Dr. Gregory Washington
President of George Mason University
Dr. Gregory Washington, president of George Mason University.
Gregory Washington became Mason’s eighth president on July 1, 2020, taking leadership of the largest and most diverse public university in Virginia, a Carnegie Tier 1 research institution, and a beacon of access for students of all backgrounds. Washington launched his Mason presidency with initiatives to create new academic and entrepreneurial pathways for all Virginians.
President's Reports & Statements
University Leadership
History of the Office
Engage with Dr. Washington
What drew me to Mason was its mission to insist that excellence and inclusivity are not seen as merely compatible. In fact, each is required for the other to exist.
Dr. Gregory Washington
Under Dr. Washington's leadership, Mason brings new life and economic vitality to Northern Virginia.
In April 2022, Mason broke ground on Fuse, a 345,000-square-foot building dedicated to producing the next generation of Northern Virginia's technology workforce.
Fuse will house faculty and students working with the Institute for Digital Innovation and their partners, and graduate programs from Mason’s new School of Computing, the first of its kind in Virginia.
Artist rendering
Artist rendering
Dr. Washington established the President’s Innovation Advisory Council to bring together industry, local government, K-12 education, and non-governmental organizations to form an innovation ecosystem with Mason as its hub.
On the Science and Technology Campus in Manassas, the university developed partnerships to simultaneously break ground on the new Life Sciences and Engineering Building and the Innovation Town Center and University Village at Innovation projects.
The Life Sciences and Engineering Building, a 132,000-square-foot facility, will support students enrolled in STEM-H majors, including kinesiology, materials science, forensic science, bioengineering, mechanical engineering and others.
Great research universities tackle the grand-challenge problems of our time. We call it research of consequence for a reason—we face serious consequences as a planet if we cannot solve our most pressing global challenges.
Dr. Gregory Washington
Under Dr. Washington's leadership, Mason is developing a tech workforce talent for the Commonwealth.
Mason will be positioned to produce 25,000 additional graduates in computer science, computer engineering, and software engineering through the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Tech Talent Investment Program.
Tech Talent Investment Program (TTIP)
In June 2020 the Institute for Digital Innovation (IDIA) was launched in order to connect Mason’s world-class research community with other communities to shape the future of our digital society, promoting equality, well-being, security, and prosperity.
Institute for Digital InnovAtion (IDIA)
Harvard Business School Podcast: Managing the Future of Work
Harvard Business School Professors Bill Kerr and Joe Fuller talk to leaders grappling with the forces reshaping the nature of work. Mason president Gregory Washington joins them to discuss opportunity, access, and how Mason is reshaping the value of higher education in challenging times.
As the home to Virginia's largest and most diverse student body, George Mason University continues to advance a university culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Within weeks of arriving at Mason in 2020, President Washington created a task force to ensure an inclusive and equitable campus environment in which every member of our community, without exception, is valued, supported, and experiences a sense of belonging.
In 2022, more than 400 people came together for Mason's first ARIE (then Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence) conference, which focused on creating a vision for the future of opportunity and belonging. Ahead of the second annual conference in the spring of 2024, ARIE has evolved into Access to Research and Inclusive Excellence. This new name embodies Mason's steadfast dedication to promoting inclusivity within higher education and other fields. This strategic direction underscores our unwavering commitment to building a place of belonging and opportunity for all students, fulfilling our promise in education and future success.
We know our diversity comes in many forms, including diversity of origin, identity, circumstance, and thought, and that equity and inclusion enable our diversity to shine.
Dr. Gregory Washington
Dr. Washington speaks with students during the inaugural Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence (ARIE) Conference.
Under Dr. Washington's leadership, Mason is redefining what it means to be inclusive and allow everyone to participate in a thriving economy.
Dr. Washington strengthened Mason’s commitment to access by creating the Mason Virginia Promise (MVP), a path to a Mason degree or help starting a business for any Virginian who aspires to either goal. MVP reinforces the university’s commitment to the economic success and growth of Virginia. Mason manages the more than two dozen Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) in Virginia as well as Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) and other related small business programs. “We are growing the next generation of entrepreneurs,” Washington says.
Mason Enterprise hosts federal, state, and local programs that support entrepreneurs and small businesses. Last year’s impact was $3.36 Billion, achieved through 40,000 hours of 1:1 counseling to 10,000 small businesses, 1,600 training programs for 30,000 attendees, and 550+ companies incubated. 61% of businesses served were woman-owned, 46% were minority-owned, and 15% were veteran-owned.
See Mason featured in the "Rethinking College” special report on PBS NewsHour.
For 35 years, Mason’s Early Identification Program (EIP) has been helping Northern Virginia middle and high school students prepare for their future college careers.
The program has since grown into an innovative, multi-year college preparatory program known for its breadth and reach, as well as the way it celebrates and embraces students.
EIP now serves more than 700 students annually. The program provides access to educational resources for students from seven local public school systems, helping them acquire the skills they need to become lifelong learners, leaders, and responsible global citizens.
Honors College students mentor EIP students during summer programs on campus.
Access to Excellence
About the Podcast
The world is facing serious challenges. Mason President Gregory Washington's conversations on these topics with Mason thought leaders and experts will broaden perspectives, enlighten and educate.
Podcast - EP 59: Cybersecurity and the global threats of tomorrow
Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director of the National Security Institute and assistant professor of law at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, knows better than anyone the growing threats to national security during these rapidly changing times. In this fast-paced episode of Access to Excellence, Jaffer and George Mason President Gregory Washington discuss the U.S.'s position on the global stage, the power of the American Dream, and what we as citizens can do to start solving some of the country's stickiest problems.
Our Future, Transformed: Mason Spotlights the World’s Grand Challenges
About the YouTube Series
Mason President Gregory Washington hosts a new YouTube series titled “Our Future, Transformed: Mason Spotlights the World’s Grand Challenges.” The series features faculty experts speaking about some of the most debated and significant topics of our day with an audience of Honors College students. Experts in the first season discuss the key solutions to key issues, including water policies in the West, police reform, problems at our Southern border, clean energy, and getting more women in to STEM fields.
EP 6: A New Space Race
On the sixth episode of Our Future, Transformed, Hakeem Oluseyi, astrophysicist and research professor at George Mason University, speaks with Mason President Gregory Washington about how the race to exploit cosmic resources has geopolitical implications and why we had to start from scratch in our attempt to return to the Moon.
