Categories
Mason Family Flash

Meet Mason’s Leadership during Family Weekend

During our traditional, in-person Family Weekend, families in attendance have the opportunity to meet and mingle with university leadership. In order to provide you with a similar experience this year, we have created opportunities for you to engage and get to know Rose Pascarell, Vice President of University Life; Dr. Mark Ginsberg, Interim Provost and Executive Vice President; and Dr. Gregory Washington, President. Read about each of our senior leaders below and register for their virtual events at MasonFamilyEvents.gmu.edu/FW-Schedule. Please note that a limited number of spots are available for each event.
______________________________________________________________________________

Meet the Veep: Rose Pascarell, Vice President for University Life
Friday, Oct. 30; 5:30 p.m. ET

Meet with Vice President for University Life Rose Pascarell for a conversation about all things student life at Mason! She has held several leadership positions in the university as Associate Vice President for University Life, Associate Dean for Campus Life, and Associate Director of the Women’s Studies Research and Resource Center. Vice President Pascarell’s leadership work in University Life has focused on increasing student engagement and academic success, and the building of just communities.

Vice President Pascarell has worked on campus climate and multicultural/diversity issues for the last 15 years. Her teaching and workshops focus on race, class, gender, sexuality, and the formation of just community through the examination of difference.

Vice President Pascarell earned a BA in Sociology, Criminology, and Conflict Analysis at the State University of New York at Albany. Her MA in Sociology is from George Mason University.

Register to meet with the Vice President.
______________________________________________________________________________

Pencil in the Provost: Lunch with Dr. Mark Ginsberg
Monday, Nov. 9; 1 p.m. ET

Learn more about Dr. Mark Ginsberg and his role as the university’s Interim Provost and Executive Vice President. He serves as the university’s chief academic officer, charged by the Board of Visitors and the President with overseeing all aspects of education, research, and public engagement of the university. The Provost has direct oversight for all colleges, schools, and academic support units and is responsible for the allocation of resources.

He joined the university in 2010 as the dean of the College of Education and Human Development. Dr. Ginsberg’s career spans more than a 35-year period as a professor, psychologist and skilled administrator. He has published extensively in the areas of education, psychology, human development and human services. In addition, he has lectured and presented at over 200 conferences, seminars and other educational meetings and professional development events, both within the U.S. and internationally.

Dr. Ginsberg served as the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) from January 1999 until June 2010. Prior to joining NAEYC, Dr. Ginsberg was chair of the Department of Counseling and Human Services in the Graduate Division of Education at The Johns Hopkins University and a member of the faculty of both the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Department of Medicine in the School of Medicine. He had served as a member of the Hopkins full-time and part-time faculty for more than 25 years. Before joining Johns Hopkins, Dr. Ginsberg held the position of Executive Director of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) from 1986-93. From 1981-86 he was a senior member of the management staff of the American Psychological Association (APA), after having been a faculty member in the Department of Psychology at the University of Rochester.

Dr. Ginsberg serves as the Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the respected international organization, Parents as Teachers (PAT). He also serves on the Board of Directors of Hopecam, a non-profit organization that supports children with cancer and their families and as an appointed member of the Fairfax County (VA) Successful Children and Youth Policy Team. He is a Past-Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) and had served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Council of Academic Deans of Research Education Institutions (CADREI) and the Board of Directors of the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation (VECF). He also is a past-president of both the International Step by Step Association (ISSA), a nongovernmental organization of education and child/youth development focused NGOs in Europe and Central Asia, and the Society of Psychologists in Management (SPIM).

Dr. Ginsberg is a Fellow of both the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Maryland Psychological Association (MPA), a Clinical Member and Fellow of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), and a member of the American Counseling Association (ACA), American Educational Research Association (AERA), National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) of which he was elected to serve on the national Board of Directors.

Dr. Ginsberg completed his master’s degree in 1978 and his doctoral degree in 1981 at The Pennsylvania State University, after having been awarded a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Cortland in 1975. He also completed a Fellowship in Clinical Psychology at the Yale University School of Medicine. In 2006, he was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters by the State University of New York.

He is married to Elaine A. Anderson, the former Chair and a Professor in the Department of Family Science in the School of Public Health at the University of Maryland. They have two adult children, Andrew, a faculty member in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Maryland, and Robert, an Executive at Fundrise, a Washington, D.C.-based financial technology company.

Register to meet with the Provost.
______________________________________________________________________________

Conversation with President Gregory Washington
Friday, Nov. 13; 5:30 p.m. ET

Join us as we spend time getting to know Dr. Gregory Washington, George Mason University’s 8th President. Dr. Washington became Mason’s president on July 1, 2020. He is the former dean of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), and former interim dean of the College of Engineering at Ohio State University.

In his seven years at UCI, Washington expanded undergraduate and graduate enrollment in the engineering school and recruited and hired one of the most diverse engineering faculty cohorts in the country. In addition, he established the University of California’s first student makerspace and launched the OC STEM Initiative, one of the nation’s first STEM ecosystems, in Orange County, California.

Washington created new graduate and undergraduate programs with the UCI business and humanities schools and led the development of the Horiba Institute for Mobility and Connectivity to advance next-generation advanced mobility systems.

The first African American dean of engineering at any University of California campus, and the first African American president at Mason, Washington established an Office of Access and Inclusion at UCI to enhance campus life for all students and chaired the Task Force on Ensuring a Positive Climate for the Campus’ Black Community.

Washington began his academic career in 1995 as an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Ohio State University and served as interim dean of the engineering school from 2008 to 2011. Washington received the Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching, the Harrison Faculty Award for Excellence in Engineering Education, and the Lumley Research Award. He also received the National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award.

A first-generation college graduate, Washington is a New York City native. He earned three degrees in mechanical engineering, including his PhD, at North Carolina State University.

Register to meet with the President.
______________________________________________________________________________

For more information about Mason’s Family Weekend, visit MasonFamilyEvents.gmu.edu. If you have questions, contact us via email at Families@gmu.edu, phone at (703) 993-2475, or our live chat at MasonFamily.gmu.edu.

Rebecca McCrory
Associate Director of Family Programs
New Student and Family Programs

*To receive more articles like this straight to your inbox, sign up for the Mason Family Association at masonfamily.gmu.edu/mason-family-association.

Categories
Mason Family Flash

Has Your Student Met Their Success Coach?

Students studying in Fenwick Library. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services/George Mason University

This fall, Mason launched its inaugural success coaching program for incoming freshmen through the Mason Care Network (MCN). Success Coaches work with students to guide and encourage the growth and development of each student’s knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs about their ability succeed in higher education as well as within their chosen field. Coaching conversations include topics such as navigating university life at Mason, transitioning to college, learning about Mason resources, major fit, and career exploration.

MCN’s Success Coaches discuss all aspects of a student’s life that impacts their academic performance, including but not limited to the following 8 focus areas:

  • School community
  • Effectiveness
  • Commitment to graduation
  • Career
  • Managing commitments
  • Finances
  • Health & support
  • Academics

Mason’s Success Coaches meet with students to discuss, in depth, these 8 focus areas and how they are influencing their student experience at Mason. Success Coaches work closely with campus resources, Academic Advisors, and the student to develop success plans to enhance and improve a student’s performance and confidence in each area.

Students are encouraged to meet with their Success Coach at least once per semester. However, the most successful students will want to meet with their Success Coach 2-3 times per semester.

Freshmen students have an assigned Success Coach and Transfer students have the opportunity to opt-in to work with Peer Student Success Coaches. Students can locate their coaches via the coach finder locator:

Students can make an appointment with their Success Coach through Navigate Mason or the MCN website, mcn.gmu.edu. If you have any questions, you can email masoncn@gmu.edu or call the office at 703-993-2470.

The MCN team will host a Student Success Coaching live workshop for families on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 5 p.m. Register now at masonfamily.gmu.edu/virtual-family-initiatives/live-workshops to learn more about our coaching services. We hope to see you there!

Dr. Adrienne D. White
Director
Mason Care Network

*To receive more articles like this straight to your inbox, sign up for the Mason Family Association at masonfamily.gmu.edu/mason-family-association.

Categories
Mason Family Flash

Patriot Pride…At Your Home!


This semester has been challenging for everyone, especially for students who may be taking all online classes at their home, whether around the block in Fairfax or across the country. Contemporary Student Services and Student Involvement want to bring the Mason spirit into the community and lawns of our Mason students and families while we navigate the pandemic. Students will be able to pick up a Mason lawn sign at the On-Campus Lounge for Off-Campus Students on Tuesday, Nov. 17, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. or until supplies last. Your student must register for this event on Mason360. This will allow your student to have their sign proudly displayed for Thanksgiving, Finals, and Winter Break!

We know that some students and family members may not be able to pick up their lawn sign on this day, so we would like to gauge interest for an order for Spring 2021. Students or family members can fill out the form to let us know if you might be interested in a lawn sign in the future at https://forms.gle/sDNsHdVGLF7s4SL26.

If you have questions or ideas for how to bring Mason spirit to your student studying at home, do not hesitate to reach out to Emilie Dubert, Director of Contemporary Student Services, at edubert@gmu.edu.

Emilie Dubert
Director
Contemporary Student Services

*To receive more articles like this straight to your inbox, sign up for the Mason Family Association at masonfamily.gmu.edu/mason-family-association.

Categories
Mason Family Flash

Teach, research & present at Family Weekend: Learn about this year’s Faculty Spotlights


Our Mason faculty are doing some impressive work and we want to show it off to you! We are spotlighting three Mason faculty members during this year’s Family Weekend. Read about each of the professors and their research below and register for their virtual events at MasonFamilyEvents.gmu.edu/FW-Schedule.

#LivingWhileBlack: Social Justice in the Age of Social Media
Friday, Oct. 23; 7 p.m. ET
Listen as Dr. Shayna Maskell, Assistant Professor in the School of Integrative Studies, discusses the current racial injustices in America and social media’s role in advancing racial justice.

Dr. Maskell has her PhD in American Studies from the University of Maryland, where her dissertation examined DC hardcore punk 1979-1983 and the construction of gender, race, and class through sound. Her areas of research include popular and youth culture, music, social movements, and subcultures.

Dr. Maskell has taught for over a decade at such institutions as the University of Southern California, California Institute of the Arts, University of Maryland, and Corcoran College of Art and Design, before coming to Mason.

Her classes often focus on intersectionality and the ways in which concepts of self and society are constructed through a multitude of texts. Publications include “I Predict a Riot: Riot Grrrls and the Contradictions of Feminism,” “Performing Punk: Bad Brains and the Construction of Identity,” “The Zombie as Foodie: Liv, iZombie, and the Politics of Consumption,” and “Take Me Out to the Ballgame: Washington Nationals, Walk-Up Music, and National Identity.”

Register for Dr. Maskell’s faculty spotlight.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Inside the Real Criminal Minds
Saturday, Oct. 31; 7 p.m. ET
Ever wonder what goes on inside the real criminal minds? Listen to Dr. Mary Ellen O’Toole, Director of the Forensic Science Program in the College of Science, share her experience as one of the FBI’s most senior and accomplished profilers.

Dr. O’Toole is an internationally recognized Forensic Behavioral Consultant who regularly works with corporations, government agencies, law enforcement, educational institutions, mental health and the media. She specializes in the recognition and assessment of concerning, troubling and dangerous behavior that, if unaddressed, can have a wide range of serious consequences from loss of business and revenue to loss of lives.

Prior to her work at Mason, Dr. O’Toole served as an FBI agent for nearly 28 years. For more than half of that time, she worked in the Bureau’s prestigious Behavioral Analysis Unit, the unit featured in the hit TV series, Criminal Minds.

She has published many books and worked on multiple high-profile cases including the Elizabeth Smart abduction, the Unabomber case, the Green River Killer, and the Natalee Holloway investigation.

Register for Dr. O’Toole’s faculty spotlight.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Exploring Emerging Infectious Disease and COVID-19
Thursday, Nov. 12; 5:30 p.m. ET
How do infectious diseases emerge and evolve? Join Dr. Amira Roess, professor of Global Health and Epidemiology in the College of Health and Human Services, as she discusses the history of emerging infectious diseases, how she studies them, and the challenges to this field of study.

Dr. Roess is an epidemiologist with expertise in infectious diseases epidemiology, multi-disciplinary and multi-species field research, and evaluating interventions to reduce the transmission and impact of infectious diseases. Dr. Roess currently oversees several longitudinal studies to understand emergence and transmission of zoonotic infectious diseases globally, including the emergence and transmission of Campylobacter (with support from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), MERS-CoV (with support from the US National Science Foundation), and the development of the microbiome during the first year of life.

She is also leading and is part of a number of COVID-19 projects. She studies breastfeeding patterns and their association with future health disparities and has also studied the impact of hurricanes on morbidity and mortality in the United States, links between food animal production and emerging infectious and zoonotic disease emergence globally, and mHealth (especially apps) technology integration and evaluations to reduce the impact of infectious diseases outbreaks, promote health care and health reduce disparities.

Dr. Roess holds a PhD in global disease epidemiology and control from Johns Hopkins University. Prior to joining academia, Dr. Roess served as the Science Director for the Pew Commission on Industrial Food Animal Production at Johns Hopkins and was an Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She has served as consultant for the U.S. Agency for International Development, the World Bank, and Westat Inc.

Register for Dr. Roess’ faculty spotlight.

For more information about Mason’s Family Weekend, visit MasonFamilyEvents.gmu.edu. If you have questions, contact us via email at Families@gmu.edu, phone at (703) 993-2475, or our live chat at MasonFamily.gmu.edu.

Rebecca McCrory
Associate Director of Family Programs
New Student and Family Programs

*To receive more articles like this straight to your inbox, sign up for the Mason Family Association at masonfamily.gmu.edu/mason-family-association.