It is with many emotions that I share with you news that one of George Mason University’s finest, Executive Vice President and Provost Mark Ginsberg, will be leaving our ranks to assume the presidency of Towson University. This morning the University System of Maryland announced that he will become Towson’s next president on October 30. I am as thrilled for Mark’s appointment as I am disappointed that we will have to say goodbye to him at Mason.
Mark has served as our Provost through historic and unprecedented times, leading the academic side of Mason through the complete unknown of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as our emergence into a fundamentally changed, post-pandemic world. In a time when higher education as a whole has struggled to recover from the impacts of COVID-19, Mason has experienced uninterrupted success. That is not by accident. Mark has been a critical member of our leadership team that has made this success story happen.
As he leaves Mason to take the helm of Towson, our enrollment and retention rates have never been higher, our student success, graduation and post-college career success metrics have never been better, and our research productivity has never been greater. In his time as provost, five new deans have joined the Mason community, as have a number of national-caliber faculty. We forged Virginia’s first School of Computing and first College of Public Health, and we are on our way to seeing our business school achieve college status, as well. We launched an ambitious expansion of the ADVANCE streamlined transfer program, a national model pioneered with Northern Virginia Community College, to include several other Virginia community colleges. All that amid the chaos of the pandemic! Throughout the journey, Mark has been an indispensable member of my senior leadership team, and I will greatly miss having him by my side. More importantly to me, he has been a great friend and confidant, and while the friendship will only expand during his presidency, I will miss our discussions and debates on Mason.
Before Mark was tapped to serve as Mason’s interim provost in April 2020, he served as dean of the College of Education and Human Development. His time with Mason stretches back 14 years – spanning one third of Mason’s life as a university. He is woven into the fabric, the culture, and the character of this great institution.
A note on Towson University: It shares a lot of DNA and character with George Mason. It is a young, vibrant, growing, diverse research university, an increasingly bright beacon of opportunity for Maryland and the region. It is easy to see how Mark was seen as an ideal fit for Towson. I look forward to working with him in a new way – as a fellow president of a new class of great American universities: the young, future-facing, precedent-busting collegiate juggernauts of opportunity for the 21st century and beyond.
Mark will continue to serve as our Provost through late October, as he prepares to transition into the Towson presidency. During that time, we will prepare for our own leadership transition, starting with the formation of a committee to conduct a national search for our next provost. I will have more information to share on that process in the weeks to come.
For the near term, I have asked my chief of staff, Ken Walsh, to serve as interim provost upon Mark’s departure, and my special advisor, Megan Healy, to serve as interim chief of staff. Please welcome them into these temporary roles and do what you can to support their continued success.
And finally, please join me in thanking Mark for his many years of exemplary service to George Mason University, and wishing him the very best in his latest, greatest contribution to American higher education.
Sincerely,
Gregory Washington
President