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March 2008

The "Mason Connection" is Mason's electronic newsletter, designed to keep you informed of the latest developments at the university. The newsletter is sent monthly when the General Assembly is in session and every other month when it is not in session.

Mason Students' Grassroots Efforts Result in Statewide Recognition

Mason's Virginia21 chapter, a student organization that works to advocate for the rights of students on Virginia's college campuses to state and local legislatures, won the 2008 Voice of a Generation Award.

A letter from Kelly Porell, executive director of Richmond-based Virginia21, to Drew Shelnutt, Mason Student Government president, outlined the chapter's accomplishments.

"George Mason students have been a fixture in the General Assembly this year, taking time out of their busy schedules to lobby legislators on several important initiatives," Porell wrote. "While in Richmond, you and your campus coordinators' advice and guidance as members of the Student Leadership Committee were invaluable in forming this year's legislative agenda."

Porell also cited the fact that the chapter doubled its size in the last year, hosted the first-ever Get Out the Vote Day, and handed out information on the candidates in their districts.

The award will be presented April 22 at a dinner in the chapter's honor. Attendees will include Congressmen Tom Davis and Jim Moran, as well as student, business, and community leaders.

A University Engaged

Mason's Capitol Connection Helps Keep the D.C. Area Connected

Photo by Evan Cantwell, Creative Services

With the presidential primaries in full swing, up-to-the-minute political information is more highly sought than ever. Mason's instructional television and wireless cable system, Capitol Connection, serves government agencies, law firms, news organizations, embassies, and corporate offices in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area by providing coverage of congressional and government proceedings that otherwise would not be available. Webcasting services are available to provide training and information to national and international audiences.

Now in its 27th year, Mason's Capitol Connection was an early pioneer in the business of streaming audio and video over the Internet. Although its primary revenues still derive from its wireless cable television operations, nearly a third of its income now comes from Internet television services.

Clients that have purchased streaming services from Capitol Connection include the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Academy of Clinical Oncologists, and many others.

Did You Know?

To meet the need for an information technology (IT)-literate workforce, Mason was the first university in the commonwealth to offer an IT minor to nonengineering majors.
Many programs, schools, and centers at Mason-such as the Volgenau School of Information Technology and Engineering and the new Center for Real Estate Entrepreneurship-were created and designed in response to the requests of companies and organizations in the region.
The School of Management trains the U.S. Army's future managers and leaders in a specific MBA program tailored to their needs. Through Army career field Functional Area 50, or FA50, business-minded Army majors come to Mason to earn their MBAs and bring organizational change to their branch of the military.

Research Spotlight

Students Gain Rare Opportunity to Study Conservation Efforts Up Close

This spring, an inaugural class of approximately 12 students is taking an interdisciplinary approach to all things conservation. The students are part of the new Smithsonian Mason Semester, a 16-credit, resident program in conservation studies at the Smithsonian Conservation and Research Center (CRC) in Front Royal. The CRC is internationally recognized for its work and professional training programs in conservation.

Photo by Evan Cantwell, Creative Services As part of this learning community, Mason students will work alongside some of the foremost research scientists and conservation practitioners, live adjacent to some of the most extraordinary species in the world, and gain access to many of the Smithsonian's facilities.

Long-range plans for the semester include growing the program to include not just Mason students, but students from across the country and around the world. Degree programs and professional certificates in conservation studies are also being drafted.

"We have a global obligation to look at species conservation," says Provost Peter Stearns. "It is a key priority and one of the ways we can address problems that run the risk of escaping our control altogether."

In The News

Monday, February 25, DoubleThink

The Virginia School

"Northern Virginia's George Mason University. economics department has risen to national prominence in part because of the two Nobels awarded to faculty members in the past 20 years and also because of its brand of 'interesting economics,' which has helped make it one of the most-quoted economics departments in the world."

Wednesday, February 27, The Washington Post

In a Va. Lab, Forging Links to Speed Cancer Advances

"For Virginia officials.the goal also is to make the region west of the Potomac River a national biotech player. The aggressive strategy. has quietly pieced together a network organizers hope will allow them to leapfrog the bureaucracies of better-known research institutions to speed discoveries and get personalized treatment to patients quickly. 'The blank slate we were given didn't exist anywhere else,' said Lance Liotta, former chief of pathology at the National Cancer Institute, who along with Emanuel Petricoin, a former senior researcher at the Food and Drug Administration, and an eight-person research group was recruited to George Mason in 2005."

Monday, March 3, "CNN Newsroom"

Barack Obama Trying to Close the Deal

Michael McDonald, associate professor of government and politics, was interviewed by Heidi Collins on voter turnout in Ohio and Texas. "Yes, [this is a big deal]. We've had about 41 million people so far participate either in a primary or caucus up to this point. And that's not including the 1.3 million people, approximately, who've already voted in Texas," McDonald said.

Mason Connection is a free service and official publication of George Mason University. It is designed to give you quick, monthly updates on the happenings at Mason. You received Mason Connection because of your affiliation with George Mason University. Subscribe and unsubscribe requests for Mason Connection, including address changes, are handled by sending an e-mail to the Office of Community Relations at tclaar@gmu.edu. Please be sure to include your name and e-mail address. For more information, contact Traci Claar, Director of Community Relations. For additional campus event information, please visit Today@Mason. Editorial content produced by Devon Madison, Creative Services.