Mason Media Blog

***Media Advisory***

Members of George Mason University’s Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program (ASSIP) invite you to join them for a poster session and luncheon at the Hylton Performing Arts Center on Mason’s Prince William Campus on Monday, August 15, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

A student completes lab work under the direction of a Mason faculty mentor as part of the Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program.

Now concluding its fifth year, ASSIP provides the opportunity for high school juniors, seniors and college undergraduates interested in exploring science and medicine to gain hands-on research experience. This summer, the 48 local high school and undergraduate students put in eight 40-hour weeks at Mason’s Prince William and Fairfax Campuses as they worked alongside their dedicated faculty mentors—33 in all—from disciplines such as chemistry, biochemistry, proteomics, genomics, neuroscience, biodefense, bioinformatics, computer science, nanotechnology, physics and environmental science.

Through regularly scheduled meetings with their mentors, as well as program-wide lab safety training, career workshops and guest speaker seminars, students receive exposure to levels of science that many aspiring researchers will not see until they enter the workforce. Investigations this summer include global challenges such as cancer, HIV, tuberculosis, biothreat agents and Alzheimer’s disease. Learn more about the program here.

The poster session will highlight the students’ work with their faculty mentors. Featured speakers include Alan Merten, president of George Mason University; Dr. Lance Liotta, co-director, Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine at Mason; and Annalise Schoonmaker, a three-time participant in the Aspiring Scientists program.

When: Monday, August 15, 2011
Poster Session: 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.
Awards Ceremony and Lunch: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Where: Hylton Performing Arts Center
10960 George Mason Circle
Manassas, VA 20110

More: This event is open to media. For more information and to RSVP, please
contact Leah Fogarty at 703-993-8781 or email her at lfogart1@gmu.edu.

In July 1911, fifty years after the First Battle of Manassas, veterans from both the Union and Confederate forces united on the courthouse grounds in Manassas, Va., for the National Jubilee of Peace. Instead of bloodshed, the soldiers exchanged a friendly handshake.

As part of the 150^th anniversary celebration of the American Civil War, this momentous and often-forgotten occasion will be re-created in an original theatrical production. The event takes place on Thursday, July 21 at 4 p.m. at the Old Manassas Courthouse.

The original short play is written and directed by Ken Elston, chair and associate professor in Mason’s Department of Theater.

According to Elston, his interest in writing the script was spurred by his experience as artistic director of Footsteps in Time. The nonprofit organization aims to advance history education and promote a deeper understanding of contemporary America through an examination of history through theater, film and the arts.

“I am honored to be a part of the re-creation of this historic event,” says Elston. “The National Jubilee of Peace helps us better understand our history and teaches us about how we came together as a great country.”

Throughout the 90-minute production, audiences will be transported back to the turn of the century with vintage vehicles, flags and period costumes. With a mixture of music, comedy and drama, the production brings together historical and modern day perspectives of the event.

More than 60 costumed actors will portray Civil War veterans, cavalry and militia, as well as other dignitaries and spectators who were present at the 1911 National Jubilee of Peace. The performers include professional and local actors, as well as elected officials representing the City of Manassas and Prince William County.

Some of the most prominent historical figures that will be portrayed include President Howard Taft and former Virginia Governor William Hodges. Actors will deliver actual speeches given by these officials, while current leaders will address how the Civil War has shaped the nation today.

The re-enactment of the National Jubilee of Peace is free and open to the public. The event kicks off a four-year celebration that begins Virginia’s Sesquicentennial Commemoration of the Civil War. More than 80 events have been planned this year to take place at various locations throughout the City of Manassas and Prince William County.

“Although the National Jubilee of Peace has been all but lost, it is still an important part of our history,” says Elston. “This four-year celebration will allow us to explore the impacts of the conflict and let us be a part of some of the events that forever changed our nation.”

For more information about the National Jubilee of Peace and a full schedule of events, visit the website.

Marjorie Merriweather Post wedding portrait. Photo courtesy of Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens

Kicking off the wedding season in style, the Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens in Washington, D.C., is launching a new exhibition titled “Wedding Belles: Bridal Fashions from the Marjorie Merriweather Post Family: 1874 – 1958.”

The exhibition was developed by Howard Kurtz, associate professor in Mason’s Department of Theater and associate curator of costumes and textiles at Hillwood.

The exhibition will run from June 18, 2011 to January 1, 2012. Revealing how three generations of Post family women celebrated weddings, the exhibition will feature wedding and bridesmaid dresses worn by members of the Post family spanning more than 80 years, as well as a variety of wedding-day accessories.

“This exhibition is important because it focuses on Mrs. Post as a woman rather than on her collections,” says Kurtz. “The “Wedding Belles” exhibition goes a step further to follow the evolution of Mrs. Post’s style from a young bride to an accomplished businesswoman.”

“The decisions she made and the fashion trends she set have endured for decades and are continuing to inform today’s American brides.”

Drawn mainly from Hillwood’s extensive costume collection, the exhibition begins with an elegant satin gray dress that was worn by Post’s mother in 1874. It continues with all four of Post’s wedding gowns and one gown from each of her three daughters’ weddings.

To put the time period into perspective, Kurtz conducted hours of research to acquire historical documents from the Hillwood archives such as photographs, newspaper articles and oral histories.

Hillwood is the former home of Post cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, who lived from 1887 to 1973. Post created a place for herself in American history as one of America’s first businesswomen and an avid art collector, philanthropist and socialite.

Now a museum, Hillwood is known primarily for its collection of Russian imperial art and French decorative art, as well as its extensive collection of twentieth century apparel.

More information about the exhibition can be found on the website.

Continuing its commitment to support veterans who have served the nation, Mason will join a newly expanded Yellow Ribbon Education Enhancement Program for the 2011-2012 academic year.

The initiative, which Mason is offering in partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), is aimed at expanding higher education funding for post-9/11 servicemen and women.

In previous years, Mason and the Office of Military Services has provided tuition assistance to help up to 25 qualifying veterans who enroll as graduate students. These students received a $500 tuition discount from the university that was matched by $500 from VA.

Under the newly expanded Yellow Ribbon Program, the first 50 qualifying veterans pursuing undergraduate and graduate level degrees will be eligible, with the exception of the School of Law.  These students will receive a $1,000 tuition discount that will be matched by $1,000 from VA.

To qualify for the Yellow Ribbon Program, veterans must meet several service requirements determined by VA such as having served an aggregate period of active duty after Sept. 10, 2001, of at least 36 months or have been honorably discharged from active duty for a service connected disability and served 30 continuous days after Sept. 10, 2001. Acceptance into the Yellow Ribbon Program for eligible students will be on a first come, first served basis.

Mason’s Office of Military Services serves more than 1,000 active duty, reserve, National Guard and veteran students, offering assistance and information regarding issues such as veteran services and academic counseling, as well as information about the many benefits they are entitled through state and federal government programs. The office also assists veterans in adapting to collegiate life from military life, connecting them with each other and supporting them as they pursue their studies at Mason.

More information about the Yellow Ribbon Program can be found on the VA website.

After nearly a four-month journey, a variety of musical instruments finally made their way to the St. Charles Head Together community in Jacmel, Haiti. The community was rocked by a devastating earthquake in January 2010 that affected the lives of more than three million people.

Members of the Jacmel Wesleyan Church: Olive Loloi, Miguerline Durant, Hermanie Durant and Pastor Robert Noel. Photo by Schuyler Richardson

The instruments were donated by Instruments in the Attic, a community-outreach program of the Potomac Arts Academy, a branch of Mason’s College of Visual and Performing Arts. The instruments included two keyboards, two acoustic and electric guitars, a drum set and other smaller instruments.

The plan to donate the instruments to Haitians was set in motion by Mark Denicore, a Virginia attorney specializing in structural engineering. While working with the Community Coalition for Haiti, a nonprofit organization based in Vienna, Va., Denicore was approached by Pastor Robert Noel, who longed for musical instruments to help draw people to the church where they might find some comfort.

In October 2010, the instruments were loaded onto trucks to make the long journey to Haiti. Four months later, Denicore returned to Haiti to personally deliver the instruments to the Jacmel Wesleyan Church, as well as two orphanages: Le Petite Angels and the Center Refuge to Save Unfavorable Kids.

“In our long-term plans for the Instruments in the Attic program, we have been thinking of ways that we can take this program to the international level,” says John Kilkenny, assistant director for the Potomac Arts Academy. “So when we were approached about the need for musical instruments for the people of Haiti, we couldn’t have imagined a more perfect fit.”

Since the program began in 2008, Instruments in the Attic, which is directed by Potomac Arts Academy Director Libby Curtis, has collected and distributed more than 200 instruments to Mason’s music-education students who need them to complete their degrees. In addition, instruments are available for use by several local education and outreach programs.

For more information about Denicore’s efforts, see his blog.

Once again, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine has named Mason to its national top 100 “Best Values in Public Colleges 2011″ list. Mason is ranked 61st for in-state students and 90th for out-of-state students.

“Everyone at George Mason appreciates being recognized by Kiplinger as it validates our efforts to maintain our institution as one of high quality,” says Mason President Alan G. Merten.

“Even in these challenging economic times, we continue to do all we can to provide our students with access to leading-edge facilities and with opportunities to work with and learn from the best faculty and academic scholars in the nation.”

According to the magazine, schools on the list are ranked based on a combination of academics and affordability. Mason’s “value” has edged up slightly from last year’s ranking of 64th for in-state students and 95th for out-of-state students.

Narrowing down a list of more than 500 public four-year colleges and universities, the measures of academic quality cited are SAT and ACT scores, admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios and four- and six-year graduation rates.

Factors used to assess cost and financial aid include total tuition, fees, room and board and textbook expenses, which are factored in for both in-state and out-of-state students, along with financial aid and the average debt a student accumulates before graduation.

The magazine states that academic quality carried more weight than costs in its scoring system.

The full list is in the February 2011 issue of the magazine.

A Facebook quiz that encourages Americans to find out how they feel about global warming has won the Environmental Journalism Innovation of the Year Award from the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism.

The application, designed by KQED Public Broadcasting in San Francisco, is based on research conducted by George Mason and Yale universities. The application asks 17 questions in order to determine which segment of the population the participant falls into. The results are shown in a chart graph and compared to the national study’s results.

Ed Maibach, director of the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University, published the study, “Global Warming’s Six Americas” with researchers at Yale University to determine the different attitudes Americans have about global warming. The report divides the American public into six unique segments that engage with the issue of global warming in their own distinct way: Alarmed, Concerned, Cautious, Disengaged, Doubtful and Dismissive.

The Facebook application was recognized because it utilizes academic research and social media to advance the national discussion of climate change.

“A key component of the success of this effort was the willingness of the researchers at George Mason University to condense their survey to 17 questions,” says David Poulson, associate director of the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism. “Anything longer and it never would have engaged the public.”

Mason’s Helen A. Kellar Institute for Human disAbilities (KIHd) and the National Down Syndrome Society will host the State of the Art Conference on Postsecondary Education and Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities. The conference takes place at the Mason Inn Conference Center and Hotel on the Fairfax Campus on Thursday, Oct. 28 and Friday, Oct. 29 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

As an interdisciplinary program of Mason’s College of Education and Human Development, KIHd is dedicated to improving the lives and productivity of persons with disabilities.

The two-day conference will provide an opportunity for colleges, universities, researchers, organizations, program staff, parents and other supporters from across the country to participate in workshops and seminars that focus on the current state of higher education policies, research and practices that affect students with intellectual disabilities.

“We are very pleased to host this conference at Mason because it demonstrates the university’s commitment to bettering the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities,” says Michael Behrmann, director of KIHd. “This conference will open the door for people from across the country to discuss the ways in which we can take a closer look at the effectiveness of the educational practices that are being utilized in higher education.”

The conference will open on Thursday, Oct. 28, with a keynote address by David Bergeron, acting deputy assistant secretary for policy, planning and innovation for the Office of Postsecondary Education in the U.S. Department of Education. He will speak about the implementation of legislative changes to the Higher Education Act of 2008.

The first day of the conference will focus on postsecondary education policy and advocacy. Sessions throughout the day will include how to prepare students to transition from high school to college and the strategies taken by colleges and universities to develop partnerships with state agencies. The second day will focus on research and practice in postsecondary education.  Some of the sessions will include developing effective strategies to integrate students into the community and supporting students as they transition to living independently.

Mason President Alan Merten will participate on a Higher Education Leadership panel on Thursday, Oct. 28 from 4:15 – 5:15 p.m. The panel, which also includes administrators from Coastal Carolina University, Syracuse University and the College of New Jersey, will discuss successful programs at their respective institutions, as well as some of the advantages of these programs for their universities and student bodies.

Other Mason faculty and staff who will participate in the conference include Behrmann and several members of Mason’s Learning Into Future Environments (LIFE) program including Heidi Graff, program director; Kudy Giwa-Lawal, program coordinator; Karen Ingram, academic coordinator; and Jen Labbe, employment coordinator.

The Mason LIFE program provides opportunities for young adults with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to take classes to help improve their literacy, as well as employment and independent living skills.

Other conference speakers and presenters include:

• Donald Bailey, College Transition Connection, an organization that works with select colleges and universities in South Carolina to develop postsecondary opportunities for young adults with intellectual disabilities
• Kathleen Miller, Institute on Disabilities at Temple University
• Patricia Gill, Institute for Educational Leadership, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving educational policies and systems for children and youth
• Ann Lindsey, Montgomery County Public Schools
• Andrew Sinclair, Holyoke Community College

The conference is co-sponsored by the Riggio family; the Office of Postsecondary Education and the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research; U.S. Department of Education; the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education; the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration; ThinkCollege; Association of University Centers on Disabilities the Lawrence B. Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education at Syracuse University; the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities; and PACER Center.

More information about the conference and a complete schedule of events can be found on the website.

Help George celebrate the holidays in style!

Students, faculty and staff–would you like to be a part of the Mason holiday video?

Please join the entire Mason community on Wednesday, Oct. 27 from 3 – 4:30 p.m. or on Thursday, Oct. 28 from 9 – 10:30 a.m. at the George Mason statue to be a part of the very first Mason holiday video. In addition to hanging a “peace” ornament on the statue, we welcome you to spread holiday cheer by proclaiming “Peace” or “Peace On Earth” in your native language. We want to capture a variety of students and student organizations so please feel free to wear your Greek letters, athletic uniforms, other Mason gear or something that expresses your cultural and ethnic heritage.

If you are interested in being a part of the grand finale shot for the holiday video, we invite you back to the Mason statue on Thursday, Oct. 28 at noon where students, faculty and staff from across the university will gather. If possible, please wear the same or similar clothes in which you decorated the statue.

Any questions or concerns should be directed to Catherine Ferraro in the Office of Media and Public Relations at cferraro@gmu.edu.

Building upon its already impressive offerings, the George Mason University Libraries has added something else of which it can be proud.

As a gift from Dr. Philip M. Teigen, a former deputy chief of the History of Medicine Division at the National Library of Medicine, the University Libraries recently acquired a collection of works by Jan Morris, a Welsh nationalist, historian, author and travel writer.

The collection consists of 136 titles of fiction and nonfiction. Widely known for her travel writing, the collection includes nearly all of the first editions of Morris’ travel narratives as well as proof versions and editions with composition errors.

The collection also includes two signed Morris publications: a poster of the artwork that appears on the dust jacket of “Manhattan ’45” signed by Morris; and a copy of “Coronation Everest” signed by Sir Edmund Hillary who is among one of the first individuals to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Morris has authored more than 40 books about her travels and is best known for the “Pax Britannica” trilogy, a history of the British Empire, and for portraits of cities such as Oxford, Venice, Wales, Hong Kong and New York City. Her most recent book titled “Contact! A Book of Encounters” was published in April 2010.

“This is a notable gift to the university and we are appreciative that Dr. Teigen chose Mason to give this rare collection and that more and more collectors are trusting Mason’s University Libraries with their collections,” says John Zenelis, university librarian.

The University Libraries also received a generous grant from the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation to assist with the processing and cataloging of the late Roy A. Rosenzweig Papers. Founded in 1976, the foundation recognizes and supports the humanities, research libraries, performing arts and promotion of Venetian studies.

Rosenzweig, a Mason professor of history and founder of the Center for History and New Media, pioneered the application of digital technology to advance the field of digital humanities. The collection documents his research and writing through articles, notes and correspondence, and also includes rare history and humanities periodicals.

“Although sadly Professor Rosenzweig is no longer with us, the grant will ensure that his papers are cataloged, preserved and readily accessible to future scholars,” says Zenelis. “We are very grateful to the Delmas Foundation for their generosity in making this possible.”