Campus News

Conference draws faculty, students to Mason Square to share a vision for an inclusive, anti-racist future

Colleen Rich — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 21:02:42 +0000

Conference draws faculty, students to Mason Square to share a vision for an inclusive, anti-racist future Colleen Rich Wed, 10/26/2022 - 17:02

George Mason University’s first Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence (ARIE) Conference celebrated both the impact of research and the shared goal of shaping a more equitable future.

The Research Panel: Conducting Research through and Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Lens. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

“There’s so much research happening today—and this is the beauty of this conference,” said keynote speaker Gail Christopher, executive director of the National Collaborative for Health Equity and a senior scholar in Mason’s Center for the Advancement of Well-Being. “We can do the research to change the narrative to drive new stories, to amplify those new stories, to demystify and refute the fallacies. Research is an important part of getting rid of antiquated beliefs.”

More than 400 people attended the Monday conference either at Mason Square or virtually. Sharnnia Artis, Mason’s vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion, marked the event as a milestone for one of Mason President Gregory Washington’s signature objectives. Artis, who facilitated the Mason groups that planned the conference, also served as emcee.

Washington launched ARIE within weeks of arriving at Mason in July 2020 to root out any biases in Mason practices and policies with the ambition that Mason would become a national exemplar for inclusive excellence. Mason is the seventh most diverse public university in the country—and the most diverse public university in Virginia— according to U.S. News & World Report.

Anne M. Kress, president of Northern Virginia Community College (left) with Mason's Sharnnia Artis. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

“There is a generation coming behind us—68 million people of the most diverse group of individuals that this country has ever had,” Washington said in opening the afternoon session of the conference. “They’re going to inherit the country, and they’re going to have to know how to deal with an environment that’s diverse. They need to be prepared to deal with one another.”

Washington later welcomed Northern Virginia Community College President Anne M. Kress and Virginia State University President Makola Abdullah for a presidential panel on advancing anti-racism and inclusive excellence in higher education.

The morning panel focused on conducting research through that lens. It featured three Mason professors and panelists from Harvard and Virginia Commonwealth University.

Charles Chavis, director of Mason’s John Mitchell Jr. Program for History, Justice and Race, noted that he had returned the previous day from a research trip with students to the Maryland Eastern Shore to work with descendants of racial violence. He talked about treating research subjects as collaborators and partners and empowering them to tell their own story.

Mason students shared their research during the poster session. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

“I see what we do as service first,” Chavis said. “And in that service our research needs and our research focus really is birthed out of the expressed needs of those we’re serving.”

During that morning panel, Jerome Offord Jr., Harvard associate university librarian for anti-racism, said he isn’t looking for allies in the cause. He’s looking for “co-conspirators.” That term caught on in the room came up throughout the day.

“This is not just a BIPOC issue,” Offord said. “This is an us issue. I need people who are going to take the risk professionally, personally, academically. People have to be willing to be in the front of the center conversation with me, not in a break room supporting me, not sending me emails saying ‘great job.’”

On an afternoon panel about translating research into action, Mason professor of integrative studies and history Wendi Manuel-Scott used the Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial as an example. The memorial, dedicated earlier this year, came about after five students set out to learn more about the people George Mason IV enslaved at Gunston Hall.

Manuel-Scott said that early in her teaching career she used to get “blank eyes” from students when she talked to them about civil rights actions.

Mason President Gregory Washington chats with students during the poster session. Photo by Stephanie Aaronson/Office of University Branding

“Today, I don’t get blank eyes,” she said. “Students are incredibly engaged and passionate and fearless. That is everything. Don’t lose that audacity, don’t lose that courageous spirit. Continue to ask those questions. Because the memorial that you see today would not exist if our students hadn’t been willing to ask the questions that they asked and challenge us as faculty members to step up.”

Student and faculty researchers across disciplines displayed about 40 posters highlighting research related to anti-racism and inclusive excellence.

Christopher noted that it takes more than passion to eradicate racism. It requires realistic strategy and creativity to assess the challenges, particularly in the age of disinformation.

“It’s a matter of grace and it’s a matter of love and understanding that we’re all on this journey, and we’re each at different places,” Christopher said. “There are extremes, and some people will stay at their extreme no matter what. But there is a wide swath in the middle, and our job is to mobilize that middle and to do so with great intention.”

Topics

Campus News

ARIE

President's Task Force on Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence

diversity equity and inclusion DEI

Student Research

Strategic Direction

Mason partners with TimelyMD to improve student health and well-being

John Hollis — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 18:20:30 +0000

Mason partners with TimelyMD to improve student health and well-being John Hollis Mon, 10/24/2022 - 14:20

Mason and TimelyMD have partnered to improve student health and well-being. Graphic provided

George Mason University and TimelyMD have teamed up in an effort to improve student health and overall well-being with free and equitable access to mental health support.

The TimelyCare platform, which launched on October 17, provides a 24/7 virtual extension of campus counseling center resources to improve student well-being, engagement, and retention.

Using TimelyCare on a phone or other device, Mason students can now select from a wide-ranging menu of virtual care options from licensed counselors in all 50 states at no cost and without the hassle of traditional insurance.

Services included on-demand mental health and emotional support, appointment-based mental health counseling, psychiatric support, health coaching and digital self-care content in a hybrid model of care in collaboration with on-campus resources.

“TimelyCare is a great complement, and supplement, that enhances our existing university support services,” said Provost and Executive Vice President Mark Ginsberg. “Students now have more options when looking for help—wherever they are and whenever they have a need.” 

In addition, faculty and staff have access to support that empowers them to guide students to TimelyCare resources to help students achieve a sense of well-being, live healthier lifestyles and improve their mental health.

Benefits to students include convenient 24/7 care, reduced wait times, a diverse provider network and the peace of mind that comes from knowing that TimelyCare is a safe, secure, and HIPAA-compliant platform that follows campus-specific protocols to facilitate care coordination and follow-up to ensure continuity of care.

Student do not need insurance to access TimelyCare, and will have access to it until the last day of their graduating semester.

“The health and safety of our students is our top priority," said Rose Pascarell, Mason's vice president for University Life. “TimelyCare’s ease of use, convenience and immediacy make it easier than ever for our students to get the support they need, when they need it.” 

That’s just what Michelle Melo had in mind when the second-year master's student from Manila, Philippines, studying systems engineering first downloaded the TimelyCare app.

She said she found the platform “very easy” to use and of great value, especially to international students like herself who hail from cultures where there can be a stigma surrounding mental health issues.

“Having a resource to help our mental well-being will help us move away from the stigma that mental health is just a mood swing and actually assist us in receiving the help that we need,” Melo said.

The need for 24/7 access to high-quality care has never been more important. According to the American Council on Education, student mental health is the top concern of college and university presidents and is also the number one reason students leave college. A recent report by Gallup and the Lumina Foundation found that three out of four students in bachelor’s degrees programs who considered stopping out – stopping with the intention of returning to school – cited emotional stress as their reason.

Sixty percent of all students who have sought mental health support through TimelyCare said they would have done nothing if the service were not available, according to the company.

“Meeting the need for equitable, on-demand access to care is a critical challenge that extends beyond campus boundaries. TimelyCare allows colleges and universities like George Mason University to solve problems rather than just treat symptoms,” said Luke Hejl, TimelyMD CEO and co-founder. “Our mission at TimelyMD is to improve the health and well-being of college students by making virtual care accessible anytime, anywhere. Through TimelyCare, we are proud to deliver best-in-class health and well-being solutions to help students thrive.”

Founded in 2017, TimelyMD serves more than a million students at more than 200 campuses nationwide.

Topics

Office of the Provost

TimelyMD

Strategic Direction

The Inclusive Teaching and Curriculum Initiative seeks to foster a more welcoming atmosphere for all students to increase learning

John Hollis — Fri, 26 Aug 2022 15:09:04 +0000

The Inclusive Teaching and Curriculum Initiative seeks to foster a more welcoming atmosphere for all students to increase learning John Hollis Fri, 08/26/2022 - 11:09

The Inclusive Teaching and Curriculum Initiative seeks to foster a more welcoming atmosphere for all students. Photo by Cristian Torres/Strategic Communications

Christopher A. Carr, chief diversity office in George Mason University’s College of Engineering and Computing (CEC), sees the new Inclusive Teaching and Curriculum Initiative as a natural response to President Gregory Washington’s call for exemplars in combating systemic racism and the marginalization of underserved groups in academia.

The two-workshop program, which was developed by the college’s Office of Diversity, Outreach, and Inclusive Learning (DOIL), is an acknowledgement that the increase in diverse student populations entering higher education has not been met by a corresponding increase in resources for faculty to teach those visible and often invisible entities, Carr said.

The team piloted a short course for CEC and College of Science faculty, offering them tools and techniques for fostering inclusion and making them aware of university resources available to them.

Three faculty enrolled in a longer five-module course on “in-depth inclusive curriculum practices that are designed around identity, power, positionality and privilege and their system effects in higher education,” Carr said.

The initiative is part of efforts to heed the call of President Washington’s Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Task Force (ARIE), which joined the Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning and the Office of Community Engagement and Civic Learning in funding curriculum design, teaching strategies and pedagogical resources supporting anti-racist and inclusive teaching. Supporting the integration of ARIE throughout the Mason curriculum was one of the three areas recommended for funding by the task force’s Curriculum and Pedagogy Committee.

Short-course topics covered introduction to tools/techniques needed to foster inclusion, and introduction to inclusive assessment tools and course resources. Long-course workshop modules included topics surrounding the current state of inclusive pedagogy in engineering education, student-centered course design, and course activities and appropriate space needed for more inclusive classrooms.

Inclusive classrooms are settings in which the instructors/faculty and students work together to create and sustain an environment where all feel safe, supported and encouraged to express their views and concerns.

“We hope that, in these classrooms, content is deliberately viewed from multiple perspectives and the varied experiences of a range of groups,” said Carr, who noted the critical assistance of Christi Wilcox, his diversity associate, in putting things together.

Faculty members who took part in the summer’s long-course workshop were Mihai Boicu, an associate professor and associate director at the Learning Agents Center Information Sciences and Technology School of Computing within the CEC; Eugene Kim, an assistant professor of bioengineering in the CEC; and Katherine (Raven) Russell, an assistant professor of computer science within the College of Engineering and Computing.

“We want to ensure that faculty are able to present content in a style that reduces all students’ experiences of marginalization and, whenever possible, helps students and faculty understand that their individual experience, values and perspectives influence how they construct and evaluate knowledge in any field or discipline,” Carr said.

Topics

Campus News

Faculty and Staff News

College of Engineering and Computing

College of Science

Inclusion

diversity

Center of Community Engagement and Civic Learning CECiL

President's Task Force on Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence

Mason earns top honors from Campus Pride Index

Melanie Balog — Thu, 02 Jun 2022 13:40:00 +0000

Mason earns top honors from Campus Pride Index Melanie Balog Thu, 06/02/2022 - 09:40

Mason is one of only 29 universities in the U.S. to receive the highest distinction from the Campus Pride Index.

George Mason University has been recognized as a “five-star premier campus” by Campus Pride Index, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to creating safer LGBTQ-friendly learning environments at colleges and universities.

Mason is one of only 29 U.S. institutions, out of 454 evaluated, with a five-star premier ranking, one of only three in the South, and the only one in Virginia.

Additionally, Mason is one of just 40 four-year campuses across the country, and the only public institution in Virginia, recognized by Campus Pride in its "Best of the Best" list of LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities in the United States. It also is one of only four institutions nationally to score a perfect 100 on the Athletic Equity Index, which examines how NCAA Division I institutions support LGBTQ student-athletes.

“At a university like ours, which is committed to access and welcoming to all, this sends a huge signal to our existing and prospective students,” said Rose Pascarell, vice president for University Life.

An LGBTQ chalk drawing at Mason.
Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

“Particularly for the LGBTQIA community, students and parents are often looking for signs,” she added. “That ranking sends a message to students and family and friends that Mason is not just trying to create a welcoming environment, but our practices and policies reflect that.”

Mason has been a leader in creating an LGBTQ+-friendly campus.

The university’s LGBTQ+ Resources Center has operated for 20 years and provides leadership and mentoring programs, and a clothing resource for trans and non-binary students. Mason’s student-led Pride Alliance, the oldest of several LGBTQ+ student organizations on campus, is dedicated to ensuring a safe, accepting space for LGBTQ+ students to live and meet.

Mason’s Living Learning Communities, including the LGBTQ+ Living Learning Community, allow like-minded students to live in the same residence hall, fostering connections and creating access to resources. The university also has a gender-inclusive housing policy for students living outside the Learning Community.

And Mason’s long-running annual “Drag Show,” held at the end of Mason’s PRIDE Week in the spring, draws hundreds of students to a celebration of the movement toward human rights for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.

“I knew the university promotes a lot of its diversity initiatives,” said William Barker, a freshman cyber security engineering major, who during the next academic year will be the chair of Mason’s Queer Student Leadership Council. “It was a factor because I wanted to make sure I was going to be comfortable at the school I was going to.”

Juniper Mortimer, a rising junior majoring in government and international politics and a peer mentor with the LGBTQ+ Resources Center, said they were bolstered during the pandemic lockdown, when the resources center and Pride Alliance held virtual events so LGBTQ+ students could interact.

“I have been able to make all of my friends and connections,” Mortimer said, “and the Pride Index is a very good indicator that there is a space for anybody on Mason’s Campus.”

George Mason University LGBTQ+ Resources Center staff and volunteers at the Capital Pride Festival in Washington, DC.
photo credit: University Life

Most important, said Josh Kinchen, director of the LGBTQ+ Resources Center, is not treating the LGBTQ+ community as a monolith, because it intersects with every demographic.

“We’re working with folks with all the pieces of their identity — undocumented, first-gen, veterans — instead of seeing them only in their sexuality and gender,” Kinchen said. “For an institution of our size and prestige, that is incredibly unique. But we can’t do it any other way, and that’s why we’ve had so much success.”

As for the index, “It shows that there is a true vibrancy here that we can prove.,” he said. “But it’s also a tool for us to hold ourselves accountable to say we have to live up to this now.”

So far, so good, Mortimer said.

“Mason has one of the most accepting and diverse environments I’ve been part of,” they said. “It’s been an amazing experience. If you’re looking for something like that, definitely come to Mason.”

Visit the LGBTQ Resource Center

Events

6/3/2023 Fairfax Pride

8/23/2023 Lavender Orientation

10/2/2023 LGBTQ+ History Month Kickoff

4/30/2024 Pride Week Drag Show

4/23/2024 Lavender & Women and Gender Studies Graduation

Topics

The Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial is dedicated in ‘a landmark day for the university’

Anonymous — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 21:59:30 +0000

The Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial is dedicated in ‘a landmark day for the university’ Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 04/04/2022 - 17:59

Wendi Manuel Scott addresses the crowd gathered for the dedication of the Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial on Monday, April 4. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

Kye Farrow had previously walked through the Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial, and felt proud.

Farrow, BA History ’19, MS Management ’20, was one of the five Mason students whose research into the enslaved children of George Mason IV led to the construction of the memorial, which is the cornerstone of the reimagined Wilkins Plaza on George Mason University’s Fairfax Campus.

But on Monday, as several hundred people assembled on the plaza for the monument’s dedication, Farrow, who would later speak at the event, said he was “just happy overall.”

“Studying history is what makes history not repeat,” Farrow said. “Being aware of history is what makes people have informed decisions and do things from a thoughtful perspective. So to have the opportunity to learn about the namesake of our university and for what it means to the student body, that’s the biggest thing for me.”

The event on Wilkins Plaza, named for Roger Wilkins, the late Black former civil rights leader, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and beloved Mason professor, was uplifting and reflective, and kicked off Mason's 50th anniversary celebration.

Mason President Gregory Washington called it “a landmark day for the university,” and praised the students who were involved in the original research — Farrow; Alexis Bracey, BA Global Affairs ’19; Ayman Fatima, BS Systems Engineering, BA Government and International Politics ’21; Farhaj Murshed, BS Statistics ’20; and Elizabeth Perez-Garcia, BS Criminology, Law, and Society ’19.

Those students joined a project launched in the summer of 2017 by Wendi Manuel-Scott, a professor of integrated studies and history; Benedict Carton, a faculty member in History and Art History; and Mason alum George Oberle, Mason’s history librarian and a term faculty member in the Department of History and Art History.

All are leaders in the Center for Mason Legacies, an interdisciplinary and collaborative research center established by the University Library and College of Humanities and Social Sciences that encourages student research to preserve and examine the legacy of George Mason IV. The university’s namesake penned the Virginia Declaration of Rights but also enslaved more than 100 people at his home, Gunston Hall.

Associate Professor of Public History Gabrielle Tayac and Mason students from the University’s Native American and Indigenous Alliance Domi Hannon, Sara Jefferson, and Kayleigh Seng participate in a traditional Native American Water Ceremony during the Dedication of the Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

“The Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial represents so much about who we are as a university,” Washington said. “Inquisitive students who seek truth, undergraduate research programs that support these academic pursuits, faculty who collaborate, nurture and challenge our students, and a university community fueled by the shared thrill of discovery and the determination to turn their efforts into positive and sustainable change. … We grow wiser from examining our full truths, no matter how complicated or messy or discomforting they might be.”

Added Trishana Bowden, vice president of Mason’s office of Advancement and Alumni Relations, and president of the George Mason University Foundation: “This project has allowed our students to educate us, to enlighten us and to teach us how to keep moving forward, and how to remember our past.”

That included a water ceremony in which water from the Potomac River was poured into the Wilkins Plaza fountain, which contains stones in a pattern that symbolize an African custom of gathering and prayer. The ceremony, led by Gabrielle Tayac, an associate professor of public history and a Piscataway tribal citizen, also acknowledged that the land on which the university was built was originally inhabited by indigenous people.

"The memorial for all of us was about replacing erased history through silenced voices of the enslaved people in relation to and in dialogue with the traditional voices,” Manuel-Scott said. “We hope that folk who visit the memorial, that it forces them to think about the relationship between the past and the present."

Rev. Jeffrey O. Johnson Sr., pastor at nearby Mount Calvary Baptist Church, said he hopes the memorial will push other universities and institutions to move forward and “that we will not bring the founding fathers down, but in pride and dignity, we will lift their servants up.”

Ayman Fatima (left) and Kye Farrow, both part of the original team of five students researching the enslaved people at Gunston Hall, greet each other at the Enslaved People of George Mason dedication ceremony. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

Topics

Campus News

Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial

DEI

Masonat50

Office of the President

Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial to be dedicated

Colleen Rich — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 16:08:11 +0000

Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial to be dedicated Colleen Rich Mon, 03/28/2022 - 12:08

It was the summer of 2017, and five George Mason University students and three faculty members were beginning their research into the children enslaved by George Mason IV, the university’s namesake.

Wendi Manuel-Scott, a professor of integrative studies and history, and one of the faculty members on the project, recalled how the students at one point “began to talk about how it would be awesome if years from now they came to campus and there’s a plaque that honors the enslaved people held by George Mason.”

As it turned out, they got much more than a plaque, as what was the Enslaved Children of George Mason project led to the Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial, a focal point of how the university is addressing its identity as it relates to a complicated Patriot.

“The purpose of the project was to raise awareness about George Mason IV, the man, the patriot and the slaveholder,” Manuel-Scott said. “Our goal was to focus on expanding our community’s understanding of Mason, and to focus on the people he owned and what they thought about freedom.”

The memorial on the Fairfax Campus (see the video) is the centerpiece of the newly renovated Wilkins Plaza, named for the African American civil rights leader, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and beloved Mason professor.

One panel is dedicated to to Penny, an enslaved girl given by Mason to his daughter. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

It will be dedicated at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, April 4, as part of the university’s 50th anniversary celebration.

“I started that project the summer after my sophomore year, and it sounded cool to have research that maybe would contribute to a memorial on campus," said Mason alum Kye Farrow, BA History ’19, MS Management ’20. "But it was really difficult at the time to see how it would get there. So, yes, still today, I'm absolutely amazed the work we did went to the product that's there today."

Other students on the project were Alexis Bracey, BA Global Affairs ’19; Ayman Fatima, BS Systems Engineering, BA Government and International Politics ’21; Farhaj Murshed, BS Statistics ’20; and Elizabeth Perez-Garcia, BS Criminology, Law, and Society ’19.

It was important each student came from a different academic discipline, Manuel-Scott said.

“Each brought a different way of seeing and thinking, and a different way to analyze and explore records,” she said. “That interdisciplinarity created a richness in terms of the project.”

Mason faculty Gabrielle Tayac and Wendi Manuel-Scott gather water from the Potomac River to use in the fountain on Wilkins Plaza. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

The project was launched by Manuel-Scott; Benedict Carton, a faculty member in History and Art History; and Mason alum George Oberle, Mason’s history librarian and a term faculty member in the Department of History and Art History.

The Enslaved People of George Mason project “shows that Mason is striving to be an exemplar institution in relation to the idea of promoting student inquiry and being open to where that goes and takes us, even if it’s not always a happy story,” Oberle said.

The memorial includes the iconic statue of Mason. A new pedestal includes four quotes which highlight the different aspects of his life, including the penning of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the foundation of the U.S. Bill of Rights. But Mason also enslaved more than 100 people at his Gunston Hall plantation and did not free any upon his death.

Memorial panels are also dedicated to Penny, an enslaved child given by Mason to his daughter, and James, Mason’s personal attendant. A fountain contains stones in a pattern that symbolize an African custom of gathering and prayer.

To acknowledge an altar that was constructed next to the Potomac River by the enslaved at Gunston Hall, and to acknowledge that the land on which the university was built was originally inhabited by indigenous people, water from the Potomac River will be poured into the fountain.

“It’s a way to interconnect the worlds, between the place of enslavement, the place of difficulty, but also a place that’s life-giving,” said Gabrielle Tayac, an associate professor of public history at Mason, and a Piscataway tribal citizen. “To pour the water into the fountain that recalls those connections and all of those hopes and dreams and memories the people had, it’s a way of awakening and blending those intentions.”

Said Carton: “Our project sought to guide students’ sense of moral duty, as they branched out to discover hidden histories. This duty is focused on reconstructing the everyday humanity of enslaved people whose lives had deep meaning, despite the cruelties of enslavement.”

“The moral duty,” he said, “is in the learning.”

Topics

Campus News

Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial

Masonat50

Center for Mason Legacies

Wilkins Plaza

Campus Improvements (Construction)

diversity

DEI

Student request, involvement leads to Mason Core class on racial justice

Colleen Rich — Fri, 09 Jul 2021 15:05:03 +0000

Student request, involvement leads to Mason Core class on racial justice Colleen Rich Fri, 07/09/2021 - 11:05

As part of President Gregory Washington’s establishment of the Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence (ARIE) Task Force in July 2020, students called for broader curriculum changes related to racism, diversity and inclusion, building on requests and discussions since the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

The Black Lives Matter movement and the increased attention around the murder of George Floyd intensified these efforts, and students and faculty collaborated to create UNIV 381: Foundations for Building a Just Society. The course has been scaled up using recommendations from ARIE. The three-credit class fulfills two Mason Core requirements—global understanding and social/behavioral sciences—and is projected to evolve over time into a required course for all students.

“Once implemented, this course will be part of a greater educational plan that allows Mason to be a national exemplar of inclusive excellence,” said Bethany Usher, associate provost of undergraduate education. “Beyond that, our students will have the skills and knowledge they need to tackle the complicated problems they’ll encounter in the classroom and the world in a just and constructive way.”

UNIV 381 evolved from a 2019 pilot program created by an interdisciplinary team with a framework for a course that would help students engage with these complex issues in a meaningful way.

Sarah Osman, a rising senior studying community health with a concentration in clinical science, was one of the students in the pilot class in Fall 2019. Osman said the course helped her understand how her own implicit biases made a strong impact on how she views others, their situations and their behaviors.

Osman said the course gave her a greater understanding of what implicit biases she carries, why others think the way that they do and what institutions have influenced their viewpoints on race.

“We live in a world where the color of one’s skin determines every opportunity they receive and whether or not they will live to see tomorrow,” Osman said. “[But] diversity goes far beyond the color of one’s skin. Although the issue of racism is something embedded in this country, we have the power to challenge the perpetuation of the social hierarchy that currently defines our nation.

Lauren Cattaneo, associate professor of psychology, helped create UNIV 381 and is one of five faculty members teaching it this fall. She noted that the course has the potential to engage students in critical thinking with a goal of learning not to respond to others judgmentally but instead to understand others’ experiences and what they are trying say about them.

“I hope students emerge with the foundational knowledge, vocabulary and skills to connect across differences and to set their intentions on how to build on those foundations,” said Cattaneo, who co-chaired the Task Force’s Curriculum and Pedagogy Committee. “That mental shift is so important to learn. I want students to learn how in the past people have moved the levers of change to shift the ways society functions, to learn from examples current or historic about how changes happen, and then decide where they want to go with their new understanding.”

The course begins with basic civic questions: What do we mean by a just society? And what gets in the way of its realization? From there, students delve into their own experiences, address their personal identities, and define words such as race and ethnicity. As the course progresses they will explore how these concepts are related, how people perceive others on the basis of race or ethnicity, and how this impacts their own identities.

Shauna Rigaud, a PhD candidate in the Cultural Studies Program and the course’s curriculum supporter and instructor, said UNIV 381 will help promote campus diversity because it will provide students with a foundation for understanding race, ethnicity, gender, and social class.

“The class will allow students the opportunity to have difficult conversations with each other,” said Rigaud, who also served on the Curriculum and Pedagogy Committee. It’s an opportunity to apply what they understand to parts of our world, society, and then provides them with the bedrock to think critically about that as they go on into their fields of training.”

“With the help of this course, Mason will create a generation that not only appreciates diversity but works hand-in-hand to combat the issue of racism,” Osman said.

Topics

Campus News

President's Task Force on Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence

social justice

innovative classes

Mason Lighting the Way: Sharrell Hassell-Goodman

Colleen Rich — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 14:15:27 +0000

Mason Lighting the Way: Sharrell Hassell-Goodman Colleen Rich Wed, 03/31/2021 - 10:15

Mason Lighting the Way

Spotlights from the Task Force

More than 130 faculty, staff and students are working on George Mason University’s Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Task Force, which is taking a hard look at the current state of diversity and inclusivity efforts at the university and making recommendations for the future.

These individuals come from across our campuses and bring their different skill sets and expertise to this work. In this series, we will spotlight members of the task force and find out what drives them.

Sharrell Hassell-Goodman. Photo provided

Sharrell Hassell-Goodman
Doctoral Student, Higher Education Program

Committee: Co-chair, Student Voice

One of the things Sharrell Hassell-Goodman loves about George Mason University is its diversity. Prior to coming to Mason, Hassell-Goodman studied at Miami University in Ohio, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in early elementary education and two master’s degrees, an MEd in education leadership and MS in college student personnel.

Mason’s diverse student body was a welcome change for her.

“I loved seeing so many Black and brown faces,” she said.

She also worked on the student services side of universities, including a stint as director of sorority and fraternity life at Ohio State.

Now Hassell-Goodman is working on a PhD in higher education with a specialization in women and gender studies and social justice, and enjoys working on the academic side of Mason. She has taught courses in the School of Integrative Studies on identity, social justice, and social science research.

As a first-generation college student herself and one of the founders of the Black Graduate Student Association at Mason, she understands the importance of supporting students and has focused some of her research on first-generation students. Her research interests also include Black women in higher education, social justice advocates in higher education, identity and leadership, and critical participatory action research.

“I really wanted to look at the experiences of those who are historically marginalized,” said Hassell-Goodman.

For her dissertation research, Hassell-Goodman has been inspired in part by a group of Black women in academia, a movement that is often called #Blackintheivory in social media. In fact, she has her own “research collective.”

“It was students and alumni talking about their experiences in the academy, and then the world shifted,” Hassell-Goodman said of how George Floyd’s death changed the conversation. “[Then] Black women, who identify as first-generation college students, from across the country were interested in being a part of this research collective.”

The stories and experiences of these women are informing Hassell-Goodman’s research. Her dissertation is titled “An Endarkened Feminist Critical Participatory Action Research Project: First-Generation Women of the African Diaspora.”

As co-chair of the Student Voice Committee of the Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Task Force, Hassell-Goodman had the opportunity to present at both town halls and bring forward recommendations from the committee that included adding anti-racism to the university’s research agenda, more courses on anti-racism and inclusion topics, and faculty training to create more inclusive classrooms.

“The students on this committee represent many different demographics, but all want to interrupt all forms of oppression,” she said. “I am so impressed with these students and how committed they are.”

She also feels this task force provides a great opportunity. Not only have all the student committee members learned more about how a university works, they are involved in this process at an optimal time.

“We are at a place where we are creating action,” she said. “Students are so central to this process, and Mason is thinking of students first.”

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Graduate Education

One week left to give feedback on task force recommendations

Melanie Balog — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 22:41:54 +0000

One week left to give feedback on task force recommendations Melanie Balog Thu, 03/11/2021 - 17:41

At a series of town halls in February and March, the Task Force on Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence released a series of recommendations for university action. Since that time, the Task Force has welcomed feedback from the community using this Qualtrics survey.

We want to hear from as much of the Mason community as possible, so if you have not read the recommendations and offered feedback, we strongly encourage you to do so. You can also read the recommendations at arie.gmu.edu

The deadline to offer feedback is approaching. Please share your feedback to the Task Force by close of business Friday, March 19. The link will be deactivated after that time.

See each committee’s recommendations by clicking on these video links:

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Mason Lighting the Way: Creston Lynch

Colleen Rich — Wed, 10 Mar 2021 21:01:44 +0000

Mason Lighting the Way: Creston Lynch Colleen Rich Wed, 03/10/2021 - 16:01

Mason Lighting the Way

Spotlights from the Task Force

Creston Lynch
Assistant Vice President, University Life

Committee: Co-Chair, Campus and Community Engagement

Creston Lynch. Photo provided

Creston Lynch tells people he started his career in multicultural affairs as a freshman at the University of Memphis when he walked into the then-named office of minority affairs and got a job as a student worker.

“In a way I've never left,” Lynch said. “There hasn't been a day in my career where I haven't been centering my work around diversity, equity and inclusion.”

Lynch is an assistant vice president in George Mason University’s University Life, where he leads the Center for Culture, Equity and Empowerment and is responsible for helping launch Mason’s new Center for Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT), one of 23 such centers in the United States. He is also an adjunct in the Higher Education Program and is teaching a course on cultural pluralism in higher education this semester.

Before joining Mason in July 2018, he directed diversity programs at a number of universities including Southern Methodist University, where he was director of multicultural student affairs. After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees from University of Memphis, Lynch continued on to get a PhD in higher education administration from University of North Texas.

“I come from a family of educators, so it's literally in my DNA,” said Lynch, who is the son of a retired high school guidance counselor and retired high school principal.

It is his grandmother’s story of becoming an educator that inspires him each day. She earned her master's degree from Indiana University in the mid 1950s, but to do so, she had to leave her family, including his mother, in Mississippi each summer to go and do her studies.

“There were no places for Black people to get advanced degrees in Mississippi,” said Lynch. “Her sacrifice is a part of my legacy. And it's a reminder as to why it's important for me to do what I do, in honor of the sacrifices she made in order to be a trailblazer for our family.”

Lynch serves as co-chair of the Campus and Community Engagement Committee of Mason’s Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Task Force. Among the committee’s recommendations is building the community connections, including K-12 partnerships, for the new Center for Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation.

“Here at Mason we're intentionally building an infrastructure that supports long-term, tangible and sustainable change,” he said of the work. “There is a level of of investment on the part of our students. Our students are motivated and are looking for ways to raise and use their voices for positive change, which is a great thing.”

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Conference draws faculty, students to Mason Square to share a vision for an inclusive, anti-racist future

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Mason partners with TimelyMD to improve student health and well-being

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The Inclusive Teaching and Curriculum Initiative seeks to foster a more welcoming atmosphere for all students to increase learning

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Mason earns top honors from Campus Pride Index

Visit the LGBTQ Resource Center

Events

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The Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial is dedicated in ‘a landmark day for the university’

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Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial to be dedicated

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Student request, involvement leads to Mason Core class on racial justice

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Mason Lighting the Way: Sharrell Hassell-Goodman

Mason Lighting the Way

Spotlights from the Task Force

Sharrell Hassell-GoodmanDoctoral Student, Higher Education Program

Committee: Co-chair, Student Voice

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One week left to give feedback on task force recommendations

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Mason Lighting the Way: Creston Lynch

Mason Lighting the Way

Spotlights from the Task Force

Creston Lynch Assistant Vice President, University Life

Committee: Co-Chair, Campus and Community Engagement

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Sharrell Hassell-Goodman
Doctoral Student, Higher Education Program

Creston Lynch
Assistant Vice President, University Life