SPIRIT SPRING 2025
A MAGAZINE FOR THE GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY
Arts
WITH A NEW INITIATIVE, THE CENTER FOR THE ARTS IS HEADING TOWARD ITS NEXT BIG PREMIERE: A REIMAGINED FACILITY
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL | MEN’S BASKETBALL | NCAA CHAMPS
State of the Arts
For decades, George Mason University’s Center for the Arts has been integral to the cultural life of Northern Virginia. With a new initiative, it’s heading toward its next big premiere: a reimagined facility.
2 4 The Art of Giving
George Mason donors play a vital role in both sustaining the arts and helping ensure its accessibility to all.
Art in the Open
Thanks to generous donors and visionary artists, George Mason’s campuses are home to a treasure trove of art that inspires the community and visitors alike.
CONNECTING WITH OUR COMMUNITY
The arts, like athletics, serve as our front door. George Mason University takes great pride in its role as the cultural hub of Northern Virginia by ofering worldclass performances, camps, and events for the community, including a special arts program for veterans, while providing a training ground for the next generation of artists.
As Rick Davis, our dean for the College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA), says, “The arts create community.” Since 1990, more than 6.5 million people have streamed into the Center for the Arts on the Fairfax Campus. The Hylton Performing Arts Center on the Science and Technology Campus attracts about 90,000 visitors annually. Thousands of patrons, of all ages and backgrounds, first visit the university because of the arts. The Center for the Arts and the Hylton Center are two of our six performance venues, and our seven exhibition venues draw visitors as well.
Thankfully for our university and for our region, many visitors who file through our art venue doors become repeat attendees, and some emerge as philanthropic supporters who value the power of the arts. You can read about these champions of the arts in this issue of Spirit.
Some of the many qualities our university is best known for are attracting talent, innovation, and freedom of expression. CVPA exemplifies these qualities as impressively as any of George Mason’s schools and colleges. We develop and inspire our budding creators to pursue their passions and land fulfilling careers in the visual arts, dance, music, theater, game design, film, and arts management. CVPA has more than 6,000 alumni, from all 50 states and from 15 countries.
When we have most needed George Mason arts, they have been there for us. Mason Arts at Home delivered dozens of programs during the pandemic at no cost, oferings viewed more than 200,000 times. That program is now Mason Arts Amplified, providing free and pay-to-view options of performances from touring professionals and from the university’s faculty, staf, students, and alumni.
We don’t just enjoy the arts at events like ARTS by George! and others. We put the arts to work. Since 2014, our Veterans and the Arts Initiative has served more than 20,000 members of the military community.
From Netflix to the Sydney Opera House, to the Smithsonian Institution, to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, to even the actor who played the Blue Power Ranger [Archie Kao, BA Speech Communication ‘92], you never know where you might encounter a George Mason alum in the arts.
We applaud them all in this issue!
Gregory Washington President, George Mason University
MASON SPIRIT
A MAGAZINE FOR THE GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY
spirit.gmu.edu
MANAGING EDITOR
Colleen Kearney Rich, MFA ’95
ART DIRECTOR
Joan Dall’Acqua
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Melanie Balog
Priyanka Champaneri, BA ’05, MFA ’10
Anne Reynolds
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Katarina Benson, BA ‘24
CONTRIBUTORS
Shayla Brown
Camille Cintrón Devlin
Paola Duran
Kirstin Franko
Sarah Holland
John Hollis
Marissa Joyce, BA ’22
Nathan Kahl
Benjamin Kessler
Rebecca Kobayashi
Amanda Milewski
Milinda Polisetty
Lauren Clark Reuscher, MA ’12
Jamie Rogers
Corey Jenkins Schaut, MPA ’07
Amanda Snellings
Preston Williams
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Claire Brandt
Jeeun Lee Namgoong
Michaela Reilly, BA ’21
Azriel Towner, BFA ’19
PHOTOGRAPHY AND MULTIMEDIA
Ron Aira
Melissa Cannarozzi, MA ’22
Evan Cantwell, MA ’10
Eduardo Macedo
Ayman Rashid
Cristian Torres
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Brian Edlinski
EDITORIAL BOARD
Stephanie Aaronson, BA ‘94
Deputy Vice President for Communications and Digital Strategy
Paul G. Allvin
Vice President for University Branding and Chief Brand Oficer
Trishana E. Bowden
Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Relations
Robin Rose Parker
Assistant Vice President for Communications
Jennifer W. Robinson, JM ’02
Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations
Mason Spirit is published three times a year by the Ofce of Advancement and Alumni Relations and the Ofce of University Branding. George Mason University is an equal opportunity employer that encourages diversity.
ONCE A PATRIOT, ALWAYS A PATRIOT
George Mason University’s Alumni Association hosts events for the Mason Nation throughout the year, creating innovative and memorable experiences for the entire university community.
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Letters to the editor are welcomed. Send correspondence to Colleen Kearney Rich, Managing Editor, Mason Spirit, 4400 University Drive, MS 2F7, Fairfax, Virginia 22030.
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The programs and services ofered by George Mason University are open to all who seek them. George Mason does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnic national origin (including shared ancestry and/or ethnic characteristics), sex, disability, military status (including veteran status), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, pregnancy status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. After an initial review of its policies and practices, the university afirms its commitment to meet all federal mandates as articulated in federal law, as well as recent executive orders and federal agency directives.
Fans rally at the Selection Sunday watch party (left) at EagleBank Arena, and the team celebrates their championship (below).
PHOTO BY ART PITTMAN
PHOTO BY ART PITTMAN
PATRIOT PRESSURE RESULTS IN RECORDBREAKING MEN’S BASKETBALL SEASON
GEORGE MASON’S MEN’S BASKETBALL team had its best season in the program’s Atlantic 10 history, with accolades that also cement this season’s team in university history.
With 15 A-10 league victories, the Patriots set a new university record and started league play 12-1 for the first time in the program’s 59-year history. The Patriots also locked up a double bye in the A-10 Tournament for the first time and reached a conference title game for the first time since 2009. Additionally, they won their first-ever A-10 regular season title (shared with Virginia Commonwealth University), achieved the program’s first National Invitation Tournament victory since 2004, and earned a university record-tying 27 overall victories this season.
The Patriots also swept their A-10 home schedule (9-0) for the first time and won five straight A-10 road games for the first time in program annals. The team’s 11-game win streak from January 8 to February 18 was the second longest in the nation at the time.
Head coach Tony Skinn, BA Communication ‘06, has quickly established himself as one of the top young head coaches in the nation. In addition to being named the 2024-25 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, Skinn was a national finalist for the Ben Jobe Award and the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award, which recognizes a Division I head coach who wins with integrity both on and of the court.
“I’m proud of what we’ve built over these two years, most importantly because of where we’ve built it,” Skinn says. “George Mason gave me an opportunity 20 years ago, and without it, I wouldn’t be where I am today. It means the world to have reestablished the championship culture we took so much pride in as players here. I appreciate the continued support of [President] Washington and Marvin Lewis as we navigate this new college basketball landscape and position ourselves on the national stage.”
In March the university extended Skinn’s contract through the 2029-30 season.
George Mason’s elite Patriot Pressure defense ranked in the Top 25 nationally this season, and the Patriots led the nation in field goal defense. Skinn has been instrumental in the development of dynamic players who have brought his Patriot Pressure vision to life.
Senior Jared Billups became George Mason’s first conference Defensive Player of the Year since 2001 and was a finalist for the Lefty Driesell Award, given to the nation’s top defensive player.
Jalen Haynes earned NABC All-District First Team honors and was just the second All-A-10 First Team pick in university history. Additionally, Darius Maddox earned NABC All-District Second Team accolades and a position on the All-A-10 Third Team. Both Haynes and Maddox garnered A-10 All-Tournament accolades after shining on the national stage.
PHOTO BY RON AIRA
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD ARE 2025 A-10 CHAMPIONS
GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY has been crowned the Atlantic 10 Women’s Indoor Track and Field Champions, claiming the title over Virginia Commonwealth University at the Virginia Beach Sports Center. The men’s team placed second in the championship behind Rhode Island.
The Patriots clinched the championship in dramatic fashion, securing three additional medals on the final day of competition. Senior Abby Weening captured gold in the high jump. She was also named the Most Outstanding Field Performer, recognizing her stellar meet, which included two gold medals in the pentathlon and high jump. Junior Olamide Enajekpo earned bronze in the shot put, while sophomore Susan Adenitan placed third in the 200-meter race.
With the championship hanging in the balance, the 4x400-meter relay became the deciding event. The relay team—Chairely Bido, Simone Hamlar, Helena Santacana, and Ay’rianna Moore—delivered in dominant fashion, sealing the long-awaited victory for George Mason.
“Overall, an outstanding weekend of competition for both genders but especially for our women. It was just a tremendous efort spread across all event groups,” says Head Coach Andrew Gerard.
This victory marks a historic achievement for George Mason, as the Patriots have claimed their first A-10 Indoor Championship since 2014. Gerard and his staf were honored as the Coaching Staf of the Year.
Women's indoor track and field team claimed their first A-10 Indoor Championship since 2014.
WRESTLING SENDS THREE TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The George Mason men’s wrestling team was represented by three individuals—Kaden Cassidy, D.J. McGee, and Malachi DuVall (pictured left)—at the 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Wrestling Championships at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia in March. The three qualifiers were a major reason George Mason finished the season with a 12-6 record, its best finish in the Mid-Atlantic Conference (MAC, 6-2). This is the team’s third consecutive season with double-digit wins. After back-toback 11-win seasons, the Patriots won 12 this season. It is the most wins in a season since 2007-08, when they finished with a 13-5 record.
PHOTO BY ROBERT LOMBARDO
PHOTO BY ART PITTMAN
GIFT ESTABLISHES A NEW TESTBED LAB AT FUSE
STANLEY JONES AND ROSEMARY HAYES
JONES continue their philanthropic legacy at George Mason University with a transformative $1 million gift to establish the Stanley and Rosemary Hayes Jones Networking Testbed Lab within Fuse at Mason Square.
The testbed lab will be dedicated to network applications including secure communications, advanced antennae systems, and next-generation and open-radio-access network innovations, with applications in air transportation, high-speed and autonomous vehicles, smart power grids, intelligent buildings, manufacturing, technology, and national defense. Expected to open this summer, the lab will support both faculty and student research eforts.
The investment qualifies as part of George Mason’s contribution to the state’s Tech Talent Investment Program (TTIP), a Virginia initiative aimed at increasing the number of graduates with degrees in computer science, computer engineering, and software engineering over the next 20 years. The gift also activates a match from the commonwealth through TTIP.
“Throughout my career in engineering, I saw the power of access to advanced research and technology,” says Jones, a former surveillance and communications engineer and a first-generation college graduate. “I’m excited about the possibilities this new testbed lab will bring, providing George Mason students with hands-on experiences in a cutting-edge field.”
Hayes Jones, who served the Northern Virginia community as a real estate agent for more than 35 years, shares this commitment to advancing education and community impact. “We believe that investing in education and innovation is essential to fostering a thriving community and a strong workforce.”
This gift follows a $400,000 commitment by the couple to the Early Identification Program (EIP) in 2023. The EIP funding supports two programs: the EIP STEM Fusion Expansion, a K–12 program to
POINT OF
increase the number of first-generation students pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, and the Stanley and Rosemary Jones STEM Scholars Program, which provides direct support to EIP students pursuing STEM majors at George Mason.
Established in 1987, EIP provides critical resources to first-generation middle and high school students in partnership with seven Virginia school districts. The program serves more than 900 students annually.
The Stanley and Rosemary Jones STEM Scholars Program supports 10 students with professional mentoring, cultural and career programming, and internship opportunities—including placements at MITRE, which is Jones’s former employer. The program is designed to strengthen retention and career readiness for these students.
“As a first-generation student, I worked my way through undergraduate school and then received a fellowship to attend graduate school. The fellowship made all the diference—it allowed me to pursue a successful career as an engineer,” says Jones. “Through our support, we are hoping to give a similar opportunity to other deserving students.”
—Robin Rose Parker
The Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution was named a United Nations Academic Impact Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Hub Chair for Goal 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions. George Mason is one of only two universities in the United States to chair a hub. As chair, the Carter School will be responsible for education and training, research, community engagement, developing partnerships, and working with other SDG hubs to strengthen and further the United Nations’ mission of peace and justice.
These gifts are part of Mason Now: Power the Possible, George Mason’s historic $1 billion campaign to advance student success, research, innovation, stewardship, and community engagement.
PHOTO BY WILLIAM T. GALLAGHER
PHOTO BY RON AIRA
MASON COMMUNITY ARTS ACADEMY CONTINUES TO GROW
THE MASON COMMUNITY ARTS ACADEMY (MCAA) hosts some of the hottest summer camps in the region, just one of the ways the university’s reach extends out into the community. MCAA’s oferings have been consistently named among the Best Summer Camps by Northern Virginia Magazine Last summer, the academy broke multiple records, including the total number of student participants at just under 1,900, and the attendance record for the Acting for Young People (AFYP) program with 950 students participating.
MCAA, part of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, holds summer camps, programs, and workshops in acting and theater, film and video, music, and visual art for ages 4 to 18. MCAA staf includes industry professionals, George Mason alumni, and students of all levels, including local high school students.
MCAA also serves as a pathway to George Mason for students, some of whom begin the program in elementary school. MCAA has seen students go on to become interns and eventually students
in CVPA degree programs, says Mary Lechter, executive director of MCAA and a professor in the School of Theater.
Theater major Kaya Thomas is one of these students. Thomas joined AFYP when she was in seventh grade and participated in the weekend showcase program. Thomas later began working as an assistant choreography teacher with the same program. This spring, she took on a new role and began teaching students in MCAA’s afterschool classes.
Thomas’s experience with the program was a huge factor in her decision to attend George Mason. “I’m teaching with the people who taught me when I was in middle school, and I am getting to work with kids and watch them grow,” she says.
William Lake Jr., director of concert bands at the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music, approached Lechter with the idea of starting a summer band camp at George Mason. The MCAA band camp, which started in 2023, runs for one week every summer. Band camp students have the option of staying on campus overnight and experiencing what college life is like.
“They’re staying in the dorms, eating the campus food,” says Lake. “The camp includes a large ensemble experience, and students participate in instrument-specific master classes with our School of Music faculty.”
A children’s choir camp debuted in summer 2024 after three years of planning. The camp was led by Beth Anne Young, director of Kodály at George Mason. Kodály is an approach to music education using singing and sight-reading.
The camp was held in conjunction with Side-by-Side Kodály Children’s Choir, a course for those currently working in the field of music education. The graduate music students in the course gained hands-on teaching experience while highly skilled Kodály faculty members provided mentorship.
“I truly believe that you can’t start early enough to create that pipeline for students to connect [to our] programs,” says Lake.
—Shayla Brown
Theater major Kaya Thomas has been involved with Acting for Young People since she was in middle school.
PHOTO BY EVAN CANTWELL
TURNING SKELETAL REMAINS INTO HOPE
GEORGE MASON ADJUNCT PROFESSOR AND FORENSIC ARTIST JOE MULLINS thinks he has the coolest job in the world and calls what he does “art with a purpose.”
Combining cutting-edge technology with artistic skill, forensic artists can reconstruct faces and features from skeletal remains, often providing vital clues that law enforcement needs to solve cold cases.
Most recently, detectives from Loudoun County, Virginia, turned to Mullins for help on one of their oldest cold cases. Mullins collaborated with students in his AVT 496 Forensic Figure Sculpture class in the School of Art to create a lifelike, three-dimensional clay reconstruction of a woman known only as Jane Doe, whose remains were discovered on May 28, 1973.
Using a 3D scan of the victim’s skull and DNA data that revealed traits such as eye color, hair type, and body composition, Mullins and his students sculpted a bust that depicts the features of an African American woman believed to have been in her 20s or 30s. She had been shot, carried no identification, and local law enforcement had no reports of anyone missing who fit that description at the time. Loudoun County detectives hope that this lifelike reconstruction will lead to someone finally recognizing her.
“Forensic artists are often the last hope for these cases,” Mullins says. “With that comes a lot of responsibility to get it right. The only way these reconstructions work is if the right person sees it. With nearly 8 billion people on the planet, we just need one person to say, ‘I think I know who that is.’”
That happened in 2015 when a family member recognized the face of a clay bust Mullins created of
a John Doe in New York City. He hopes for a similar outcome with Jane Doe.
Mullins, a senior forensic imaging specialist at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, incorporates real cases into his teaching.
“Watching a face come to life gives students a deeper connection to their work,” he says. “They became just as emotionally invested in this case as I did.”
The real-world experience ofered to students in this class is just one example of George Mason’s commitment to experiential learning that makes a diference. Similarly, George Mason’s Forensic Science Program played a critical role in reopening the investigation in Loudoun County. In 2023, George Mason professor Steven Burmeister used ground-penetrating radar to guide Loudoun County investigators to Jane Doe’s remains, which were exhumed from an unmarked grave in Lincoln, Virginia. The Ofice of the Chief Medical Examiner then analyzed the remains and created a DNA profile.
The work has already garnered significant media attention, and the Loudoun County Sherif’s Ofice hopes the renewed interest will lead to a breakthrough for this case.
According to Mullins, there are more than 2,000 unidentified sets of remains across the country. Having grown up in Loudoun County, he was moved by the opportunity to contribute to a case so close to home.
“Helping families get the answers they have been searching for is all the satisfaction I need,” Mullins says of his work.
—John Hollis
Forensic artist Joe Mullins with his reconstruction of Loudoun County’s Jane Doe.
MEETMASON NATION THE
MARIT MAJESKE
Job: Education Coordinator, Hylton Performing Arts Center
After graduating from college, Marit Majeske, MA Arts Management ’14, worked on political campaigns. But in 2010, she was ready for a change. When Majeske heard that George Mason was opening a performing arts center in Prince William County—where she grew up—she decided to apply for a job.
Located on the Science and Technology Campus, the Hylton Performing Arts Center is a classic example of a George Mason collaboration that creates positive change for the region and beyond. Created in partnership with Prince William County, the City of Manassas, and the Commonwealth of Virginia, and with help from private donors and local business members, the center serves the community through performances and arts programming. Majeske serves as Hylton Center’s education coordinator, a job that allows her to directly engage with the community.
GETTING THE HOUSE IN ORDER: Majeske started out as the front-of-house manager, where she built the volunteer usher and accessibility programs and created procedures to ensure a smooth visitor experience. In 2015, she took on the additional role of interim education coordinator, which later became a full-time position.
A BROAD PALETTE: Majeske leads the Hylton Center’s Education Initiative, which ofers learners of all ages free opportunities to experience and engage in the arts. Access and inclusivity are important parts of Majeske’s job. “Through in-person and virtual programming such as field trips, lecture-demonstrations, backstage tours, and masterclasses led by professional artists, every community member can experience the arts in meaningful ways.”
BY EVAN CANTWELL
PEAK PERFORMANCE: Working with local school districts is one of Majeske’s favorite parts of the job. The Hylton Center hosts students from local schools for arts programming. During the 2023–24 season, nearly 20,000 learners of all ages participated in Education Initiative programming. Majeske says that meeting the growing needs of the community is one of the most fulfilling—but also the most challenging—parts of her job.
INTRODUCING THE CAST: Majeske’s work intersects with the Hylton Center’s Artist-in-Residence Program, in which artists participate in creative activities with the community prior to their public performances. “One of my favorite things is getting to know the artists’ interests beyond their art form, which lends itself to creating unique opportunities for engagement with our community members,” she says.
BEHIND THE CURTAIN: Building opportunities for connection between artists and their audiences drives Majeske’s work. But sometimes, it goes of script. As a lifelong fan of Broadway, Majeske said one of her fondest George Mason memories was when Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell performed at the Hylton Center.
“That evening, while I was addressing our ushers backstage prior to the performance, Mr. Stokes Mitchell stumbled upon our meeting and had been quietly listening in the background,” Majeske says. “Unprompted, he stepped forward, introduced himself, and thanked everyone for welcoming him. What a lovely surprise for our ushers!”
—Lauren Clark Reuscher, MA ’12
PHOTO
REIMAGINING ROBOTICS THROUGH ART AND INNOVATION
go.gmu.edu/marcarts
AT THE UNIVERSITY’S MASON AUTONOMY AND ROBOTICS CENTER (MARC), the Integrating Art and Tech Project brought together students from diverse academic backgrounds to create tech-enhanced artwork that highlights MARC’s cutting-edge research in autonomy, embedded artificial intelligence, and robotics.
Applied computer science major Alexia De Costa led the inaugural class, which began in the fall 2024 semester. De Costa guided a team of eight students in designing and assembling a collection of interactive artworks. The collection’s pieces each represent a specific research area at MARC: blimps, computer vision, and ground robots.
Supported by the Ofice of Student Creative Activities and Research, the semester-long eforts culminated in an exhibition in December. The resulting artworks have gone on to be displayed around campus, including in the Johnson Center.
“Technology has the potential not only to advance autonomous systems, but also to serve as an interactive medium for storytelling and creativity,” says De Costa, who is a member of the Honors College.
“The combination of artistic expression and technological advancement makes the research at MARC more accessible to the public, sparking broader conversations about how these advancements can shape our future.”
—Paola Duran
George Mason students Irene Hossain and Alexia De Costa at the project’s exhibition.
PHOTO BY EDUARDO MACEDO
PHOTO PROVIDED
PHOTO BY PAOLA DURAN
THE STATE OF THE Arts
For decades, George Mason University’s Center for the Arts has been integral to the cultural life of Northern Virginia. With a new initiative, it’s heading toward its next big premiere: a reimagined facility.
Close up of a rendering that shows a concept for the reimagined Concert
Hall.
The renderings (below and next page) show a concept for the reimagined Concert Hall.
MORE THAN A RENOVATION, A REIMAGINING
Davis strongly believes that the arts create community and, for many, the center has served as a hub for that experience.
“Those four words—the arts create community— really do encapsulate the entire mission of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, and indeed of most artistic endeavors on every level in every culture,” says Davis, who joined George Mason in 1991 and was appointed dean in 2015. “The Center for the Arts has done so much to create that community, but it is no longer a match for the growth and evolution we have experienced—and for what we envision. Our community’s dreams are bigger, bolder, and brighter than ever.”
The center has been a prime performance space in Northern Virginia, and as the region and the university have grown, the demands for use of the center’s space have increased. It has also become an important academic asset.
When the center first opened, university events, including student performances, accounted for a small portion of the programming. Now, Davis says, George Mason’s use of the facility accounts for more than 50 percent of the activities.
Davis says the planned space will have a more traditional concert hall shape, as well as a reconfigured balcony that brings the audience closer to the stage. He adds that some George Mason students have not been able to perform in the Concert Hall. “It’s too big and too dry acoustically, so it doesn’t support young voices,” says Davis. “It is also not great for choral or chamber music. We need a concert hall that will support students who are still learning but who deserve to be on a professional-caliber stage.” The renovation includes plans to:
■ reshape and redesign the Concert Hall to improve acoustics, sight lines, aesthetics, and accessibility, including the creation of center aisles
■ remodel the lobby to create new spaces for performances and gallery exhibitions, as well as enhanced café and bar services
■ update the ticket ofice and reception area
■ build a new donor lounge
■ add new studio, classroom, and community spaces
■ modernize technical equipment
A significant feature of the redesign is the addition of center aisles, which will improve audience access to the seats and has long been on the wish list for performance attendees.
At ARTS by George! a patron enjoys a showing of student films (above) and Mason Community Arts Acad emy student Jakin Jordan-Brangman (right)
MAKING
THE ARTS A PRIORITY
The Give Voice initiative launch in February also performs a piano piece.
brought awareness to additional Mason Arts fundraising priorities, including creating more student scholarships, expanding facilities for the growing Film and Video Studies and Computer Game Design Programs, and bolstering the recruitment and retainment of outstanding faculty with endowed chairs and professorships.
will enable the Hylton Center to bring artists and programs of even greater renown to its stages, as well as strengthen the portfolio of community programs including the Education and the Veterans and the Arts Initiatives.
LEARN MORE ABOUT GIVE VOICE. cfa.gmu.edu/give/ give-voice
In addition to the Give Voice initiative, philanthropic support for Mason Arts is led by the college’s annual benefit event, ARTS by George! Since 2006, the fundraising dinner and student showcase has raised more than $4.6 million to support student scholarships in CVPA’s seven academic units and for Mason Arts community programs.
“We launched a film program and a computer game design program around 2008 without dedicated spaces for them, and they have thrived,” Davis says. “They now need dedicated spaces so these programs can grow with demand.”
CVPA hosts the only serious game institute on the East Coast of the United States and just launched a second institute last fall at Mason Korea. “We are now a major player in the game industry in that part of the world,” Davis says.
Fundraising continues for the $15 million Hylton Performing Arts Center Endowment Fund, which “ “
The Hylton Center opened in 2010 on George Mason’s Science and Technology Campus in Manassas, Virginia. It was built through a partnership between the university, local governments, and private donors. The center is named for the Cecil and Irene Hylton Family Foundation, which donated $5 million in 2005 to the project and has continued to support the Hylton Center for the past 20 years.
The university is also developing a concept plan for an art museum to protect, preserve, and display George Mason’s impressive art collections. A plan has also been developed to add sculptures to campus, particularly in the concentrated area of Mason Arts facilities, which will be known as the Arts District” (see the story on page 26).
The Arts District is a vision that actually puts the Center for the Arts literally at the center of it all,” says Davis.
In addition to CVPA’s academic programs, Mason Arts includes seven community arts programs, galleries on three campuses, and multiple performance venues—both physical and digital.
PHOTO BY AYMAN RASHAD
PHOTO BY CABLE RISDON PHOTOGRAPHY
COLLEGE OF VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS
BY THE NUMBERS
7ACADEMIC UNITS
Arts Management Program
Computer Game Design Program
Film and Video Studies Program
Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music
School of Art
School of Dance
School of Theater
1,700+ 7,500+
STUDENTS ALUMNI
1,800+
FRIENDS/DONOR HOUSEHOLDS ANNUALLY 2023–24
7 COMMUNITY ARTS PROGRAMS
Green Machine Ensembles
Mason Community Arts Academy
Mason Exhibitions
Mason Game and Technology Academy
Veterans and the Arts Initiative
Virginia Serious Game Institute
Visiting Filmmakers Series
6 PERFORMING ARTS VENUES
Center for the Arts
de Laski Performing Arts Building
Harris Theatre
Hylton Performing Arts Center
Mason Arts Amplified
TheaterSpace
7EXHIBITION VENUES
Buchanan Hall Atrium Gallery
Buchanan Partners Art Gallery
Fenwick Gallery at Fenwick Library
Founders Gallery
Gillespie Gallery of Art
Mason Exhibitions Arlington
Science Center
11 ADVISORY BOARDS/ FRIENDS GROUPS*
Computer Game Design Executive Advisory Board
Dance Partnership Council
Film at Mason Advisory Board
Friends of the Center for the Arts Board
Friends of Music at Mason Board
Friends of Theater at Mason Board
Hylton Performing Arts Center Executive Board
Mason Arts Board
Mason Community Arts Academy Advisory Board
School of Art Advisory Council
University Art Collections Advisory Committee
*200 COMMUNITY MEMBERS SERVING ON BOARDS/COUNCILS
Hylton Performing Arts Center
PHOTO BY RON AIRA
Mason Exhibitions
THE ART OF
givingLong before there was a Center for the Arts, a group of community members worked diligently to help make the arts an integral part of George Mason University’s burgeon-
ing campus life. George Mason donors play a vital role in both sustaining the arts and helping ensure its accessibility to all. They serve as advocates, championing creativity and cultural expression in ways that strengthen communities, widen perspectives, and inspire future generations. Here we highlight a few of the donors playing a role in the Mason Arts priorities in the Mason Now: Power the Possible campaign.
SUSAN AITEL AND JONATHAN GOLDMAN
Susan Aitel and Jonathan Goldman, PhD Education ’20, support George Mason for straightforward reasons: its proximity and distinguished faculty. However, their deepest motivation for giving lies in their love for music and dedication to students. Together, Aitel, a retired federal employee, and Goldman, director of IT and security in the College of Engineering and Computing, support several endowments. The Grace Aitel Endowed Award was established in honor of Aitel’s mother, a pianist who taught her children to play. The Goldman Family Scholarship supports students studying wind instruments, classical guitar, and musical theater.
RUTH ALTHEIM
In her personal blog, Creative Everyday, Ruth Altheim describes her introduction to music studies when she registered for a music appreciation course at George Mason in 2021. “I found the basic material so dificult that I made a commitment to do the work.” Following a distinguished career in business, Altheim has committed to “a magnificent retirement plan” and taken more than 30 classes at George Mason in music and the humanities. She will support scholarships
Left, Jonathan Goldman and Susan Aitel. Right, Ruth Altheim.
PHOTO PROVIDED
PHOTO PROVIDED
in both the College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences through a planned gift.
PENNY BARROWS
Penny Barrows, a longtime supporter of the Hylton Performing Arts Center, is an ardent supporter of the Veterans and the Arts Initiative since the early days of its inception in 2014–15 and has been instrumental in nurturing the program. Her “work ethic to go out and make it happen,” noted by her son, John Barrows, himself a strong proponent for veterans’ businesses and programs, facilitated the vital gathering of resources—bridging arts and community. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the initiative, which has served more than 20,000 military-connected individuals, ofering free hands-on workshops and concerts for veterans, servicemembers, and military family members. Barrows’s continued support of the Veterans and the Arts Initiative builds on a lifetime of her accomplishments in art therapy and counseling to amplify people’s strengths.
LOUIS DELAIR JR.
An alternate address for Louis Delair Jr. could be the Center for the Arts—you might find him there on any night in one of the two seats he has reserved every season. He has supported the Friends of the Center for the Arts since 2013. When he sees CVPA dean Rick Davis, they don’t converse—they duet! In his life as a U.S. Department of State foreign service oficer, Delair sometimes performed in productions as a hobby. He supports the arts because he loves them and believes a financial “shot in the arm” is sometimes needed to keep arts institutions going and growing.
DIDLAKE INC.
Didlake Inc., a Virginia organization dedicated to providing employment and community engagement opportunities for individuals with disabilities, has been a longtime partner of the Hylton Performing Arts Center. At the Hylton Center, as well as at the Center for the Arts on the Fairfax Campus, Didlake has been instrumental in creating a welcoming performing arts experience for people with disabilities. Services are available for patrons of all George Mason performing arts centers and include diferently configured musical instruments; providing closed captioning, American Sign Language, and open captioning for performances; sensoryfriendly lighting; advanced disability awareness training for ushers; and sensory-friendly kits for theater guests. In recognition of their contributions, the Hylton Center’s Didlake Grand Foyer is named in the company’s honor.
TONY AND TRISJA PODESTA
Supporters of the arts throughout the region, Tony and Trisja Podesta of Washington, D.C., have generously given or loaned photographs, paintings, video art, and sculptures to museums and universities including the Guggenheim Museum, the National Gallery of Art, and American University. Now they have entrusted George Mason with gifts of artwork from their impressive collection. Pieces from the Podesta Collection may be viewed on the Fairfax Campus, many in Buchanan Hall.
PHOTO
From left, Penny Barrows, Louis Delair Jr., and CEO Paul Gravley and VP of Advocacy and Public Policy Rachel Payne from Didlake Inc. with Dean Rick Davis and Hylton Center Director of Develop ment Carolyn Hays.
Johnson, the university’s fourth president. The committee commissioned the sculpture in August 1995, covering 93 percent of its $159,000 cost. When the statue was dedicated with the Johnson Center in 1996, it was the first 3D depiction of George Mason in U.S. history.
The Arts Gala Committee was behind the acquisition of several items on display around the Fairfax Campus including Cross Cottage by Mason Pond. Each year, beginning in 1983, Joanne Johnson led a group of women in crafting an item they would later auction of to fund the performing arts and cultural projects at George Mason. Often the auctioned items were donated back to the university. One of the more visible items produced is the Mason Heritage Quilt from 1984, which is on display in the Center for the Arts lobby.
Cross Cottage, constructed by Cross Builders in 1988, was assembled in sections inside the Patriot Center (now EagleBank Arena), where the Arts Gala was held, so attendees could tour the small structure. The cottage soon found its home beside Mason Pond, along with some other sculptures.
The Arts Gala Committee played a critical role in the fundraising eforts for the Center for the Arts. It took 10 years of fundraising and three years of construction to make the center a reality. And the last names of those early arts patrons are still present at the university today: Dewberry, Peterson, Hazel, and Toups, among others.
The statue on Wilkins Plaza has a twin on the other side of the globe. In 2019, Mason Korea installed its own George Mason statue in Songdo. Created by sculptor Kim Tae Jin at Yebon Artworks in Korea, the installation of this George was supported by Mason Korea’s parents association.
THE UNIVERSITY’S ART COLLECTION
The university’s art collection, managed by University Curator Don Russell, encompasses paintings, photographs, prints, and sculpture from across time periods and world regions. The collection has grown over the years to include more than 3,000 objects, including 240 works of African art and around 70 plaster casts on loan from New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
George Mason the bronze statue is one of the most popular guys on campus.
The university received its first donations in the early 1980s, including lithographs by the surrealists Salvador Dalí and Joan Miró, and the 1 Cent Life Portfolio that contains 62 original lithographs by renowned masters of pop art and hard-edged or biomorphic abstraction such as Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol.
As a part of the College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) Mason Now campaign priorities, Mason Arts is seeking support to develop conceptual plans for a university museum. A dedicated art museum would build on the university’s robust Mason Exhibitions programs—including seven galleries on all three Northern Virginia campuses—and allow for the collection to be shared with the public under high curatorial standards. A museum would also provide valuable research, teaching, and educational opportunities for the George Mason community.
THE STORY OF THE PLASTER CASTS
If you’ve taken classes on the Fairfax Campus since 2000, you have probably encountered one of the plaster casts on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The collection includes casts of sculptures from the Temple of Olympian Zeus in Greece, a relief from Orsanmichele church in Florence, and a block from a Parthenon frieze from the British Museum, among others.
Carol Mattusch, then Mathy Professor of History and Art History, led the acquisition of the Met’s plaster casts, which were not in the best condition after being stored in a Bronx warehouse for more than
PHOTO BY EVAN CANTWELL
Communitas by Azriel Awret stands near the Center for the Arts.
PHOTO BY EVAN CANTWELL
Antecedent by Lila Katzen is located next to Mason Pond.
70 years. Mattusch, now Professor Emerita of History and Art History, saw the cleaning and researching of the casts as a hands-on opportunity for students. In 2006, when George Mason students Anna Zacherl, BA History ’06, and Lucy R. Miller, BA Art History ’06, learned that several additional plaster casts from the Met’s collection were available for purchase, they headed to Sotheby’s auction house in New York City, where they bid on and bought the casts on behalf of an anonymous donor. Thanks to their eforts and private support, the 19th-century casts of famous works will grace George Mason’s campuses for years to come.
COMMUNITAS AND OTHER SCULPTURES
After the George Mason statue, Communitas, the bronze depicting three figures on the Holton Plaza beside the Center for the Arts, is probably one of the most recognizable sculptures on the Fairfax Campus. Installed in 1993, it is the work of Polish artist Azriel Awret and one of several of his works on campus. Others include The Cello Player and Two Musicians in the Center for the Arts lobby.
George Mason alumni might remember Awret’s Woman in a Hammock, which was installed in the breezeway between Robinson Halls A and B. The sculpture was removed during the construction of Horizon Hall and now reclines in the courtyard between Horizon and Harris Theatre. Awret’s sculptures were donated to the university by his brother, Charles, who was president of the Maywood Building Corporation in Springfield, Virginia.
Many people enjoying the grove of cherry trees by Mason Pond have encountered one of the university’s most distinguished outdoor sculptures. Antecedent by artist Lila Katzen is on extended loan to the university from the National Gallery of Art.
MASON SQUARE
The Fairfax Campus isn’t the only one with sculptures. Mason Square is home to two sculptures by internationally renowned artist Greg Wyatt. The 4,300-pound bronze Bill of Rights Eagle sits outside of Hazel Hall and shows a bald eagle standing on top of the U.S. Bill of Rights, protecting the document with its seven-foot wingspan. This bronze was donated to the Antonin Scalia Law School in 2017 by the artist and the Newington-Cropsey Foundation. Wyatt returned to campus in 2018 for the dedication of his bronze statue of law school namesake U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, with an audience of 400 that included five U.S. Supreme Court justices.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CAMPUS
In 2017, the Science and Technology Campus also received a bronze. The statue of Charles J. Colgan, created by Waynesboro artist Robert Brickler, was unveiled on the former state senator’s 90th birthday outside the building that bears his name. Colgan, a World War II veteran who served 40 years in the Virginia Senate, was instrumental in helping secure the land that became the SciTech Campus.
At the dedication, Mary Finnegan, Colgan’s daughter, said, “This statue will immortalize Dad, sitting in front of a building that bears his name on the site of the university he so loved. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
The campus was also the first home of the Hilde Vogel-Michalik Art Collection. Since 2005, Harold C. Vogel has donated more than 2,000 pieces of his wife’s artwork, as well as some of his own. The collection can be found displayed in many university ofices and buildings, including Fenwick Library. A sculpture garden is being planned for the SciTech Campus that will include Vogel’s sculptures.
FACULTY GIFTS
George Mason faculty members have also shared their collections of art and other items, such as books, maps, and papers, with the university.
In 2019, Professor Emeritus of Management David A. Kravitz began sharing his collection of Haitian paintings with George Mason. Kravitz’s father, the
The cast bronze Bill of Rights Eagle by Greg Wyatt is in front of Hazel Hall at Mason Square.
PHOTO BY RON AIRA
Mason Exhibitions team member
Sophie Bae, MA ’23, installing one of the Haitian paintings in Enterprise Hall.
late Boris Kravitz, assembled the collection and founded the Haitian Art Company in Key West, Florida, which he ran until 2009.
Working with Mason Exhibitions, the Costello College of Business has some of the paintings from the David A. Kravitz Collection on display in the dean’s ofice in Enterprise Hall. The Haitian collection is moving to the Writing Center in the Johnson Center this summer as part of an ongoing program to enrich learning environments with art.
Students in art history professor Michele Greet’s ARTH 495/595 Curating an Exhibit class also had the opportunity to work with the Kravitz collection. Their exhibit La Vie Quotidienne in 2022 showcased 29 paintings and two sculptures by 23 artists from Haiti in the Art and Design Building’s Gillespie Gallery of Art, which is named for School of Art patrons Gardner and Stevie Gillespie.
Some faculty member collections, like the historical postcard collection of Associate Professor Emeritus of History Randolph H. Lytton, are a part of the University Libraries’ Special Collections and Research Center (see story on page 14) and can be explored online.
GALLERY AND EXHIBITION SPACES
Mason Exhibitions, directed by Russell, manages and curates seven gallery spaces across George Mason’s three campuses and the Potomac Science Center in Virginia. These include the Buchanan Hall Atrium Gallery, Fenwick Gallery at Fenwick Library, and the Gillespie Gallery on the Fairfax Campus, as well as the Buchanan Partners Art Gallery in the Hylton Performing Arts Center on the Science and Technology Campus.
Founders Gallery is inside Van Metre Hall at Mason Square, and Mason Exhibitions Arlington is located a short distance from the campus.
PHOTO BY DUANE BAILEY
The Colgan statue on the Science and Technology Campus.
PHOTO BY EVAN CANTWELL
IMAGINING AN ARTS DISTRICT
As a part of CVPA’s Mason Now priorities, university planners are not just reimagining the Center for the Arts, they are also envisioning the center and its environs as a destination. Through the creation of an arts district that encompasses the center, Mason Pond, and beyond, George Mason will become a destination for experiencing the arts across a variety of disciplines—performing and visual—to benefit those on campus and the community at large.
Rick Davis, CVPA dean, says some of this is happening naturally with the placement of artwork in the areas surrounding the center, and more donations of sculptures and other art are underway.
Davis says he foresees a day when people attending an event at the center would have the opportunity to wander through a sculpture garden before or after the performance. Or perhaps guests could attend an outdoor performance beside Mason Pond.
Davis emphasizes the importance of integrating art into the fabric of campus life. “Public art is a way of embedding creativity into our daily routines. It allows us to see the world through diferent lenses, interrupting our headlong rush through the day and sparking conversations that may not otherwise happen,” he says.
A rendering of what the Arts District with an amphitheater on the Fairfax Campus might look like.
Ancient Seedling Linked to Biblical Myrrh
GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY RESEARCHER
Andrea Weeks played a key role in identifying an ancient seedling linked to the biblical myrrh, a fragrant resin from the Commiphora tree. The seed, which the researchers called “Sheba,” was discovered in a cave in the Judean desert and revived by a team of researchers. Sheba is now a 12-year-old tree.
Weeks was invited to join the project, led by Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem, because of her expertise in the evolutionary biology of Commiphora. Her extensive DNA sequence database played an instrumental role in analyzing the genetic composition of the ancient specimen.
Morgan Gostel, PhD Environmental Science and Public Policy ’15, Weeks’s former PhD student and a current research botanist at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, also played a critical role.
While the team confirmed the seedling’s genus,
they have yet to pinpoint its precise species.
“Its exact species remains unclear, highlighting the need for further biodiversity research. No lab has yet tested every species of Commiphora,” says Weeks, who is an associate professor in the Department of Biology and the director of George Mason’s Ted R. Bradley Herbarium.
One of the most puzzling aspects of the discovery is the seed’s location. The seed had been preserved for centuries in an area far outside the modern range of Commiphora
“Radiocarbon dating reveals that this seed formed long after biblical times, but that doesn’t explain how or why it ended up in a cave in the Judean desert 800 to 1,000 years ago,” says Weeks.
The study’s findings could significantly influence future research on biodiversity by enhancing our understanding of historical flora and their evolution within current ecosystems.
POINT OF
"Sheba" grew from a 1,000-year-old seed (above) found in the Judean desert. The tree is 12 years old in this photo.
The interdisciplinary nature of the research—combining archaeology, ethnobotany, chemistry, and plant taxonomy—contributed to the team’s success. Moving forward, Weeks plans to deepen her lab’s exploration of Commiphora diversity.
“Like most scientific inquiries, this project leaves us with more questions than answers,” Weeks says. “It sheds light on the complexity of biodiversity and also serves as a reminder of life’s interconnectedness across time.”
—Milinda Polisetty
Mason Korea recently launched the Korea Serious Game Institute (KSGI), marking the global expansion of George Mason’s Virginia Serious Game Institute (VSGI), which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. Sang Nam, director of George Mason’s Computer Game Design Program and codirector of VSGI, has been appointed KSGI’s inaugural director. KSGI plans to lead innovation in Korea’s gaming industry while advancing the use of serious games in education, therapy, and social awareness. The institute will work closely with Mason Korea’s Industry-University Collaboration Foundation to pursue its mission.
LEARN MORE AT go.gmu.edu/KSGI.
PHOTOS BY GUY EISNER
PHOTO BY EVAN CANTWELL
When Expressing Gratitude, It’s All in the Ti ing
THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING THIS ARTICLE ALL THE WAY TO THE END! No, that wasn’t an editorial error. It’s an example of a savvy managerial motivation strategy lurking somewhere in almost every employee’s inbox.
Mandy O’Neill, associate professor in George Mason’s Costello College of Business, wants to better understand this managerial motivation technique: anticipatory gratitude.
While exploring how employees cope with highstress work situations, O’Neill and Hooria Jazaieri of Santa Clara University discovered an interesting wrinkle: Gratitude can be used as a form of emotional regulation and, when expressed ahead of time instead of after the fact, can produce that extra push when it comes to employee resilience and persistence.
The researchers stumbled upon the power of anticipatory gratitude while studying organizational change within the intensive care units (ICU) of a leading U.S. hospital. To decompress and process their emotions after especially dificult shifts, employees routinely emailed their colleagues using an internal listserv.
O’Neill and Jazaieri analyzed four years’ worth of listserv messages and made extensive site visits to the hospital. They found the ICU staf thanked one another for rising to occasions that had not yet occurred. Some of these emails were preemptively apologetic (“Thank you for your patience and understanding.”). Others seemed to function as pep talks, inspiring teams to keep up the good work (“Thank you…for bringing your A-game to work every day.”).
As O’Neill describes it, “The ‘thanks in advance’ phenomenon involves an awareness that you’re going to be annoyed or upset by what I’m asking you to do, so I infuse you with the positivity of that feeling you get when someone expresses gratitude to you. Think about it as an emotional bufer. It makes those negative emotions less salient, less powerful, and less insidious.”
The researchers launched several follow-up studies to learn more about the efects of anticipatory gratitude and chose a context—Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) gig-work platform—that was in many ways the opposite of the ICU.
The MTurk workers were paid to solve several dificult puzzles. After completing the task, they received negative feedback about their performance and were ofered the opportunity to do additional puzzles without being paid. MTurkers who had seen a message of gratitude before the paid task voluntarily took on significantly more unpaid work than those who received a similar message after the paid exercise.
Questionnaires administered during the study revealed that anticipatory gratitude enhanced feelings of communal self-worth, which contributed to the participant’s ability to bounce back after the initial failure.
For O’Neill, these findings show that gratitude is more complicated than we previously thought.
“In all organizations, you need people to stick with dificult or thankless or boring tasks. The challenge, of course, is how to do so ethically,” she says. “Gratitude can’t be a substitute for fair pay and decent work conditions, for example. But our findings are clear: anticipatory gratitude works—it is efective.”
—Benjamin Kessler
LEARN MORE ABOUT GEORGE MASON’S LATEST RESEARCH.
go.gmu.edu/ Momentum
Recently published works by George Mason
faculty
Korean Kirogi Families: Placemaking, Belonging, and Mothering
Young Jung, assistant professor, Modern and Classical Languages Department
Lexington Books, May 2024
Based on ethnographic feldwork in Fairfax County, Virginia, and Daechi-dong, Seoul, Korea, this book explores the dynamics of “Korean kirogi families.” A Korean kirogi (wild goose) family is a distinct kind of transnational migrant family that splits their household temporarily to educate the children in an English-speaking country.
The History of the Siege
Eric Pankey, professor, English Department
SUNY Press, May 2024
Written in an era of pandemic, rising authoritarianism, war, and climate crisis, Pankey’s third collection of prose poems chronicles the eschatological age in which we live, where everyone, as the Polish poet Zbigniew Herbert argues, “sufers from a loss of the sense of time.”
The Wonder of Quantum Spin
Indubala Satija, professor, Physics and Astronomy Department
Oxford University Press, June 2024
This book is a collection of the history and the science of quantum spin sprinkled with quotations and excerpts from pioneers in the feld, discussing the key role quantum spin continues to play on many frontiers.
The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Romantic Period (11th ed.)
Eric Eisner, associate professor, English Department, with Stephen Greenblatt and Deidre Shauna Lynch (Eds.)
W. W. Norton & Company, July 2024
Spanning from the Middle Ages to the 21st century, this anthology showcases exciting new authors, works, and textual clusters that demonstrate the relevance of literature to contemporary students and trace the creative arc that has yielded the ever-changing body of material called English literature.
Hacking Brain Science for Leaders
Steve Gladis, MA English '84, PhD Education '95, senior fellow, Center for the Advancement of Well-Being
Franklin Publishers, July 2024
By combining cutting-edge neuroscience research with practical leadership strategies, Gladis presents evidence-based insights into how understanding brain functions can lead to better decision-making, emotional regulation, and the cultivation of trusted relationships.
Two of Everything: Poems
Sally Keith, professor, English Department
Milkweed Editions, August 2024
Singularly thoughtful and characterized by Keith’s lush lyricism, this poetry collection demonstrates the tenacity and tenderness needed to build “harbor, shelter, home, house” against all odds.
Buddhism and the Senses: A Guide to the Good and the Bad
Robert DeCaroli, associate professor, History and Art History Department, with Donald S. Lopez Jr. (Eds.)
Wisdom Publications, distributed by Simon and Schuster, September 2024
Ten eminent scholars present their insights into Buddhism’s fascinating relation with the five senses in two instantiations, the good and the bad, opening up the discourse on the senses across Buddhist traditions.
Murder by Mail: A Global History of the Letter Bomb
Mahmut Cengiz, PhD Public Policy ’10, research associate professor, Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center, with Mitchel P. Roth
Reaktion Books, October 2024
From an 18th-century incident involving Jonathan Swift to modern acts of terror by groups like the IRA and lone actors such as the Unabomber, Murder by Mail unveils the history of postal bombs, describing the evolution of both explosives and the postal services that facilitated their deadly use.
Recently published works by George Mason alumni
Profiles of KAD Relations with the Black Community
Amanda Lee Meeker (writing as Yi Woo Ae), MA Professional Writing and Editing ’07
The author presents how Korean adoptees like herself can be a bridge between the Black Lives Matter movement and individuals who are White and/or Asian. Her book (Litprime Solutions, October 2020) is divided into three parts—profles, background history, and a how-to section—and includes a call to action.
Yi is an author, poet, lyricist, playwright, and unofcial anthropologist who was born in a suburb of Seoul, South Korea, and is a U.S. citizen. She has published 12 books on the topics of Korean adoptees, Goths, romance and sex, spirituality, and prison.
Placebo Efects Through the Lens of Translational Research
Patricia D. Franklin, PhD Nursing ’13, with Luana Colloca, Jason Noel, and Chamindi Seneviratne (Eds.)
This edited collection (Oxford University Press, November 2023) is an open-access book integrating current knowledge on placebo research in health care to develop comprehensive strategies for better symptom management and treatment responses.
After completing her doctoral degree, Franklin joined the University of Maryland School of Nursing faculty to teach health policy, health systems, and leadership in the school’s graduate programs.
Metamorphic
Thinking Skills to Illuminate Your Life
Lee Kind, EMBA ’06
A guide for navigating the complexities of life through the lens of Christian faith, this book (Independently published, March 2024) aims to provide guidance and encouragement to people as they journey through life’s challenges.
Kind is an author of books on leadership and physical, fnancial, and spiritual ftness; public speaking; and parachuting. He has held numerous leadership positions in the U.S. Army, the corporate world, and in various sports leagues.
Tampa Spring Training Tales: Major League Memories
Rick Vaughn, BSEd Health Education ’79
Since 1913, Tampa, Florida, has provided the background for some of Major League Baseball’s (MLB) most iconic spring training moments. It is a history that began with baseball-crazed cigar factory workers and continues to this day. This book (Arcadia Publishing, March 2024) uncovers the stories that have kept Tampa’s passion for the national pastime burning, while churning out 90 major league players.
Vaughn is a veteran professional sports communicator, having served as the public relations and communications department head for MLB’s Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays and the NFL’s Washington Commanders.
Voice,
Value, & Variety: The 3V’s of Recruiting and Retaining Adult Leadership in Boy Scouts of America
Archie E. Hill, PhD Education ’14
This book (Independently published, August 2024) focuses on the importance of building and sustaining meaningful personal relationships through mutual support, trust, and a shared appreciation for one another in recruiting and retaining adult leaders for the Boy Scouts of America.
A social researcher, evaluator, and Scouter, Hill lives with his wife and two children in Tampa, Florida.
Deadly Summer Secrets
Richard Speight, BS Biology ’77
In this novel (Game 7 Publishing, August 2024), four teenagers take an all-day hike in the woods on a hot summer morning in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. When they return to their homes, their lives have been forever changed.
Speight is a native of Vienna, Virginia. He self-published his frst book, The Boys from Hicks Drive Vienna, Virginia, in 2018.
JAYME KURLAND
George Mason University history PhD candidate Jayme Kurland is living her dream this academic year as the Jane and Morgan Whitney Fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Kurland started her college career as a viola performance major at the University of Oregon before earning her BA in music history. She then got a master’s in music history at Arizona State. As a Met fellow, Kurland is working in the musical instruments department and conducting research for her dissertation. “I’m back in my happy place,” she says, “just working with objects and thinking about the stories they can tell us.”
IT’S GOOD TO BE BACK : Kurland fell in love with museum work as an undergrad when she landed a job at the Musical Instrument Museum in her hometown of Phoenix. “I never planned to move back home, but working as a curatorial assistant blended my music background with my love of museums.” She also worked as a curatorial research fellow in musical instruments at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston from 2013 to 2017.
FINDING YOUR PEOPLE : Working at the Met has allowed Kurland the opportunity to connect with scholars in the musical instruments department, as well as throughout the institution. And, of course, the resources the Met ofers are unparalleled. “Returning to the museum world at an institution like the Met has been tremendously rewarding. I have been able to complete hands-on work with the museum’s guitar collection and really dig into my own research.”
YEAR: Doctoral Student
MAJOR: History
HOMETOWN: Phoenix, Arizona
GUITAR HEROES: Kurland’s research focuses on a group of Mexican American women who wired amplifiers, wound pickups, and assembled guitars and amps for guitar manufacturer Fender between 1946 and 1965. In addition to examining instruments in the Met’s collection and conducting oral histories, Kurland is also working with experts at Brooklyn Lutherie, a women-owned guitar and violin repair shop, where they are building a piece of equipment called a pickup winder. “[Winding pickups] is one of the skills of the women I’m studying that was completed by hand. I think that understanding the physical skills [required of the women] is a way to better understand their experience.”
PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE: In addition to working on her dissertation, Kurland gets to present her research to the public in various ways, including presenting to docents, in public programs, and in a symposium called Research Out Loud, where Met fellows discuss their work. Kurland also started a writing group for fellows that meets twice a week and “holds each other accountable for what we’re working on.”
OUT ON THE TOWN: When not working, Kurland explores the Big Apple. “I am living in NYC full time and really trying to take advantage of the city’s music scene. I try to see as much live music as possible!”
—Colleen Kearney Rich, MFA ‘95
TAKE A TOUR OF THE FAIRFAX CAMPUS WITH ANNIE YU.
go.gmu.edu/ annietour
Right in Her Backyard
Annie Yu, BA Communication ’04, always wanted a career in television, and she knew that earning a degree would be the first step on her path.
Yu, who anchors WUSA9’s weekday morning show, Get Up DC, is a proud Patriot with fond memories of her college days.
After immigrating to the United States from South Korea in 1985, Yu had to overcome obstacles including paying tuition and navigating an unknown higher education environment. She was also concerned about leaving home and not being available to work with her parents in their Washington, D.C., take-out restaurant.
“We were very close. The thought of going away to college frightened me because my parents relied on me,” Yu says. “Their English wasn’t great. They needed my help.”
Yu’s solution came in the form of a scholarship to George Mason University, alleviating the cost of tuition and allowing her to commute to campus from her family’s home in Virginia. “Having such a great
university in our backyard was the best option for someone like me. It all worked out,” she says.
As a student, she immersed herself in campus culture and found her community. She also believes that George Mason’s diverse student body lessened the fears of an unknown college environment.
“The diversity was significant,” says Yu. “It was like the United Nations: every race, every background represented. It made me feel comfortable.”
As a student pursuing a newscasting career, Yu was frequently warned that she was choosing a dificult road, but she persisted. “I knew that I wanted to do it, and I was so dang determined,” she says. “I put my blinders up and kept focusing on it.”
At George Mason, Yu not only earned an excellent education, but she also benefited from the university’s proximity to Washington, D.C., one of the nation’s top 10 media markets. Taught by professors with strong ties to the region’s media, George Mason communication students often have a direct connection into newsrooms in the nation’s capital. Yu initially met Wisdom Martin, her Get Up DC cohost, when he visited her George Mason classroom as a guest speaker.
Yu credits Professor Rodger Smith’s advice for helping to propel her to where she is today. “The message was get out there and get that hands-on, real-world experience,” she says.
As an undergraduate, Yu made the most of a FOX 5 internship. “I worked very hard. I poured my heart into it,” she says. “I got to know every single person in that building from top to bottom. And I made sure that they knew my name before I left.”
Yu’s grit and audacity turned her internship into a permanent position at FOX 5, and she never left the Washington, D.C., market. It’s an unusual journey for a TV journalist, whose typical career path involves working in smaller markets before moving to a major city.
“I am so grateful to George Mason because it allowed me to achieve my dream. Twenty-one years in a top 10 market,” Yu says. “Right out of George Mason.”
—Robin Rose Parker
Professor Rodger Smith with Annie Yu
1970s
Gary Dittmer, BS Business Administration ’72, MS Taxation ’96, wrote Easy Giggles, A Vietnam Saga, a history of the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War and a personal memoir. The book was published by Vanguard Press in May 2024. Dittmer is a retired adjunct professor for George Mason’s Costello College of Business, where he taught graduate-level taxation for 14 years.
Bonnie Atwood, BA Psychology ’74, is the editor at Virginia Capitol Connections Quarterly Magazine. In October, she was presented with the Women Who Lead award by the Metropolitan Business League.
Jim McCarthy, BS Public Administration ’75, is president of AMDC Solutions and a Florida Supreme Courtcertifed county mediator. He has been a member of the Florida Environmental Regulation Commission since 2017. He also served the Commonwealth of Virginia on the Virginia Commission to Increase Voter Registration.
1980s
Robin Johnson Moscati, BA Government and Politics ’84, is pastor of Grafton Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) near Yorktown, Virginia. She spent more than three decades in the Ofce of Historic Alexandria and the human resources department for the City of Alexandria, Virginia. She also serves as the national chaplain for the National League of American Pen Women.
Timothy Watts, BS Electrical Engineering ’85, retired from the U.S. Army Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, after 41 years of service as an engineer.
Robert Welsh, BS Physics ’85, is a professor-inresidence at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the department of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences. He recently was named director of the Staglin One Mind Center for Cognitive Neuroscience within the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA.
Thomas Dussault, BS Public Administration ’86, retired as the deputy senior procurement executive from the U.S. Department of Energy in April 2022 after 36 years of service as a member of the Senior Executive Service. He relocated from Alexandria, Virginia, to Knoxville, Tennessee, in 2023.
Ken Smith, DPA ’88, is a retired senior foreign service ofcer from the U.S. Agency for International Development. He wrote MUSINGS on Project Management, published in December 2023.
1990s
Heather Dipoma Cooper, BA Speech Communication ’90, JD ’94, founded Cooper Ginsberg Gray, a family law frm in Fairfax, Virginia, 20 years ago with David Ginsberg, JD ’96, and Dan Gray, JD ’96. The frm’s three other partners are Nathan Olson, JD ’06; Stephanie Smith, JD ’08; and Kristen Kugel, JD ’12. Three of the frm’s associates are
Class Notes
also George Mason alumni: Alexander Lewis, JD ’13; Alexandra Brumfeld, BA Criminology, Law and Society ’18; and Jamie Shaw, JD ’24. Ginsburg, Kugel, Olson, and Smith are adjunct professors at George Mason’s Antonin Scalia Law School.
Britt Davis, BS Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies ’91, MPA ’96, is vice president for development for the 2029 World University Games in Cary, North Carolina. He was previously vice president for advancement at Campbell University for 17 years.
Bethany Hall-Long, PhD Nursing ’93, former lieutenant governor of Delaware, served as governor for two weeks in January 2025 after outgoing Governor John Carney resigned to become the mayor of Wilmington and before incoming Governor Matt Meyer took ofce. She was the second woman to hold the position. Prior to her term as lieutenant governor, she was a Delaware state senator. She is also a professor of nursing and a joint faculty member in urban afairs at the University of Delaware.
Michael Olivieri, BS Finance ’93, is senior vice president at Associated Development Management. His professional career spans three decades in the real estate development and home building felds. He was named to Virginia Housing’s Board of Commissioners in 2024.
Lorrie Sinclair Taylor, BA Government and Politics ’93, was elected chief judge of the 20th Judicial Circuit, which represents Loudoun, Fauquier, and Rappahannock Counties in Virginia. Her term started on February 1, 2024, and ends on June 30, 2025.
Kathleen “Kate” Goggin, BIS ’95, is a certifed technical writer and former national spokesperson who resides in Leesburg, Virginia. She wrote 10 Little Rules When Good Jobs Go Bad: Learn, Grow and Reclaim Your Power at Work and in Life, an interactive guidebook about how career decisions shape who we are, what we do, and how we live our lives. The book features a journaling forward with refective questions and resource lists. It was published in September 2024 by Little Rules Publishing and is part of the 10 Little Rules book series.
Seema Rani, MS Computer Science ’96, wrote The Precipice of Democracy: A Perspective on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Run, under the byline S. M. Ross, published by iUniverse in November 2023.
Ricardo Sanchez, BS Marketing ’97, MEd Counseling and Development ’13, PhD Education ’19, is a self-employed immigrant integration consultant and adjunct faculty member of counseling and development at George Mason
What’s New with You?
University. His book, Before and After the Border: One Man’s Journey Home, was published in November 2024 by Journey Within. Based on Sanchez’s own experience, Before and After the Border explores what drives immigrants from the life they know to the United States and what they experience once they arrive.
Sheri Keyser Kent, BA Communication ’99, MA Telecommunications ’02, and her husband welcomed their second child, Ethan Oliver Kent, on August 17, 2024.
2000s
Steven Ahlberg, BA Communication ’00, is vice president of product and data intelligence at HUMAN Security. His book, Click Here to Ruin Everything: The Bot Invasion, draws on his more than 20 years in cybersecurity and data intelligence and explores bots’ and cyber threats’ impact on democracy, business, and society. The book was published in September 2024.
Catherine Wilson Cox, PhD Nursing ’02, is a retired U.S. Navy nurse and professor and a school of nursing associate professor at George Washington University. She began her career as a Navy nurse in the intensive care unit at the National Naval Medical Center and retired in
(continued on page 42)
We are interested in what you’ve been doing since you graduated. Landed a new job? Received an award? Started a family? Have a new business? Submit your class notes to alumni.gmu.edu/whatsnew. In your note, be sure to include your graduation year and degree.
Dear Fellow Patriots
George Mason University’s myriad arts programs play an integral role on its campuses and serve as a valuable resource for our community.
For more than three decades, the Center for the Arts on the Fairfax Campus has hosted Grammy, Tony, Emmy, and Academy Award winners; world premieres; political events and debates; and performances for more than a million patrons of all ages. The center sponsors an artist-in-residence program, hosts student and faculty performances, and serves as the home to the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra.
Similarly, the Hylton Performing Arts Center, which opened in 2010 in collaboration with city, county, commonwealth, and other public and private partners, brings arts experiences to the Science and Technology Campus and surrounding community.
George Mason’s College of Visual and Performing Arts ofers academic programs in art, arts management, computer game design, dance, film and video studies, music, and theater. The college recently launched the Give Voice initiative, which seeks to reimagine the Center for the Arts— the heart of artistic inspiration for George Mason, Northern Virginia, and beyond—to serve generations to come. Learn more about Give Voice at cvpa.gmu.edu/GiveVoice. To reach a staf member about the initiative, please email cvpagive@gmu.edu.
As a reminder, George Mason’s historic $1 billion campaign—Mason Now: Power the Possible—has surpassed its halfway point, and continues to raise funds for student success, impactful research, and innovative learning in the service of our community. For more information about the campaign, visit gmu.edu/masonnow.
Please join me in welcoming our spring 2025 graduates to the George Mason alumni family. Looking ahead, I am excited to continue fostering meaningful connections among alumni, students, and the broader George Mason community. Whether through professional networking events, alumni initiatives, or volunteering opportunities, I invite you to stay involved and help us create an even stronger alumni network in 2025.
Feel free to reach out to me (shine2@gmu.edu) with thoughts about how to continue to encourage engagement with the alumni community and with the university and its many programs and initiatives. Together, we can build on George Mason’s rich legacy and support the success of future generations.
With Patriot Pride,
Scott Hine, BS Decision Sciences ’85
President
George Mason University Alumni Association
2014 as captain. She has been inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Nursing in 2020 and the Academy of Nursing Education in 2022 and was appointed by the secretary of defense to serve on the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services. Last year, she received the Navy Nurse Corps Association’s Meritorious Recognition Award and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award.
Jessica Anthony, MFA Creative Writing ’04, was longlisted for the National Book Award for her newest novel, The Most This prestigious award recognizes outstanding literary work by U.S. citizens and is awarded once a year. The Most, published in July 2024 by Little, Brown and Company, is Anthony’s fourth book.
Kelly Milligan Kline, BS Accounting ’04, is the chief fnancial ofcer and co-owner of D3: Designs, Data, Decisions, a global market and social sciences research company. She has more than 20 years of personal fnance experiences and oversees strategic planning, international fnancial management, forecasting, fnancial analyses, contract planning, project management, and tax and auditing procedures, and new initiatives.
Joanne McNeil, BA Economics ’04, is a writer living in Los Angeles. Her debut novel, Wrong Way, was published in 2023 by FSG. It was named among the best books of the year by Esquire and The New Yorker
Colby Grant, BS Health, Fitness, and Recreation Resources ’05, is director of administration and operations for George Mason’s Science and Technology Campus in Manassas, Virginia.
Christopher Coleman, BA Government and International Politics ’06, MPP ’11, earned a law degree from Regent University School of Law in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Thomas Snee, MEd Education Leadership ’06, is an educator, sailor, and actor. He appeared in the two-act play Voices of Vietnam, which featured his
(continued on page 44)
MAKING TH E CA SE
PHOTO BY EDUARDO MACEDO
PHOTO BY RON AIRA
Advocating for Authentic Storytelling in the Film Industry
Since graduating from George Mason, Alex Plank, BA Film and Video Studies ’10, has worked professionally on films and television series as an associate producer and actor. As an autism activist, he is also working toward more authentic representation of neurodiversity in media.
“I want my work to show audiences that autistic people have our own stories to tell, which I think general audiences will relate to and benefit from learning from,” says Plank, who founded WrongPlanet.net, the largest online community for autism, while still in high school.
Last year, Plank was an associate producer and actor on the film Ezra. The film follows the parents of an autistic boy, Ezra, played by actor William A. Fitzgerald, as they go through a divorce. Ezra’s father, played by Bobby Cannavale, takes him on a road trip where they encounter old friends and new places. Plank plays a doctor assisting the family after the titular character has an accident.
In October, George Mason’s Visiting Filmmakers Series hosted a screening of Ezra at the Johnson Center Cinema. Plank participated in a post-screening Q&A and shared his experience on set, including serving as a consultant to provide guidance to the cast and crew throughout the filming process.
“William is such a great person and actor, and I wanted to make sure to give him space and freedom while we were filming,” says Plank. “I remember for one scene, he was wearing a dinosaur costume and in between takes he kept turning back and forth, swinging his tail around.”
“He would stop while filming, but it was so natural. I showed it to [Director Tony Goldwyn] and he loved it, so we kept that movement in the film,” he explains. Plank’s other work includes acting and producing on ABC’s The Good Doctor and FX’s The Bridge.
Plank says he found working with School of Theater professor and actor Ed Gero as a student essential in preparing him for the profession. Gero, who taught Plank’s Acting I course, says that the importance of social and physical cues in acting is something he and Plank worked on a lot during their time together in class.
“Responding to physicality or facial gestures is a diferent experience for Alex, so how do we navigate that?” says Gero. “Together, we developed a physical vocabulary where we would look for a gesture
or change of voice perhaps; some kind of cue that would give you the information to ask ‘How do I interpret that?’ and communicate to an audience that you’ve received it.”
Gero and Plank have kept in touch since Plank graduated from George Mason, and Plank even traveled to see Gero portray Antonin Scalia in a production of The Originalist at the Pasadena Playhouse in California.
Plank is a member of the Screen Actors Guild’s Performers with Disabilities Committee and has spoken on autism topics internationally.
“I think it’s important to also look at diversity in disability and make sure we’re representing autistic people who don’t necessarily look like me,” says Plank.
—Shayla Brown
WATCH THE Q&A WITH PLANK ON MASON ARTS AMPLIFIED.
go.gmu.edu/ plankQA
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List it in our alumniowned business directory.
Go to go.gmu.edu/ alumnibiz to fnd out more.
and other actors’ frst-person narrations of their time in Vietnam. Snee is retired from the U.S. Navy after serving 31 years.
Patrick Delaney, BA Communication ’07, is director of federal government afairs for food and agriculture at Walmart since 2022. Previously, he was a member of the senior staf on the U.S. House and Senate agriculture committees. He was named a Food Leaders Fellow at the Aspen Institute’s Food and Society program.
Helene Kwong Kane, BS Marketing ’07, is product marketing manager at Trimble, where she oversees the company’s electrical and general contracting estimating portfolio in North America.
Michael J. A. Davis, BA Communication ’09, founded
Tinycup Cofee, a homebased cofee roasting company, in 2023. He recently entered into a collaboration with George Mason to launch Brave & Bold: The Patriot Roast. This medium-dark roast, which features a blend of premium cofee beans sourced from Central and South America, is sold on the Fairfax Campus and online at go.gmu.edu/patriotroast.
Greg Hill, BA Sociology ’09, is intake coordinator for Comcast Business in Denver, Colorado. He assists the Asian Pacifc American group and recruits and retains members and facilitates panel discussions for employees and senior leadership. He also serves on the board of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the WICT Network, which represents women in media, entertainment, and technology.
Jeremy Rinker, PhD Confict Analysis and Resolution ’09, is associate professor of peace and confict studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. His most recent book, The Guide to Trauma-Informed and Emotionally Mindful Confict Practice, was published in 2024 by Rowman & Littlefeld.
2010s
Ravi Saraswathi, MS Technology Management ’10, is vice president and chief technical ofcer at Kyndryl, the world’s largest information technology infrastructure provider. Saraswathi was named to Kyndryl’s 2024 class of fellows and distinguished engineers in recognition of his contributions to addressing industry-wide challenges and fostering
customer innovation and success.
Terri White, MA Arts Management ’11, is the frst African American president and chief executive ofcer of the Charlotte Museum of History. She was named one of Charlotte Magazine’s 2024 Charlotteans of the Year, an honor awarded only to eight people in a city of nearly a million residents. White was recognized for her transformative impact on the museum, which sits on eight acres and includes fve historic structures.
Ashleigh Smith Maggard, BFA Dance ’12, is director of development at the Hermitage Museum and Gardens in Norfolk, Virginia. She was named a 2024 Top Forty Under 40 honoree by Inside Business in Hampton Roads. The museum was honored as the 2024 Outstanding (continued on page 46)
GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2024–25
Scott Hine, BS ’85, President
Christine Landoll, BS ’89, MS ’92, Immediate Past President
Jef Fissel, BS ’06, President-Elect
Andy Gibson, BA ’02, Vice President, Alumni Engagement
Stephanie Zimmermann, BS ’93, Vice President, Student Engagement
Kristen Taylor, BA ’88, Vice President, Volunteerism
Michael D. Marino, BA ’11, Vice President, Partnerships and Sponsorships
Sawyer Dullaghan, BS ’15, Historian
John Hall, BS ’93, Treasurer
Chaimaa Fekkak, BA ’13, Director-at-Large (2023–25)
Suehaila Nabulsi, BA ’00, Director-at-Large (2023–25)
Lisa Rosser, BA ’89, Director-at-Large (2023–25)
Janae Johnson, BS ’11, MAIS ‘15, Director-atLarge (2024–26)
Daniel Williams, MS ’11, Director-at-Large (2024–26)
Kathleen Wills, BS ’15, JD ’20, Director-at-Large (2024–26)
Deion Maith, BA ’20, President, Black Alumni Chapter
Charles Davidson, PhD ’16, President, Carter School for Peace and Confict Resolution Alumni Chapter
Thomas Ammazzalorso, MA ’04, CERG ’05, MEd ’10, President, College of Education and Human Development Alumni Chapter
David P. Brown, PhD ’04, President, College of Engineering and Computing Alumni Chapter
Shawn L. Brann, BA ’95, MEd ’99, CERG ’06, President, College of Humanities and Social Sciences Alumni Chapter
Vincent Pereira, MHA ’14, President, College of Public Health Alumni Chapter
Michelle Ryan, PhD ’15, President, College of Science Alumni Chapter
Vacant, President, College of Visual and Performing Arts Alumni Chapter
Kevin Connor, MBA ’22, President, Costello College Alumni Chapter
Jorge Velasquez, BA ’14, President, Early Identifcation Program Alumni Chapter
Leigh Ann Dewitte, BS ’15, President, Green Machine Ensembles Alumni Chapter
Melissa Alberto, BA ’19, President, Honors College Alumni Chapter
David Miller, PhD ’15, President, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alumni Chapter
Xavier Clark, MPA ’18, PhD ’23, President, Lambda Alumni Chapter
Nely Garcia, BS ’21, President, Latino Alumni Chapter
Vacant, President, Scalia Law School Alumni Chapter
Brennan Georgianni, MPP ’16, President, Schar School of Policy and Government Alumni Chapter
Vacant, President, Veterans Alumni Chapter
If you would like to become involved in the Alumni Association, please contact the Ofce of Alumni Relations at alumni@gmu.edu.
Bringing Talent into the Spotlight
From her small hometown of Ruther Glen, Virginia, to the bright lights of New York City, Gilda Squire, BA Communication ’95, has forged a career that defies convention. It is a journey that has led Squire from the federal government through Wall Street, into book publishing, and finally landing as a powerhouse publicist and talent manager for some of entertainment’s brightest stars, including Angela Bassett, Bebe Neuwirth, and ballet icon Misty Copeland. With a larger-than-life career requiring confidence and flexibility to thrive, Squire credits George Mason University for providing the bold foundation for a dynamic life—right next to the spotlight.
For Squire, George Mason was a strategic choice that aligned with her plans to work in an industry with culture and creativity at its core. “I liked the idea that it was just outside of D.C., and I really loved that there was such an international population of students there,” Squire says. “I felt like that was an introduction to the world without leaving the D.C. area.”
Her path into the university was anything but traditional. Postponing her education after her mother’s passing, Squire eventually enrolled at George Mason at the urging of a work supervisor and tackled the challenge of working and studying full time.
The university became her gateway to global learning, ofering friends and experiences that opened doors to new cultures and perspectives. “It was interesting because their cultures were front and center, as was mine,” says Squire. “We enjoyed learning about each other, and not many universities can ofer that organically.”
Squire would take that zest for learning into a role at Goldman Sachs, where a corporate communications job led to her creating cultural programming that remains at the organization today. An eventual position at HarperCollins Publishers provided an opportunity to champion underrepresented voices in literature and eventually led to Squire launching her own talent management firm, Squire Media & Management.
A chance encounter with ballet dancer Misty Copeland ignited Squire’s determination to bring her into the spotlight. Struck by the lack of mainstream recognition for a Black dancer at the prestigious American Ballet Theatre (ABT), Squire felt compelled to share a story the world needed to hear—the extraordinary rise of a young Black woman from an impoverished background to one of the world’s most prestigious stages. With a major
media push that landed features on shows like 60 Minutes and CBS This Morning, Copeland quickly moved from small roles to being cast as the lead dancer in Stravinsky’s Firebird, a coveted role that had only been danced by a Black woman once before.
For Squire, this was proof that the power of storytelling could do more than change one career—it could influence the world. “At that point, I said, oh, this is it. This is what we’ve been working for,” says Squire. “People are going to get a chance to see her dance.” And Squire’s work did more than elevate Copeland’s career—it brought more diverse audiences into the world of ballet.
From helping Copeland make history to playing a role in actress Angela Bassett finally bringing home an Oscar, Squire has had a hand in some significant cultural moments. Her next challenge is representing former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Squire draws a clear line connecting her success and her time at George Mason. “It was at Mason that I realized the world is a wide-open space where I can do whatever I want to do,” she says. “Even if nothing else happened, the life and career I’ve had is beyond anything I could have ever dreamed.”
—Robin Rose Parker
Gilda Squire with her client, award-winning actor Wendell Pierce.
PHOTO PROVIDED
Nonproft in Fundraising by the Association of Fundraising Professionals Hampton Roads Chapter.
Michael Teferi, BS Psychology ’12, has relocated to Virginia and can be found online on LinkedIn, Facebook, and at the blog mteferi.wordpress.com.
Marla Evangelista, BS Tourism and Events Management ’13, is general manager at Serendipity Labs Rochester in Rochester, New York. She volunteers with the Rochester and Finger Lakes Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association and as the services chair of the Visitor Industry Council Steering Committee. She was featured in a member spotlight post in July 2024 by the Rochester Professionals Under 40 LinkedIn page.
David Flanigan, PhD Systems Engineering and Operations Research ’13, is associate dean for nonresidential graduate education at the Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering. He also is
Obituaries
a systems engineer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab and an adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins.
Rona Jobe, MPP ’13, is the founder and chief executive ofcer of LVL-Up Strategies, which helps small businesses, start-ups, nonprofts, and government agencies with strategic planning, operations design, people development and recruitment, and marketing communications. She received the Rising Star Award from the National Association of Women Business Owners.
Diana Karczmarczyk, PhD Education ’13, is director of employee well-being support at the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, a cofounder and consultant of Weske & Company, and an adjunct faculty member at George Mason. She cowrote the textbook Health Education and Promotion: A Skills-Based Approach, published in August 2024 by Routledge. She also was a contributing author and coeditor of Men’s
ALUMNI AND STUDENTS
Edward J. Cawley Jr., BA Business and Public Administration ’68, d. October 21, 2024
Margaret S. McCormack, BA English ’69, d. Novembe 11, 2024
Gail A. Bohan, BA English ’70, MPA ’82, d. August 10, 2024
Lewis S. Gillingham, BS Biology ’73, d. October 16, 2024
Roger D. Ray, BA English ’73, d. October 10, 2024
r James M. Bankston, MA Psychology ’74, d. December 19, 2023
Jefrey C. Dietze, MEd Education Administration and Supervision ’74, d. September 5, 2024
Edwin R. Grady III, MEd Curriculum and Instruction ’74, d. September 28, 2024
Robert E. Long, BS Business Administration ’77, d. November 6, 2024
Eda R. Pickholtz, MEd Reading ’77, d. August 8, 2024
Health: An Introduction, published in July 2020 by Routledge.
Matthew Boyce, PhD Education ’19, is vice president of enrollment management at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. Previously, he was vice president of enrollment at the University of Puget Sound, and executive director of enrollment management at George Mason University.
2020s
Courtney Akers, MS Data Analytics Engineering ’21, is a data professional in the defense and space feld.
Steven Figueroa, BS Kinesiology ’21, has successfully completed his frst year of physical therapy school.
Fe Miranda, BA Music ’22, is a stage manager, arts administrator, and musician who is devoted to making art that is accessible to underrepresented groups. They were named a fellow of the fourth cohort of Miranda Family
Fellows, a partnership between Washington, D.C.’s Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and the Miranda Family Fund, songwriter and actor Lin Manuel Miranda’s family philanthropic fund. The program provides paid fellowships and wraparound programming that supports artistic development, increases understanding of the entertainment industry business, and connects artistry with advocacy.
Phazhon Nash, BS Community Health ’22, is the youngest person to serve on the Roanoke City Council. His term began on January 1. He is employed by Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital and is the chief executive ofcer of Millennial Motivation, a motivational speaking and public service organization.
Charlotte Woodward, BA Sociology ’22, is an education programs associate at the National Down Syndrome Society. Her bill, the Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention
Act, passed the U.S. House of Representatives in September 2024 and, at this time, is awaiting a vote in the U.S. Senate.
Rachel McQuillen, BS Marketing ’23, owns a dog training and pet care services business and is a member of the City of Fairfax School Board. She was also elected as a member of the City Council of Fairfax. Her two-year term began on January 1, 2025. As a student, she was a George Mason Global Engagement Scholar.
Anthony Amos, MPP ’24, is a legislative and community outreach aide and council member for the City of Fairfax. His two-year term began on January 1. He received the Jack Wood Award for Town-Gown Relations, was appointed a graduate student ambassador for the Schar School of Policy and Government, and was appointed by the Fairfax City Council to the George Mason University Fairfax Campus Advisory Board.
Sandra C. Reynolds, BA Psychology ’77, d. November 1, 2024
Deborah A. Couture, BS Social Work ’78, d. October 17, 2024
Margaret A. MacAllister, MEd Curriculum and Instruction ’78, d. August 8, 2024
Barry L. Molnar, MBA ’78, d. August 20, 2024
Beverly A. Rouzer, BSN ’78, d. November 6, 2024
William L. Totten III, BS Public Administration ’78, d. November 8, 2024
Samuel K. Harvey, MEd Education Administration and Supervision ’79, d. September 17, 2024
Robert Blankenbaker, BA History ’80, d. August 28, 2024
Jennifer H. Mahoney, BA Psychology ’80, BS Accounting ’84, d. August 21, 2024
Dean F. Ford, MEd Special Education ‘81, d. September 14, 2024
Patricia E. Hlavinka, BS Accounting ’81, d. October 13, 2024
Dorothy R. Wheeler, BSN ’81, d. July 10, 2024
Edwin C. King, BIS ’82, d. October 27, 2024
Dianne M. Merlino, BS Social Work ’82, d. July 19, 2024
Jonathan P. Wood, MBA ’82, d. August 22, 2024
Joan W. Haring, BA History ’83, MA ’86, d. October 19, 2024
Michael A. Magnotti, BA Psychology ’83, d. September 20, 2024
Mary W. Towle, BS Social Work ’83, d. July 20, 2024
Mary Jane Brown, MBA ’84, d. August 19, 2024
Hannelore B. Brunner, BA Psychology ’85, d. July 20, 2024
Marilyn N. Dimmitt, BIS ’86, d. July 20, 2024
Catherine B. Gates, MEd Counseling and Development ‘86, d. November 9, 2024
Brenda J. Hausman, BSN ’86, MSN ’97, d. July 18, 2024
Joseph D. Domzalski, MBA ‘87, d. September 14, 2024
Cliford D. Evans II, MBA ’87, d. November 19, 2024
Caroline R. Valentine, MEd Counseling and Development ‘87, d. August 10, 2024
Edyth J. Wheeler, MEd Elementary Education ’87, PhD Education ’94, d. September 27, 2024
Anne B. Graham, MA English ’88, d. September 30, 2024
Peter G. Claymore, MA History ’89, d. September 3, 2024
Stephanie L. Rubosky, MA Psychology ’89, d. October 20, 2024
John A. Newquist, BS Public Administration ’91, d. July 30, 2024
Carolyn A. Richardson, MEd Curriculum and Instruction ’92, d. October 25, 2024
Charles W. Washington, BA English ’92, d. November 7, 2024
Debra Kaye Colburn, BSN ’93, d. October 11, 2024
Kerin L. Eaton, BIS ’93, d. September 9, 2024
Robert J. Pauly Sr., EMBA ’93, d. September 29, 2024
Cass Foley, BA Psychology ’94, d. October 29, 2024
Sallie H. Swisher, PhD Education ‘94, d. August 19, 2024
Loucretia J. Lord, MEd Instructional Technology ’96, d. July 30, 2024
FACULTY, STAFF, AND FRIENDS
F. D. Mehle, DA Community College Education ’96, d. July 29, 2024
David E. Pickeral, JD ’96, d. September 24, 2024
Michael D. Brewer, BS Finance ’97, d. October 14, 2024
Seuk Kim, BS Marketing ’98, d. November 24, 2024
Michael A. Konopka, DA Community College Education ‘99, d. October 24, 2024
Marsha D. Manning, MEd Education Leadership ‘99, d. August 1, 2024
Mary J. Moran, BS Accounting ’01, d. September 10, 2024
Roy E. Bethel, PhD Electrical and Computer Engineering ’02, d. October 11, 2024
Maura A. McGinn, BA Communication ’02, MEd Curriculum and Instruction ’07, d. July 20, 2024
Cynthia M. Taczak, MEd Curriculum and Instruction ’03, d. September 2, 2024
Harold F. Gortner, Professor Emeritus of Public and International Afairs, passed away August 7, 2024. He was 84. He was recruited by George Mason University in 1979 to establish its public administration program, which focused on preparing students to excel in careers in government and ofered one of the university’s frst graduate degrees. Gortner also served as chair of the Public and International Afairs Department for eight years. The author of numerous books, book chapters, and papers in his feld, his Organization Theory: A Public and Nonproft Perspective has been through several editions and translated into other languages. After his retirement from George Mason in 2004, Gortner and his wife, Sylvia, lived in South Carolina and Indiana.
John F. Marshall, longtime George Mason donor, of Naples, Florida, passed away January 23, 2025. He was 95. An entrepreneur, Marshall started Snelling & Snelling Personnel Services, which quickly became the most successful employment agency in central Ohio, and ADIA, a temporary help agency. In retirement, he and his wife, Carolyn “Cree” Marshall, started the John & Cree Marshall Foundation, dedicated to providing grants that promoted “personal initiative, the rule of law, free enterprise, improving education, and a strong U.S. military.” For more than 20 years, the Marshalls donated to George Mason’s Mercatus Center.
Julie A. Britt, MFA Creative Writing ’04, d. August 28, 2024
Larry A. Dupre, BIS ’04, d. August 29, 2024
Olivia M. Martin, BS Biology ’04, MS Environmental Science and Policy ’18, d. September 12, 2024
Roderick A. Cabacungan, BSN ’05, d. July 29, 2024
Debra J. Moore, MS New Professional Studies ’05, d. September 23, 2024
Kathryn B. Whitmire, BA English ’05, d. June 30, 2024
Jing Y. Britton, MSN ‘11, d. July 27, 2024
Vanessa D. Little, MS Mathematics ‘11, d. July 9, 2024
David Hanna, BS Psychology ’14, d. August 24, 2024
Michael K. Mansfeld, BIS ’16, d. September 11, 2024
Madelyn S. Magrath, BA Integrative Studies ’24, d. September 5, 2024
FORMER FACULTY AND STAFF
Douglas W. Casey, d. September 9, 2024
Charles J. Goetz, d. October 16, 2024
Robert E. Nakles, d. August 12, 2024
Michael D. Richards, d. November 8, 2024
Frederick Rothwarf, d. August 1, 2024
John P. Soder, d. November 9, 2024
Terry Whisnant, d. August 16, 2024
Ernie Nestor, former men’s basketball coach, passed away January 26, 2025, at 78. During his fve seasons with George Mason, Nestor elevated the men’s basketball program to an unprecedented level. He led the team to twostraight 20-win seasons and the program’s frst-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament during the 1988–89 season. The Patriots also captured their frstever Colonial Athletic Association Championship that season. In addition to his time at George Mason, Nestor also served as head coach at Elon University from 2004 to 2009 and worked as an assistant in all of the Power 5 conferences, including 14 seasons at Wake Forest. For his contributions to college basketball, Nestor was awarded a Guardians of the Game Award from the National Association of Basketball Coaches in 2014.
Center for the Arts Opening Night, 1990
After more than 10 years of fundraising and a few years of construction, the Center for the Arts Concert Hall on George Mason’s Fairfax Campus opened on October 6, 1990. Award-winning composer Marvin Hamlisch served as host on opening night, which included a star-studded concert featuring musician Jean-Pierre Rampal, comedian Robert Klein, and opera singer Roberta Peters, among others. In this photo, President George Johnson and first lady Joanne Johnson are practicing the final number with dancers of Hamlisch’s A Chorus Line. Since that night, the venue has welcomed more than 6.5 million visitors for arts experiences with renowned artists from across the globe and has served as a cultural hub for Northern Virginia.
STEVE J. SHERMAN. FROM GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY PHOTO COLLECTION, BOX 90, FOLDER 1, SPECIAL COLLECTIONS RESEARCH CENTER, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES
George Mason University began with a vision for a new kind of university, and that future-forward thinking led us to where we are today: an educational leader, a research powerhouse, a cultural center, and an economic engine for our region.
With Mason Now, our $1 billion comprehensive campaign, we’re keeping our eyes on the future by supporting student success, research, and innovation to meet the ever-evolving demands of our world.
But we can’t do it alone. We’re looking to the forwardthinkers in our community who will help us meet the grand challenges ahead.
It’s time to answer the call. To honor that past vision, to power future possibilities, support Mason Now.
Support Mason Now gmu.edu/masonnow
SHOWDOWN IN THE JC—In the inaugural showdown match held in the Johnson Center food court, the George Mason wrestling team earned a 29-9 win against the University at Bufalo to finish the season unbeaten. The Patriots were the only undefeated NCAA Division I team with seven wins and led the Mid American Conference (MAC) standings with a 5-0 record their first ever five win season in MAC competition. See more about their season on page 9. Photo by
Evan Cantwell