Month: October 2014

Each year, Orientation and Family Programs and Services recognizes one family with the Alan and Sally Merten Family of the Year Award. The Family of the Year Award recognizes the important role that families play in their student’s experience at Mason and allows us to celebrate the impact that families play in their student’s success.

The 2014 Family of the Year Award went to the Neiderhausen family. Raymond nominated his wife and three sons to receive the award. Below is an excerpt from Raymond’s essay about his family:

“No matter what, this family is my number one. They give me the time I need to study and take classes. They come to my club football games. We are a simple family with a simple goal to show our children that no matter how old you get, you can still follow your dreams. I am still following mine, at 36 years young, with this gorgeous family by my side.”

The Neiderhausen family was presented with the Family of the Year Award during the Family Weekend Welcome Dinner, which also included a variety of performances from student groups, and served as one of the official kickoffs to Family Weekend. Over 1,400 students and family members participated in this year’s events including historic tours, Mason Madness, Sunday Brunch, and much more.

We hope you can join us for next year’s Family Weekend from October 16-18, 2015! In the meantime, save the date for Siblings Weekend from April 18-19, 2015, and if you think your family has what it takes to be the 2015 Alan and Sally Merten Family of the Year, encourage your student to be on the lookout for the nomination information on masonfamily.gmu.edu next fall.

Kristen Wright
Graduate Assistant
Orientation and Family Programs and Services

November 4	Spring Registration Opens- Remind your student to visit Patriot Web for their registration start time
November 6	Family Webinar: Career Planning Tips for Sophomores- noon EDT (https://masonfamily.gmu.edu/webinars/)
November 14	Hoopla: First Men's Basketball Game- 7 pm
November 26-30	Thanksgiving Recess- No Classes

George Mason University has updated the university’s emergency notification system, Mason Alert, to improve system utility and offer a more contemporary, friendly, and intuitive user experience.  The new Mason Alert system is easier to access and integrates with the university’s user name and password authentication process. It also includes optional voice call alerts to three mobile phones and/or three landlines in addition to traditional email and text message notifications.

All university employees, students, and affiliates who are issued an @gmu.edu, or @masonlive.gmu.edu email are automatically enrolled in Mason Alert and provided with a Mason Alert account at http://alert.gmu.edu.  Families, community members, and visitors, who do not have a university email address can receive notifications by registering their mobile phone and email through a community portal also available at http://alert.gmu.edu.

In order to ensure accurate data and user contact information, all students, employees, and external community members are asked to re-register their mobile phone numbers and email addresses even if they were previously registered with Mason Alert to ensure the integrity of contact data in the system.

Aesthetically, the new system looks and feels more contemporary.  Additionally, the process for adding mobile phones and email addresses is more intuitive.  The system can integrate with other technologies and other emergency notification systems that we have set up for the external university community members.

This Mason Alert system is one more step in the university’s continuous efforts to improve public safety and emergency preparedness.  For more information about emergency preparedness and public safety programs, the university’s Annual Security Report, and mobile applications please visit http://ready.gmu.edu.  To access or set up your Mason Alert account please visit http://alert.gmu.edu.

David Farris
Director, Emergency Management and Fire Safety

We are just days away from Family Weekend 2014 and can’t wait to welcome our Mason families to campus! Follow us on Twitter (@MasonFamilies) and like us on Facebook (George Mason Family Association) to see all of the action as it unfolds.

If you are interested in attending Family Weekend but did not register by the October 5 deadline, stop by check-in at Dewberry Hall on Friday, October 17 from 11 am – 6:30 pm or on Saturday, October 18 from 8:30 am – 6 pm to purchase tickets for any events that are not sold out.

For the most up-to-date schedule of events, visit https://masonfamily.gmu.edu/family-weekend-2014/. We look forward to seeing you this weekend!

Kristen Wright
Graduate Assistant
Orientation and Family Programs and Services