About George Mason
Board of Visitors
- Marvin R. Murray, Rector, B.A., University of Washington; M.A.
University of South Florida; Alexandria, Va.
- Alam E. Hammad, Vice Rector, M.S., Louisiana State University;
Ph.D., The George Washington University; Alexandria, Va.
- Horace Cooper, Secretary, B.A., University of Texas; J.D., George
Mason University; Kingstowne, Va. M. Constance Bedell, B.A., George Mason University;
Springfield, Va.
- Larry Brown, Kansas State University; Potomac, Md.
- Joann P. DiGennaro, B.S., Purdue University; M.S., University of Maryland;
J.D., George Mason University; Oakton, Va.
- Paula Dobriansky, B.S.F.S., Georgetown University; M.A., Ph.D., Harvard
University; Alexandria, Va.
- Edwin J. Feulner, Jr., B.S., Regis University; M.B.A., The Wharton School
of the University of Pennsylvania; Ph.D., University of Edinburgh; Alexandria, Va.
- Richard H. Fink, B.A., Rutgers University; M.A., University of California
at Los Angeles; Ph.D, New York University; Centreville, Va.
- Janice S. Golec, B.S., American University; Arlington, Va.
- James Hazel, B.A., Harvard University; J.D., George Mason University;
Oakton, Va.
- William Kristol, A.B., Ph.D., Harvard University; McLean,Va.
- Robert W. Lauterberg, B.S., University of Florida; M.B.A., The George
Washington University; Richmond, Va.
- W. Scott McGeary, B.A., The George Washington University; J.D., George
Mason University; Arlington, Va.
- Edwin Meese, III, B.A., Yale University; J.D., University of California;
McLean, Va.
- David N. Olson, B.A., Upsala College; M.B.A., The Wharton School of the
University of Pennsylvania; Ashburn, Va.
Membership of the Board of Visitors as of January 1998.
George Mason, 1725-92
When George Mason of Gunston Hall wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights in
1776, he gave the United States the noble concept that the rights of the individual
must be protected against the power of government. By placing in Virginia's first
constitution a list of rights that could never be taken away from citizens, Mason
sought to ensure a society in which government could not become all-powerful.
As a result of his influence, the first 10 amendments, which we know as the Bill
of Rights, were added to the U.S. Constitution. The universal significance of this
action made the American Revolution much more than a war for independence from Great
Britain; it enshrined in our most important public document the principle that a
government must always respect the rights of the people.
Mason, himself a slave owner, did not recognize that those rights extended to
slaves. Nevertheless, his words were later used to demonstrate that slavery could
not exist in a country that proclaimed its belief in human rights. In the United
States we have not always adhered to Mason's great ideas, but they remain the measure
of the best in our national life.
Highlights of George Mason's History
George Mason Unversity's growing reputation as an innovative educational leader
is rooted in Virginia's strong educational tradition. By emphasizing the needs of
its region, high technology, public policy, and the fine and performing arts, George
Mason has created a curriculum and mission to meet the needs of Northern Virginia's
extraordinary cosmopolitan constituency.
The university began as the Northern Virginia branch of the University of Virginia
in 1957, offering courses in engineering and the liberal arts. Called University
College, it opened in a renovated elementary school in Bailey's Crossroads with an
enrollment of 17 students.
Eager to support the fledgling institution, the Town (now City) of Fairfax purchased
150 acres in 1958 and donated it to the University of Virginia for a permanent branch
campus. The following year, the University of Virginia Board of Visitors selected
the name George Mason College. Construction of the campus's first four buildings
was completed in 1964. In September of that year, 356 students began their studies
in the new classrooms.
In March 1966, the General Assembly authorized the expansion of George Mason College
into a four-year, degree-granting institution and gave it the long-range mandate
to expand into a major regional university. The first senior class received degrees
in June 1968. Graduate programs began in September 1970, with the first master's
degrees conferred in June 1971. The George Mason College Board of Control, supported
by citizens of Alexandria, Falls Church, and Arlington and Fairfax Counties, acquired
an additional 442 acres. By the end of 1970, the college's Fairfax Campus reached
571 acres; it is now 677 acres.
In 1972, the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia recommended that
the college separate from its parent institution. On April 7, the governor signed
the General Assembly legislation that established George Mason University as an independent
member of the commonwealth's system of colleges and universities.
Since 1972, the university's development has been marked by rapid growth and innovative
planning. In 25 years, enrollment has risen from 4,166 to more than 23,000 in 1997.
In 1979, George Mason was given the authority to grant doctoral degrees and began
offering programs at this level. In the same year, the university acquired what became
George Mason University School of Law located at the Arlington Campus.
In 1984, the first Robinson Professors, a group of outstanding scholars committed
to undergraduate teaching and interdisciplinary scholarship, joined the faculty as
the result of a generous bequest from Clarence J. Robinson.
Drawing prominent scholars from all fields, George Mason's outstanding faculty
also includes James M. Buchanan, Nobel laureate in economics, Pulitzer Prize winners,
IEEE Centennial Medalists, and recipients of numerous Fulbright, National Science
Foundation, and National Endowment of the Arts grants and awards, among others. Endowed
chairs have also brought many artists and scholars to campus.
In 1985, George Mason, in partnership with area businesses, developed an engineering
program geared toward the emerging information technology field and started the School
of Information Technology and Engineering (IT&E). Through IT&E, George Mason
was also the first in the country to offer a doctoral degree in information technology.
The establishment of the Institute of the Arts in 1990 solidified the university's
commitment to make the arts a pervasive part of students' lives. The Center for the
Arts and the arts complex, which includes art galleries, studio and rehearsal space,
and performing venues such as Theater Space, are all components of the institute.
George Mason has expanded its presence to serve the entire Northern Virginia region
by employing the revolutionary concept of the "distributed" university.
Designed to help George Mason serve the needs of its region, the distributed university
consists of one university at multiple locations, with each location based on a programmatic
theme that reflects the needs of the community. The Prince William Campus was established
in partnership with state and county governments and the private sector. A partnership
with American Type Culture Collection, the world's foremost archive of living cultures,
will lead to academic programs focusing on biosciences and make Prince William County
a center for biotechnology. Construction of the first building was completed in 1997.
The university is also expanding its presence in Arlington. Construction has begun
on a new building, and plans are underway to increase programming at Arlington with
the addition of course offerings and degree programs.
The innovative George W. Johnson Center was dedicated on April 12, 1996. By combining
student life resources with educational support facilities such as an interactive
library, George Mason has created the learning workspace of the future. Educational
administrators from around the world have toured the center.
George Mason University has achieved national distinction in many areas. Its reputation
continues to grow as the university provides an educational, cultural, and economic
resource for the people of Northern Virginia, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the
nation.
The University's Mission
George Mason University will be an institution of international academic reputation
providing superior education enabling students to develop critical, analytical, and
imaginative thinking and to make well-founded ethical decisions. It will respond
to the call for interdisciplinary research and teaching not simply by adding programs
but by rethinking the traditional structure of the academy.
The university will prepare students to address the complex issues facing them
in society and to discover meaning in their own lives. It will encourage diversity
in its student body and will meet the needs of students by providing them with undergraduate,
graduate, and professional courses of study that are interdisciplinary and innovative.
The university will energetically seek ways to interact with and serve the needs
of the student body.
The university will nurture and support a faculty that is diverse, innovative,
and excellent in teaching, active in pure and applied research, and responsive to
the needs of students and the community. The faculty will embody the university's
interactive approach to change both in the academy and in the world.
The university will be a resource of the Commonwealth of Virginia serving private
and public sectors and will be an intellectual and cultural nexus between Northern
Virginia, the nation, and the world.
Adopted January 1991.
Faculty and Students
The university's more than 800 full-time instructional faculty members are experts
in a broad range of fields, who have published widely, contributed to major research
findings, and consulted with government and business. The faculty includes a Nobel
laureate, winners of awards from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowments
for the Arts and the Humanities, and winners of Fulbright Awards and Mellon Fellowships.
Of particular interest to undergraduates are the Robinson Professors, outstanding
scholars in the liberal arts and sciences who have come to George Mason from prestigious
positions elsewhere. They are concerned with broad and fundamental intellectual issues,
and are dedicated to undergraduate teaching. The Schedule of Classes printed every
semester gives details about courses being taught by Robinson Professors.
Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan
Area
George Mason University is a member of the Consortium of Universities of the Washington
Metropolitan Area. Full participating consortium members are American University,
The Catholic University of America, Gallaudet University, George Mason University,
The George Washington University, Georgetown University, Howard University, Marymount
University, Mount Vernon College, Trinity College, Southeastern University, University
of the District of Columbia, and the University of Maryland--College Park.
Eligible students have the opportunity to benefit from the academic offerings of
member institutions and to enroll for courses at any of the participating institutions.
Students register and pay the tuition of their home institution for all consortium
courses. See the Academic Policies section of this catalog for information on consortium
course registration procedures.
Accreditation
George Mason University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees,
and is a member of the Council of Graduate Schools in the United States.
ORAU Statement
Since 1993, students and faculty of George Mason University have benefited from
its membership in Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU). Located in Oak Ridge,
Tennessee, ORAU is a consortium of colleges and universities and a management and
operating contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). ORAU works with its
member institutions to help their students and faculty gain access to federal research
facilities throughout the country; to keep its members informed about opportunities
for fellowship, scholarship, and research appointments; and to organize research
alliances among its members.
Through the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, the DOE facility that
ORAU manages, undergraduates, graduates, postgraduates, and faculty enjoy access
to a multitude of opportunities for study and research. Students can participate
in programs covering a wide variety of disciplines including business, earth sciences,
epidemiology, engineering, physics, geological sciences, pharmacology, ocean sciences,
biomedical sciences, nuclear chemistry, and mathematics. Appointment and program
lengths range from one month to four years. Many of these programs are especially
designed to increase the numbers of under-represented minority students pursuing
degrees in science- and engineering-related disciplines. A comprehensive listing
of these programs and other opportunities, their disciplines, and details on locations
and benefits can be found in the Resource Guide, which is available on the World
Wide Web at http://www.orau.gov/orise/resgd.htm,
or by calling either of the contacts below.
ORAU's Office of Higher Education Initiatives seeks opportunities for partnerships
and alliances among ORAU's members, private industry, and major federal facilities.
Activities include faculty development programs, such as the Junior Faculty Enhancement
Awards and the Visiting Industrial Scientist Program, and various services to chief
research officers.
For more information about ORAU and its programs, contact the vice provost for
research, ORAU council member, at (703) 993-8865; contact Monnie E. Champion, ORAU
corporate secretary, at (423) 576-3306; or look at the ORAU home page at http://www.orau.gov.
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