Strategic Direction

Announcing the 2022 ARIE Seed Funding Awardees

Natalie Bui — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 20:56:10 +0000

Announcing the 2022 ARIE Seed Funding Awardees Natalie Bui Mon, 02/06/2023 - 15:56

The Office of Research Innovation and Economic Impact and the Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, is delighted to announce the results of the 2022 ARIE Seed Funding Initiative. The ARIE seed funding emerged as one of the recommendations from the ARIE Task Force’s Research Committee to support research, scholarship and creative activities addressing the myriad issues on the theme of anti-racism and inclusive excellence. Such research, scholarship and creative activities continue to drive our commitment to be a national leader in anti-racism and inclusive excellence.

In April, 2022, Call for Proposals was posted for the ARIE Seed Funding. We received 29 applications which were externally reviewed by over 20 reviewers. A total of 7 applications were selected for funding.

The awarded teams PIs and Co-PIs (in no particular order), and their project titles, are noted below:

Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence: A Proposal to Improving the Hiring Process: Co-PI: Michael Fauntroy, Schar School of Policy and Government; Co-PI: Judith Wilde, Schar School of Policy and Government
Reducing Inequalities in Domestic and Sexual Violence Services in Fairfax County: A Mixed Methods Evaluation to Inform Antiracist Community Engagement through Exploring Unique Barriers to Access and Service Use Among Diverse At-risk Community Members: PI: Michelle D. Hand, College of Public Health; Co-PI: Denise A. Hines, College of Public Health; Co-PI: Jeanne Booth, College of Public Health
IndigenoUs Northern Virginia: Activating Local and Diasporic Native Identities at Mason: Co-PI: Gabrielle Tayac, College of Humanities and Social Sciences; Co-PI: T. Mills Kelly, College of Humanities and Social Sciences; Co-PI: Alison Landsberg, College of Humanities and Social Sciences;
Building a Diverse Pipeline of Anti-Racist Social Scientists: A Three-Pronged Approach: Co-PI: Meagan Call-Cummings, College of Education and Human Development; Co-PI: Amy L. Best, College of Humanities and Social Sciences; Co-PI: Khaseem Davis, Early Identification Program; Co-I: Sharrell Hassell-Goodman, College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Integrating Art and Research to Advance Social Equity: Co-PI: Janani Umamaheswar, College of Humanities and Social Sciences; Co-PI: Robert Norris, College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Anti-Racist Collaborative Arts At Mason: Co-PI: Matthew Dievendorf, College of Visual and Performing Arts; Co-PI: Michael Nickens, College of Visual and Performing Arts; Co-PI: Wendi N. Manuel-Scott, College of Humanities and Social Sciences; Co-PI: Cynthia Fuchs, College of Visual and Performing Arts and College of Humanities and Social Sciences; Co-PI: Thomas Stanley, College of Visual and Performing Arts; Co-PI: William Lake, College of Visual and Performing Arts; Co-PI: Adrienne Bryant Godwin, College of Visual and Performing Arts
Collective Organizing En La CASA: Empowering Health Equity And Healing In The Face Of Structural Racism And Illegality: Co-PI: Jhumka Gupta, College of Public Health; Co-PI: Bethany Letiecq, College of Education and Human Development

We want to thank all the teams that participated in the competition and congratulations to the teams selected for funding.

Be on the lookout for the 2023 ARIE Seed Funding Call for Proposals later this Spring. Those who are interested in last year’s Call for Proposal can find it at https://resdev.gmu.edu/funding-opportunities/2022-anti-racism-inclusive-excellence-seed-funding/

Andre Marshall, Vice President, Research Innovation and Economic Impact

Sharnnia Artis, Vice President, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion & Chief Diversity Officer

Topics

Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion

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

Office of Research Innovation and Economic Impact

Strategic Direction

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