transportation
This campus is served by the
Washington Metro Orange Line at the
Vienna-GMU station as well as
Metrobus routes.
The
CUE Bus Green One, Green Two, Gold One, and Gold Two lines all provide service to this campus at .
This campus is served by the
Virginia Railway Express Manassas Line at the
Burke Center station.
Fairfax Connector
Fairfax Connector is a public bus service provided by Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, and is managed by the county government. The bus system provides service within Fairfax County, and connects to Metrobus, Metrorail stations, Virginia ...
Route 306: GMU–Pentagon provides service to this campus.
Mason provides shuttle service between this campus and Vienna, Fairfax, GMU Metro station, the Burke Center VRE station, the Science and Technology Campus, West Campus, and downtown City of Fairfax.
George Mason statue
The bronze statue of
George Mason
George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of the three delegates present who refused to sign the Constitution. His writings, including ...
on campus was created by Wendy M. Ross and dedicated on April 12, 1996. The 7 foot statue shows George Mason presenting his first draft of the
Virginia Declaration of Rights
The Virginia Declaration of Rights was drafted in 1776 to proclaim the inherent rights of men, including the right to reform or abolish "inadequate" government. It influenced a number of later documents, including the United States Declaratio ...
which was later the basis for the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights. Beside Mason is a model of a writing table that is still in the study of
Gunston Hall
Gunston Hall is an 18th-century Georgian mansion near the Potomac River in Mason Neck, Virginia, United States.
Built between 1755 and 1759 as the main residence and headquarters of a plantation, the house was the home of the United State ...
, Mason's Virginia estate. The books on the table—volumes of
Hume,
Locke and
Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
—represent influences in his thought.
Arlington
The Arlington Campus is situated on in
Virginia Square
Virginia Square is a neighborhood in Arlington County, Virginia. It is centered at the Virginia Square station on the Orange and Silver lines of the Washington Metro subway system, between Clarendon and Ballston. The neighborhood consists of ...
, a bustling urban environment on the edge of
Arlington County, Virginia
Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...
's
Clarendon business district and from downtown Washington, D.C. The campus was founded in 1979 with the acquisition of a law school. In 1998, Hazel Hall opened to house the George Mason University School of Law (now
Antonin Scalia Law School); subsequent development created Van Metre Hall (formerly Founders Hall), home of the
Schar School of Policy and Government,
the Center for Regional Analysis, and the graduate-level administrative offices for the School of Business.
Vernon Smith Hall houses the
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, the
Mercatus Center
The Mercatus Center is an American libertarian, free-market-oriented non-profit think tank. Located at George Mason University and directed by the American economist Tyler Cowen, the Mercatus Center works with policy experts, lobbyists, and gov ...
, and the
Institute for Humane Studies
The Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) is a non-profit organization that promotes the teaching and research of classical liberalism in higher education in the United States. IHS offers funding opportunities, programs, and events for faculty and g ...
. The campus also houses the 300-seat Founders Hall Auditorium.
Transportation
This campus is served by the Washington Metro Orange Line at the
Virginia Square-GMU station, a campus shuttle service, and
Metrobus route 38B. The rail station is located one block west of the campus.
Arlington Rapid Transit or ART Bus routes 41, 42, and 75 also provide service at this location.
The campus offers one electric vehicle charging station, five disabled permit automotive parking locations, three bicycle parking locations, and one
Capitol Bikeshare location.
Science and Technology campus
The Science and Technology campus opened on August 25, 1997, as the Prince William campus in
Manassas, Virginia
Manassas (), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Prince William County, although the two are separate jurisdi ...
, on of land, some still currently undeveloped. More than 4,000 students are enrolled in classes in
bioinformatics,
biotechnology
Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...
, information technology, and forensic
biosciences
This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, the ...
educational and research programs. There are undergraduate programs in health, fitness and recreation. There are graduate programs in exercise, fitness, health, geographic information systems, and facility management. Much of the research takes place in the high-security Biomedical Research Laboratory.
The 1,123-seat Merchant Hall and the 300-seat Verizon Auditorium in the Hylton Performing Arts Center opened in 2010.
The 110,000-square-foot Freedom Aquatic and Fitness Center is operated by the Mason Enterprise Center. The Mason Center for Team and Organizational Learning stylized as EDGE is an experiential education facility open to the public. The Sports Medicine Assessment Research and Testing lab stylized as SMART Lab is located within the Freedom center. The SMART Lab is most known for its
concussion research. On April 23, 2015, the campus was renamed to the Science and Technology Campus.
In 2019, the university engaged in a feasibility study of creating a medical school at the Prince William Campus. The proposed medical school would be completed in 2022.
Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation
The campus in
Front Royal, Virginia
Front Royal is the only incorporated town in Warren County, Virginia, United States. The population was 15,011 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Warren County.
History
The entire Shenandoah Valley including the area to become F ...
is a collaboration between the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
and the university.
Open to students in August 2012 after breaking ground on the project on June 29, 2011, the primary focus of the campus is global conservation training.
The Volgenau Academic Center includes three teaching laboratories, four classrooms, and 18 offices.
Shenandoah National Park
Shenandoah National Park (often ) is an American national park that encompasses part of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The park is long and narrow, with the Shenandoah River and its broad valley to the west, and the ...
is visible from the dining facility's indoor and outdoor seating.
Living quarters include 60 double occupancy rooms, an exercise facility, and study space.
Mason Korea (Songdo, South Korea)
Opened in March 2014, the Songdo campus is in South Korea's Incheon Free Economic Zone, a site designed for 850,000 people. It is located from Seoul and a two-hour flight from China and Japan, and is connected to the
Seoul Metropolitan Subway
The Seoul Metropolitan Subway is a metropolitan railway system consisting of 23 rapid transit, light metro, commuter rail and people mover lines located in northwest South Korea. The system serves most of the Seoul Metropolitan Area includin ...
.
The Commonwealth of Virginia considers the Songdo campus legally no different from any other Mason campus, "... board of visitors shall have the same powers with respect to operation and governance of its branch campus in Korea as are vested in the board by the
Code of Virginia
The Code of Virginia is the statutory law of the U.S. state of Virginia, and consists of the codified legislation of the Virginia General Assembly. The 1950 Code of Virginia is the revision currently in force. The previous official versions we ...
with respect to George Mason University in Virginia ..."
Mason Korea's first commencement class graduated in December 2017. Students from Mason Korea earn the same diploma as home campus students, with English as the language of instruction.
Academics
Rankings
Mason offers undergraduate, master's, law, and doctoral degrees.
The student-faculty ratio is 17:1; 58 percent of undergraduate classes have fewer than 30 students and 30 percent of undergraduate classes have fewer than 20 students.
Colleges and schools
College of Health and Human Services
The college is located in the Peterson Family Health Sciences Hall on the
Fairfax,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
campus. Currently, the college is home to approximately 3,000 students. The college offers 5 undergraduate degrees, 12 graduate degrees, and 11 certificates. Academic programs in the college are accredited by the
Association of University Programs in Health Administration
The Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) is a non-profit organization of university-based educational programs, faculty, practitioners, and health care provider organizations.
It works to improve the delivery of hea ...
(AUPHA),
Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM), and
Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education
Commission or commissioning may refer to:
Business and contracting
* Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered
** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of another ...
(CAHME),
Council on Education for Public Health
The Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) is an independent agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to accredit schools of public health and public health programs offered in settings other than schools of public health. T ...
(CEPH),
Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), and
Council on Social Work Education The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is a nonprofit national association in the United States representing more than 2,500 individual members, as well as graduate and undergraduate programs of professional social work education. Founded in 19 ...
(CSWE).
Admissions
Between 2009 and 2013, George Mason saw a 21% increase in the number of applications, has enrolled 4% more new degree-seeking students, and has seen the percentage of undergraduate and graduate applications accepted each decrease by 4%. Law applications accepted increased by 10%.
Mason enrolled 33,917 students for Fall 2013, up 956 (+3%) from Fall 2012. Undergraduate students made up 65% (21,990) of the fall enrollment, graduate students 34% (11,399), and law students 2% (528). Undergraduate headcount was 1,337 higher than Fall 2012 (+7%); graduate headcount was 262 lower (−2%); and law student headcount was 119 lower (−18%). Matriculated students come from all 50 states and 122 foreign countries.
As of fall 2014, the university had 33,791 students enrolled, including 21,672 undergraduates, 7,022 seeking master's degrees, 2,264 seeking doctoral degrees and 493 seeking law degrees.
Enrollment
As of 2017, the university enrolled 34,904 students, making it the largest university by head count in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Accreditation
George Mason University is accredited by the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.
Research
George Mason University, an institution dedicated to research of consequence, hosts $149 million in sponsored research projects annually, as of 2019. In 2016, Mason was classified by the
Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education among the U.S. universities that receive the most research funding and award research/scholarship doctorates. Mason moved into this classification based on a review of its 2013–2014 data that was performed by the Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana University.
The research is focused on health, sustainability and security. In health, researchers focus is on wellness, disease prevention, advanced diagnostics and biomedical analytics. Sustainability research examines climate change, natural disaster forecasting, and risk assessment. Mason's security experts study domestic and international security as well as cyber security.
Centers and institutes
The university is home to numerous research centers and institutes.
* Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine
* Center for Clean Water and Sustainable Technologies (CCWST)
* Center for Climate Change Communication (4C)
* Center for Collision Safety and Analysis
* Center for Excellence in Command, Control, Communications, Computing and Intelligence (C4I)
* Center for Humanities Research
* Center for Location Science
* Center for Neural Informatics
* Center for Peacemaking Practice
* Center for Real Estate Entrepreneurship
* Center for Regional Analysis
* Center for Social Complexity
* Center for Study of Public Choice
* Center for Neural Informatics, Structures, and Plasticity (CN3)
* Center for Well-Being
* Institute for Advanced Biomedical Research
* Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Science
*
Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study
*
Mercatus Center
The Mercatus Center is an American libertarian, free-market-oriented non-profit think tank. Located at George Mason University and directed by the American economist Tyler Cowen, the Mercatus Center works with policy experts, lobbyists, and gov ...
* National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases
*
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media (RRCHNM), formerly the Center for History and New Media (CHNM), is a research center specializing in history and information technology at George Mason University (GMU) in Fairfax County, Virgin ...
* SMART Lab (Sports Medicine Assessment, Research & Testing)
* Stephen S. Fuller Institute
Student life
Traditions
Students will decorate the George Mason statue on the Fairfax campus for events, some rub the statue toe to bring good luck, and many pose with the statue for graduation photographs. Between 1988 and 1990 Anthony Maiello wrote the original ''George Mason Fight Song'', which was edited by Michael Nickens in 2009.
Each spring, student organizations at Mason compete to paint one of the 38 benches located on the Quad in front of Fenwick Library. For years, student organizations have painted those benches that line the walkway to gain recognition for their group. With more than 300 student organizations, there is much competition to paint one of the benches. Painting takes place in the spring.
Housing
On the Fairfax campus the northernmost housing is technically on campus, but about a mile from the center of campus, about a half mile from the edge of the majority of the Fairfax campus in the housing area known as the Townhouses. On the eastern edge of the Fairfax campus lies Masonvale, houses intended for graduate students and visiting faculty. On the southern edge of the Fairfax campus you will find President's Park, Liberty Square, and Potomac Heights. On the western side of the Fairfax campus, near Ox Road/Rt 123, are the Mason Global Center, Whitetop, and Rogers. The Student Apartments off Aquia Creek Lane were torn down in 2019. Closer to the center of the Fairfax campus are the residence halls along Chesapeake Lane, named: Northern Neck, Commonwealth, Blue Ridge, Sandbridge, Piedmont, and Tidewater, as well as Hampton Roads, Dominion, Eastern Shore, and the Commons. At the Science and Technology (SciTech) campus near Manassas, Virginia, west of Fairfax, Beacon Hall was designed for graduate student housing. west of Fairfax, the G.T. Halpin Family Living & Learning Community is on the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation campus. west of Fairfax, Student's Hall and Guest House are on the Songdo campus.
On-campus robot food delivery
George Mason University's Fairfax Campus is the first U.S. campus to include robot food delivery in its meal plans.
25
autonomous robots
An autonomous robot is a robot that acts without recourse to human control. The first autonomous robots environment were known as Elmer and Elsie, which were constructed in the late 1940s by W. Grey Walter. They were the first robots in history ...
were provided by the Estonian robotics company
Starship Technologies
Starship Technologies is an Estonian company developing autonomous delivery vehicles. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with engineering operations in Tallinn, Estonia and in Helsinki, Finland. Starship also has office ...
to carry out meal deliveries.
Student organizations
Student organizations can have an academic, social, athletic, religious/irreligious, career, or just about any other focus. The university recognizes 500 such groups.
Student media
Mason sponsors several student-run media outlets through the Office of Student Media.
* ''The Fourth Estate'': Website and weekly student newspaper, available on Mondays
* ''The George Mason Review'':'' ''A cross-disciplinary, undergraduate journal.
* ''Hispanic Culture Review'': Publishes creative writing, book reviews, narratives, and essays in both Spanish and English. Published annually.
* Mason Cable Network: A television outlet run by the students, for the students, that provides analytical, and entertaining programming.
* ''
Phoebe'': A journal that annually publishes original works of literature and art.
* ''So to Speak: ''A feminist journal that publishes poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and visual art each semester.
* ''Volition'': Formerly known as ''Apathy'', is George Mason University's undergraduate creative literature and art magazine.
*
WGMU Radio
WGMU Radio is a college radio station located on the Fairfax campus of George Mason University in Virginia, United States. It broadcasts a range of music, sports, news and talk.
Location
Offices are in the Student Union Building II, The HUB, ...
: Broadcasts a wide array of music, talk, sports, and news programming. WGMU is also the flagship station for George Mason's Men's and Women's Basketball team, part of the Go Mason Digital Network.
Greek life
Mason has 42 fraternities and sororities recognized by the university, with a total Greek population of about 1,800. Mason does not have a traditional "Greek Row" of housing specifically for fraternities, although recruitment, charitable events—including a spring Greek Week—and other chapter activities take place on the Fairfax Campus.
Athletics
Division I teams
The
George Mason Patriots
The George Mason Patriots are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing George Mason University (GMU), located in Fairfax, Virginia. The Patriots compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as members of t ...
are the athletic teams of George Mason University located in Fairfax, Virginia. The Patriots compete in Division I of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
as members of the
Atlantic 10
The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Eastern ...
Conference for most sports. About 485 student-athletes compete in 22 men's and women's Division I sports – baseball, basketball, cross-country, golf, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field, volleyball, and wrestling. Intercollegiate men's and women's teams are members of the National Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, the Atlantic 10, the
Eastern College Athletic Conference
The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 15 sports (13 men's and 13 women's). It has 220 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location fr ...
(ECAC), the
Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association
The Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) is a college athletic conference whose member schools compete in men's volleyball. Its member institutions are located in the Northeast United States.
The EIVA Tournament champion receives ...
(EIVA), the
Eastern Wrestling League
The Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) was an NCAA Division I wrestling-only conference. It was made up mostly of schools from the northeastern United States whose primary conferences did not sponsor wrestling as an NCAA-qualifying event. The teams ...
(EWL), and the
Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America IC4A Championships (Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America) is an annual men's competition held at different colleges every year. Association was established in 1875, the competition (started in 1876) served as the top level co ...
(IC4A).
Intramural club sports
In addition to its NCAA Division I teams, George Mason University has several club sports.
Performing arts
The Mason Players is a faculty lead student organization that produces six productions. This season includes two "Main Stage" productions, which are directed by faculty members or guest artists. As well as "Studio" productions, which are directed by students through an application process within Mason Players. There is also an annual production of "Originals", which consists of 10 minute original plays written by students. Full time students of George Mason University, both outside and a part of the School of Theater are allowed to audition for these productions.
Controversies
Koch Foundation funding
George Mason University has been subject to controversy surrounding donations from the
Charles Koch Foundation
The Koch family foundations are a group of charitable foundations in the United States associated with the family of Fred C. Koch. The most prominent of these are the Charles Koch Foundation and the David H. Koch Charitable Foundation, created b ...
. University documents revealed that the Koch brothers were given the ability to pick candidates as a condition of monetary donations. George Mason University altered its donor rules following the controversy.
Sexual misconduct
In 2016 a male student won an appeal overturning his suspension for sexual assault.
The Title IX process (which investigates sex discrimination) at George Mason University has continued to be subject to controversy. Following the hiring of
Brett Kavanaugh
Brett Michael Kavanaugh ( ; born February 12, 1965) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on July 9, 2018, and has served since ...
as a visiting professor in the law school in 2019, students circulated a petition demanding not only the removal of Kavanaugh, but to increase the number of
Title IX
Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educat ...
Coordinators on campus. The petition received 10,000 signatures and resulted in approval for funding for two more Title IX Coordinator positions.
In 2018, Peter Pober was alleged to have committed sexual misconduct during his tenure as a Competitive Speech Coach. He retired while being investigated for misconduct.
Name of law school
In 2016, George Mason's law school was briefly named the Antonin Scalia School of Law. Following the realization that this would lead to a vulgar acronym ("ASSLaw"), the school was quickly renamed to the Antonin Scalia Law School.
Notable faculty and alumni
Faculty
*
Vasily Aksyonov
Vasily Pavlovich Aksyonov ( rus, Васи́лий Па́влович Аксёнов, p=vɐˈsʲilʲɪj ˈpavləvʲɪtɕ ɐˈksʲɵnəf; August 20, 1932 – July 6, 2009) was a Soviet and Russian novelist. He became known in the West as the autho ...
, Russian novelist, poet, and anti-totalitarian dissident, author of the "Generations of Winter," taught Russian literature at GMU during a period of exile in the 1980s-90s
*
Donald J. Boudreaux, economist, contributor of the ''Pittsburgh Tribune-Review'' and the ''Cafe Hayek'' blog, and author of the books ''Globalization'' and ''Hypocrites and Half-Wits''
*
James M. Buchanan
James McGill Buchanan Jr. (; October 3, 1919 – January 9, 2013) was an American economist known for his work on public choice theory originally outlined in his most famous work co-authored with Gordon Tullock in 1962, ''The Calculus of Consen ...
, 1986
Nobel Memorial Prize winner for Economics
*
Bryan Caplan
Bryan Douglas Caplan (born April 8, 1971) is an American economist and author. Caplan is a professor of economics at George Mason University, research fellow at the Mercatus Center, adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, and former contributor ...
, economist, blogger at
EconTalk, author of
The Myth of the Rational Voter
''The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies'' is a 2007 book by the economist Bryan Caplan, in which the author challenges the idea that voters are reasonable people whom society can trust to make laws. Rather, Caplan co ...
and
The Case Against Education
''The Case Against Education: Why the Education System Is a Waste of Time and Money'' is a book written by libertarian economist Bryan Caplan and published in 2018 by Princeton University Press. Drawing on the economic concept of job market sig ...
.
*
Tyler Cowen
Tyler Cowen (; born January 21, 1962) is an American economist, columnist and blogger. He is a professor at George Mason University, where he holds the Holbert L. Harris chair in the economics department. He hosts the economics blog ''Marginal R ...
, economist, director of the
Mercatus Center
The Mercatus Center is an American libertarian, free-market-oriented non-profit think tank. Located at George Mason University and directed by the American economist Tyler Cowen, the Mercatus Center works with policy experts, lobbyists, and gov ...
at Mason and founder of the blog Marginal Revolution
*
Christopher d'Amboise
Christopher d'Amboise (born 1960) is an American danseur, choreographer, writer, and theatre director.
Born and raised in New York City, the son of dancers Jacques d'Amboise and Carolyn George, d'Amboise became a principal dancer in the New ...
,
danseur
A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...
,
choreographer,
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...
nominee.
*
Helen C. Frederick, artist and printmaker
*
Jack Goldstone
Jack A. Goldstone (born September 30, 1953) is an American sociologist, political scientist, and historian, specializing in studies of social movements, revolutions, political demography, and the 'Rise of the West' in world history. He is an a ...
, sociologist and political scientist specializing in revolutions; nonresident senior fellow at the
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in e ...
; 2014 winner of
Guggenheim Award
Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the art ...
*
Hugh Heclo, political scientist,
Guggenheim Fellow
Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the a ...
, and Clarence J. Robinson Professor of Public Affairs
*
Jonathan Katz
Jonathan Paul Katz (born December 1, 1946) is an American actor and comedian best known for his starring role in the animated sitcom '' Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist'' as Dr. Katz. He also is known for voicing Erik Robbins in the UPN/Adult S ...
, cryptographer and co-author of Introduction to Modern Cryptography
*
Brett Kavanaugh
Brett Michael Kavanaugh ( ; born February 12, 1965) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on July 9, 2018, and has served since ...
, Supreme Court Justice
*
Emily W. Murphy, former
GSA Administrator
The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...
under
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
.
*
Steven Pearlstein
Steven Pearlstein is an American columnist who wrote on business and the economy in a column published twice weekly in ''The Washington Post''. His tenure at the WaPo ended on March 3, 2021. Pearlstein received the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Commentar ...
,
Pulitzer Prize winner for economics in ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''
*
Russ Roberts
Russell David "Russ" Roberts (born September 19, 1954) is an American economist, who is currently a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and president designate of Shalem College in Jerusalem. He is known for communicating ...
, economist and host of
EconTalk
*
Roy Rosenzweig
Roy Alan Rosenzweig (August 6, 1950 – October 11, 2007) was an American historian at George Mason University in Virginia. He was the founder and director of the Center for History and New Media from 1994 until his death in October 2007 fro ...
,
Fulbright scholar, historian, founded Center for History and New Media
*
Louise Shelley, 2015 Andrew Carnegie Fellow from the
Carnegie Corporation
The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...
of New York.
*
Martin Sherwin,
Pulitzer Prize winner for his biography of
Robert Oppenheimer
J. Robert Oppenheimer (; April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) was an American theoretical physicist. A professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, Oppenheimer was the wartime head of the Los Alamos Laboratory and is often ...
*
Vernon L. Smith, 2002
Nobel Memorial Prize-winning economist.
*
Gordon Tullock
Gordon Tullock (; February 13, 1922 – November 3, 2014) was an economist and professor of law and Economics at the George Mason University School of Law. He is best known for his work on public choice theory, the application of economic thinkin ...
, co-founder of public choice economics.
*
Roger Wilkins, Clarence J. Robinson Professor of History and American Culture,
Pulitzer Prize winner, journalist, civil rights leader and former Assistant Attorney General of the United States
*
Walter E. Williams
Walter Edward Williams (March 31, 1936December 1, 2020) was an American economist, commentator, and academic. Williams was the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics at George Mason University, as well as a syndicated columnist ...
, John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics
Alumni
*
, President of
Puntland
Puntland ( so, Puntland, ar, أرض البنط, it, Terra di Punt or ''Paese di Punt''), officially the Puntland State of Somalia ( so, Dowlad Goboleedka Puntland ee Soomaaliya, ar, ولاية أرض البنط الصومالية), is a F ...
and Prime Minister of
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
*
Bryon Allen
Bryon Allen (born May 1, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for Parma Basket of the VTB United League. Allen played college basketball for the George Mason Patriots from 2010 until 2014.
Professional career
On August 14, 2016, ...
(born 1992), basketball player for
Hapoel Eilat of the
Israeli Basketball Premier League
*
Anousheh Ansari
Anousheh Ansari ( fa, انوشه انصاری ; née Raissyan; born September 12, 1966) is an Iranian American engineer and co-founder and chairwoman of Prodea Systems. Her previous business accomplishments include serving as co-founder and CEO o ...
, Iranian-American engineer, co-founder of Prodea Systems and the first Muslim woman in space
*
Justin Bour, former
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
player
*
Callie Brownson
Callie Brownson (born October 15, 1989) is an American football coach and player who is the chief of staff for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). In September 2018, she became the first woman hired as a full-time NCAA Div ...
, American football coach
*
Anna E. Cabral,
Treasurer of the United States
The treasurer of the United States is an officer in the United States Department of the Treasury who serves as custodian and trustee of the federal government's collateral assets and the supervisor of the department's currency and coinage produc ...
under President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
*
Shawn Camp, former Major League Baseball player, current GMU interim baseball coach
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
*
Kathleen L. Casey, Commissioner of the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
*
Rabia Chaudry, Pakistani-American attorney, author of ''New York Times'' best-seller ''Adnan’s Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial'' and podcast
host
*
Mike Colangelo
Mike Colangelo (born October 22, 1976) is an American former outfielder who played in parts of three seasons for the Anaheim Angels, San Diego Padres, and Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Amateur career
A native of Teaneck, New ...
, former
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
player
*
Ken Cuccinelli
Kenneth Thomas Cuccinelli II ( ; born July 30, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, h ...
, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security under President Donald J. Trump, former
Attorney General of Virginia
The attorney general of Virginia is an elected constitutional position that holds an executive office in the government of Virginia. Attorneys general are elected for a four-year term in the year following a presidential election. There are no ...
and
2013 Republican nominee for Governor
*
Carla Dove, ornithologist and leading expert of bird-aircraft strikes
*
Mike Draper, former
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
player
*
Chad Dukes, radio personality
*
Erden Eruç
Erden Eruç (; born 14 July 1961) is a Turkish-American adventurer who became the first person in history to complete an entirely solo and entirely human-powered circumnavigation of the Earth on 21 July 2012 in Bodega Bay, California, United St ...
, president and CEO of the non-profit Around-n-Over and the first solo human-powered circumnavigation of the globe
*
Christine Fox, former
Deputy Secretary of Defense
The deputy secretary of defense (acronym: DepSecDef) is a statutory office () and the second-highest-ranking official in the Department of Defense of the United States of America.
The deputy secretary is the principal civilian deputy to the sec ...
. With her appointment, Fox became the highest-ranking woman to serve in the
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...
. She also served as the inspiration for the character Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood in the film
Top Gun
*
Hala Gorani
Hala Basha-Gorani (; born March 1, 1970) is an American journalist, most recently working as an anchor and correspondent for CNN International, based in London. She is also a war correspondent. She previously anchored CNN's ''Hala Gorani Tonight' ...
, anchor and senior correspondent for
CNN International
CNN International (CNNI, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel that is owned by CNN Global. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates with sister network CNN's national and inte ...
*
Jim Hagedorn
James Lee Hagedorn ( ; August 4, 1962 – February 17, 2022) was an American politician from Minnesota. A Republican, he was the U.S. Representative for from 2019 until his death. The district stretches across southern Minnesota along the border ...
, congressman from
Minnesota's first congressional district
*
Nikki Hornsby
Nikki Hornsby is an American musician. She has been active in the pop, Americana, country, and blues genres as a songwriter, singer, and guitarist. She is a Broadcast Music, Inc. associated songwriter and has written over 1000 songs.
Early y ...
, Grammy Voting Recording Artist, Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Founder of CJP-NHRecords.com, carrying on the Hornsby Family Music Tradition Internationally.
*
Elsa Jean, pornographic actress in the German adult film industry
*
David Jolly
David Wilson Jolly (born October 31, 1972) is an American attorney, former lobbyist and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 13th congressional district, based in Pinellas County, from 2014 to 2017. A former Republican, ...
, former member of the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
*
Jake Kalish
Jacob Louis Kalish (born July 9, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Los Angeles Angels organization.
He was picked by the Royals in the 32nd round of the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft. In 2016 Kalish was an MILB.com Ka ...
, baseball player
*
Archie Kao
Archie David Kao (born December 14, 1969) is an American actor and producer. He is best known to American audiences for series regulars roles on '' Chicago P.D.'', '' Power Rangers Lost Galaxy'' as well as long-running hit ''CSI: Crime Scene In ...
, actor best known for
Power Rangers Lost Galaxy
''Power Rangers Lost Galaxy'' is a tokusatsu television series and the seventh season of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, based on the 22nd Super Sentai series ''Seijuu Sentai Gingaman''. The series was the first to follow the Sentai tradition of ...
,
Chicago P.D.
The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the municipal law enforcement agency of the U.S. city of Chicago, Illinois, under the jurisdiction of the City Council. It is the second-largest municipal police department in the United States, behind th ...
, and
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...
*
Steffen Kraus, German professional soccer player
*
Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda
Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda (born 1946) was named Poet Laureate of Virginia by the Governor, Tim Kaine, on June 26, 2006. She succeeded Rita Dove and served in this position from June 2006 – July 2008. While serving as Poet Laureate, Carolyn starte ...
, former
Poet Laureate of Virginia
The position of Poet Laureate of Virginia was established December 18, 1936 by the Virginia General Assembly.
Originally, the Poet Laureate of Virginia was appointed without outside consultation by the General Assembly, usually for one year, in a ...
*
Peter G. Levine, stroke recovery researcher, author of ''Stronger After Stroke''.
*
Cameron Long (born 1988), basketball player in the
Israeli Premier League
The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...
*
Jennifer Loud, nurse practitioner, medical researcher and former assistant chief of the
National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...
's clinical genetics branch
*
January Makamba,
Tanzanian
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
politician
*
Jason Miskiri, former
NBA player
*
Darryl Monroe
Darryl Monroe Jr. (born January 30, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for Anyang KGC of the Korean Basketball League. A power forward/center, he played college basketball for Central Florida CC and George Mason University before ...
, professional basketball player, 2016
Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP
The Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP, or Israeli Basketball Super League MVP, is an annual basketball award that is presented to the most valuable player in a given season of the Israeli Basketball Premier League, which is the top-tier level ...
*
Dayton Moore, president of the
Kansas City Royals
*
Sareh Nouri, Persian luxury bridal designer
*
Chris O'Grady
Christopher James O'Grady (born 25 January 1986) is an English footballer striker who plays for Grantham Town.
O'Grady notably played professionally for Leicester City, Rotherham United, Oldham Athletic, Rochdale, Sheffield Wednesday, Barnsl ...
, former
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
player
*
J. J. Picollo,
general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
for the
Kansas City Royals
*
Steve Ricchetti
Steven J. Ricchetti is an American political aide serving as a Counselor to the President under President Joe Biden. He was the chairman of Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign. Ricchetti previously served as Chief of Staff to Vice President ...
, former Deputy Chief of Staff to President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
*
Robert Rose, former NBA player
*
Denise Turner Roth, Administrator of the
U.S. General Services Administration
The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...
(GSA)
*
Karl Rove, former Deputy Chief of Staff to President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
*
Rhea Seehorn
Rhea may refer to:
* Rhea (bird), genus of flightless birds native to South America
* Rhea (mythology), a Titan in Greek mythology
It may also refer to:
People
* Rhea (name), list of people with this name
Mythology
* Rhea Silvia, in Roman myth ...
, actress best known for playing Kim Wexler on ''
Better Call Saul
''Better Call Saul'' is an American crime and legal drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, ''Breaking Bad'', and serves as a ...
''
*
Shawn Stiffler, head baseball coach of the
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...
*
Martin Andrew Taylor, former senior executive Corporate VP of
Windows Live
Windows Live is a discontinued brand name for a set of web services and software products developed by Microsoft as part of its software-as-a-service platform. Chief components under the brand name included web services (all of which were expose ...
and
MSN
MSN (meaning Microsoft Network) is a web portal and related collection of Internet services and apps for Windows and mobile devices, provided by Microsoft and launched on August 24, 1995, alongside the release of Windows 95.
The Microsoft Net ...
, Chief of Staff to former
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...
CEO
Steve Ballmer
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David Verburg
David Verburg (born May 14, 1991) is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 400 meters. He holds gold medals in the 4 × 400 m relay from the 2016 Olympics; the 2013 and 2015 World Championships; and the 2014 Indoor World Cham ...
, track and field athlete, 2016 Olympic gold medalist
*
Ian Weakley
Ian Weakly AKA Ian Weakley (born 24 February 1974 in Montego Bay, Saint James Parish) is a retired male hurdler from Jamaica. Weakly's best performance came in 2003 with a time of 48.55 in the 400 meter hurdles, ran in Trikala, Greece.
Pre-P ...
, Olympic hurdler
*
Chris Widger
Christopher Jon Widger (born May 21, 1971) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) catcher and current minor league manager. He played for the Seattle Mariners (-, ), Montreal Expos (-2000), New York Yankees (), St. Louis Cardinals (), C ...
, former
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
player
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...
,
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
*
Ricky Wilson, former
NBA player
*
Irad Young
Irad Young ( he, עירד יאנג; born 25 March 1971) is a retired Israeli-American professional Association football, football (soccer) player. Playing for George Mason University he set the school's career assist record. After college he playe ...
(born 1971), American-Israeli soccer player
*
Tyler Zombro
Tyler Zombro (born September 2, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. He played college baseball for George Mason University before signing with the Rays as an undrafted free agent in 2017. Zombro ...
, former Major League Baseball player
See also
*
George Mason University's historical hoaxes
*
Northern Virginia Community College
Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC; informally known as NOVA) is a public community college composed of six campuses and four centers in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. Northern Virginia Community College is the third-la ...
Explanatory notes
References
External links
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{{authority control
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Educational institutions established in 1949
1949 establishments in Virginia
George Mason
Public universities and colleges in Virginia
Education in Fairfax County, Virginia
Universities and colleges in South Korea
Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Education in Arlington County, Virginia
Education in Prince William County, Virginia
Education in Loudoun County, Virginia