Mason Media Blog

**Media Advisory**

WHO: George Mason University’s Academy of International Sport

WHERE: George Mason University
Johnson Center
4400 University Drive
Fairfax, VA 22030

WHEN: Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 8 a.m. through Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 6:30 p.m.

WHAT: Welcoming researchers and practitioners from around the world, George Mason University’s Academy of International Sport will host the conference, “Sport and the Global South: Linking Theory and Practice.”

The conference opens on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 8 a.m. and continues through Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 6:30 p.m. in the Johnson Center on the university’s Fairfax Campus.

Although sport is played around the world, infrastructure and limited opportunities make it difficult for the development of sport programs to be established in the nations of the Global South. The conference will address major issues facing sport in the Global South and the prospects for sport in the Global South during the 21st century.

The conference includes a series of roundtable discussions on topics such as historical perspectives on sport and the Global South and women and sport in the Global South. In addition, several paper sessions will be held throughout the conference and will focus on varying subjects including politics, policy and interventions of sport in the Global South and discourses of race and gender in South Africa.

Delegates from countries such as Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, England, Finland, South Africa, Switzerland and Trinidad and Tobago will be in attendance, as well as representatives from several universities in the United States and from the U.S. Department of State.

The Academy of International Sport is housed in the School of Recreation, Health and Tourism in Mason’s College of Education and Human Development. The Academy promotes international dialogue and understanding through sport to advance social justice, sustainable development and economic opportunity through the vehicle of sport. In addition, the Academy works to raise funds and awareness of youth sport programs around the world in developing countries.

For more information about the conference and a full schedule of events, visit the website.

**Media Advisory**

WHO: George Mason University’s School of Management

WHERE: The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner
1700 Tysons Boulevard
McLean, VA 22102

WHEN: Tuesday, Oct. 18, from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

WHAT: As part of the second annual Symposium on Business Globalization, Mason’s School of Management will bring together leaders in the field of cyber security to discuss managing cyber threats in a global economy. The event will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 18, from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner in McLean, Va.

Keynote speakers Fareed Zakaria, CNN host and acclaimed author, and General Michael Hayden, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Distinguished Visiting Professor in Mason’s School of Public Policy, will discuss the growing need for companies and organizations to protect themselves from the threat of cyber attacks.

The symposium will also include panel discussions on topics such as securing the cloud and cyber threats to states and governments. In addition, a panel discussion titled “2011 Global State of Information Security Survey” will be presented by David Burg, principal in PwC’s advisory practice.

Zakaria is the host of “Fareed Zakaria GPS” on CNN, editor-at-large at Time magazine, and a regular columnist for the Washington Post. As an international bestselling author, Zakaria is widely respected for his ability to spot economic and political trends around the world. His columns and stories cover a wide variety of subjects ranging from globalization and emerging markets to the Middle East and America’s role in the world.

As former director of the CIA, General Hayden was responsible for overseeing the collection of information concerning the plans, intentions and capabilities of America’s adversaries; producing timely analysis for decision makers; and conducting covert operations to thwart terrorists and other enemies of the U.S.

General Hayden is currently a member of the Chertoff Group, which provides business leaders and local government officials with high-level, strategic thinking to help keep America safe. In this position, General Hayden uses his broad geographic and political knowledge to brief clients on intelligence matters worldwide, including developments in cyber security, which may affect their businesses.

For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit the website. To register for the event, click here.

George Mason University and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars announce a year-long series of dialogues on issues such as climate change, ecosystem change, energy demands and demographic trends.

The first discussion, taking place on January 19, 2011, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Woodrow Wilson Center in D.C., will include Dennis Dimick, executive editor of National Geographic; Molly Jahn, Dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Thomas Lovejoy, University Professor of Environmental Science and Policy at George Mason University; and Juliet Eilperin, reporter for The Washington Post. The event will be webcast live at www.wilsoncenter.org

The series hopes to illuminate the environmental challenges of climate change, ecosystem change, energy demands and demographic trends, among others. Leaders from George Mason University, on Earth Day 2010, identified a need for a public forum of science-anchored discussions on planetary management. The Environmental Change and Security Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center joined this effort to explore the science/policy interface of planetary management. The program will be developed jointly by Mason and the Woodrow Wilson Center and will actively foster discussion with academics, managers, policymakers and other interested sectors.

“The living planet is degrading,” says Vikas Chandhoke, dean of Mason’s College of Science. “Only collective action at the level of managing the biology and systems of the planet can ameliorate the trends and move the planet and humanity to a more sustainable future. This can only be achieved with the best of the sciences (including social sciences) and an integrated effort with the world of policy and practitioners.”

“These global issues—biodiversity, demography, climate change, energy use, and water scarcity—require big thinking. This series will bring scientists and policymakers together to bridge the gaps between sectors and disciplines,” says the Wilson Center’s Geoff Dabelko, director of the Environmental Change and Security Program.

Managing Our Planet dialogues will be held monthly on Wednesdays between 3 and 5 p.m. at the Woodrow Wilson Center (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, One Woodrow Wilson Plaza, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20004-3027) beginning January 19, 2011.  Directions can be found at: www.wilsoncenter.org/directions.

Judging for the Mature Market Resource Center’s second annual New Product and Technology Awards®–which recognizes innovative products and services for older adults and their families—will be held on Friday afternoon October 8, 2010, from noon to 5 p.m. at the Fairfax Campus of George Mason University – Student Union Building I, Third Floor, Room B, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030.

The George Mason University Program in Assisted Living/Senior Housing Administration will serve as host for the competition. The program offers the first academic curricula in the nation dedicated exclusively to the senior housing and care industry.

This year’s competition features more than 20 entry categories, including internet and computer technologies; monitoring/detection devices; prevention/health maintenance products and services; housing and design; safety products; fitness/recreation/hobbies and more. A complete list of categories together with entry details can be found on the official awards program web site:  www.agingawards.com.

Entries will be available for media preview Friday morning, October 8 from 10 a.m. to noon. Judging will begin at noon, and members of the media may stay throughout the afternoon to interview judges and discuss the entries.

Judges include representatives from AARP, the Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST), The Guide To Retirement Living, the Virginia Telehealth Network, and Mason faculty, including Andrew Carle, director of the Assisted Living/Senior Housing Program, who coined the term “Nana” Technology in 2004 to describe microchip-based technologies for older adults.  As part of the competition, the program will be reviewing entries for special recognition as best “Nana” Technology™ recipients.

National sponsors of the 2010 competition include the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) and its Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST); George Mason University’s Program in Assisted Living/Senior Housing Administration and American Custom Publishing.

George Mason University will host two distinguished scholars of Confucianism and Islam from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 6. Dr. Tu Weiming of Harvard University and Dr. Sevyed Hossein Nasr of The George Washington University will review the history of Confucian- Islamic dialogue, the content and achievements of this dialogue and recommendations for future interchange.

The lecture will be hosted by the Korean Studies Center and by the newly founded academic center, Ali Vural Ak Center for Global Islamic Studies. A luncheon will follow the discussion. The discussion is open to the public and will take place in Mason Hall, Edwin Meese III Conference Room on the Fairfax Campus.

George Mason University’s Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study will be holding a groundbreaking ceremony on Wed., June 2 to celebrate the second addition to its current building. Seeking to expand understanding of mind, brain and intelligence, the Krasnow Institute conducts research at the intersection of the separate fields of cognitive psychology, neurobiology and the computer-driven study of artificial intelligence and complex adaptive systems. U.S. Representative Gerry Connolly, who represents Virginia’s 11^th Congressional District, which includes Fairfax County, will provide keynote remarks at the event. In addition to a few faculty offices, phase II of the expansion will add additional space for a vivarium, state-of-the art labs in translational and basic neuroscience and labs for neuroengineering.

WHEN
Wed., June 2, 2010; 3p.m.

WHERE
Krasnow Institute Great Room
George Mason University
4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA, 22030

MEDIA RSVP:
Media outlets and reporters interested in attending this event are required to RSVP to Jennifer Edgerly at jedgerly@gmu.edu or 703-993-8699by 1:00 p.m. on Wed., June 2.

For Earth Week next week, George Mason University professors and students from Mason’s Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center (PEREC) will be leading more than 1,000 middle-schoolers outside for field trips in the Manassas and Woodbridge areas.

The project is made possible by a three-year grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Dann Sklarew, associate professor of Environmental Science and Policy, discusses water quality with Prince William County science teachers.

The kids will be out in the meadow running through a team-building game or alongside a stream conducting water quality testing. They will use nets to collect and examine bugs and walk through cold water using waders for the first time.

If you are looking for stories for Earth Day, this would be a great one. The students will rotate through three stations, and all of the stations will provide excellent photo/video opportunities. The field trips are designed to let the kids have fun while learning about ecological issues affecting the Chesapeake Bay and understanding and appreciating the natural world around them.

The trips will be conducted over five days next week in Manassas or Woodbridge areas.

More information about the project can be found at this link: http://news.gmu.edu/articles/216.

A photo gallery of the middle school teachers training for these field trips can be seen here: http://www.facebook.com/georgemason?v=photos&ref=ts#!/album.php?aid=21545&id=5625209996.

Kids will have the opportunity to take water samples and test for water quality.

Are we healthier when we spend time outside? How do we get people to spend more time in the outdoors and appreciate what they are experiencing?

NoVa Outside, an alliance of environmental educators, is hosting a free event from 6 to 8 p.m. on March 22 for educators, parents, students and citizens. The evening will feature a presentation by Laurie Harmon, program coordinator for the Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies Program at Mason, as well as brainstorming sessions and networking.

The event will be hosted by Mason’s Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center and held on George Mason University’s Arlington Campus in the Original Building, Room 329, 3401 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203.

For more information or to RSVP, email mmwaterfall@fcps.edu or Jennifertabola@gmail.com.

Special Master for Executive Compensation in the Department of the Treasury, Kenneth Feinberg will visit George Mason University to discuss his decisions and methodology regarding executive compensation in a talk titled “Executive Compensation: Promises and Pitfalls.”

Feinberg is an attorney specializing in mediation and alternative dispute resolution. He was appointed special master of the U.S. government’s September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. Currently, as the special master for TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) Executive Compensation, he oversees the compensation of top executives at companies that have received federal bailout assistance.

WHEN:
Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

WHERE:
Research I, Room 163
George Mason University
4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA, 22030

MEDIA RSVP:
Media outlets and reporters interested in attending this event are required to RSVP to Jennifer Edgerly at jedgerly@gmu.edu or 703-993-8699by 10:00 a.m. on Thurs., Dec. 17.

George Mason University professors from the Center for Climate and Society are attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) which is being held in Copenhagen now through December 18.

According to Paul Schopf, associate dean for research and computing in the College of Science and director of the Center for Climate and Society, who is heading the delegation, the following people from Mason are attending the climate summit as credentialed nongovernmental observers:

• Susan Crate, assistant professor, Department of Environmental Science and Policy

• Jonathan Halperin, executive director of the Environmental Education Media Project and assistant research professor, Center for Climate and Society

• Andrew Light, professor and director of the Center for Global Ethics

• John D. Liu, director of the Environmental Educational Media Project and assistant research professor, Center for Climate and Society

• Iliriana Mushkolaj, PhD student, Center for Climate and Society

• John Qu, associate professor and director of the Environmental Science and Technology Center

During COP15, the group will screen the film “Hope in a Changing Climate.” Filmed on location in China, Ethiopia and Rwanda, the documentary tells the story of how large-scale ecosystem restoration can stabilize our changing climate, reduce poverty and make sustainable agriculture a reality.

Developed by Liu, the film was directed by the BBC’s Jeremy Bristow, producer of the acclaimed “The Truth About Climate Change” series with David Attenborough.

The film will be shown in Copenhagen at the Natural History Museum on Dec. 17. Pre-screenings are also scheduled at the Danish Film Institute on Dec. 16,  and the University of Copenhagen’s Agriculture and Rural Development Day on Dec. 12.

The film was broadcast by BBC World for the first time on Nov. 27,  and five more global transmissions are planned for Jan. 1, 2010.

In addition, 45 organizations in 19 nations are hosting facilitated discussions and screenings of the film, which were organized by the Environmental Education Media Project and the Center for Climate and Society.

For more information, visit www.eemp.org and www.hopeinachangingclimate.org.