Campus News

MLK Evening of Reflection

President Gregory Washington reflects on the meaning of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in the context of the current national climate.

George Mason University will start the Spring 2021 semester on time on Jan. 25.

George Mason University is looking at ways to provide education to experienced workers who were displaced as a result of the economic downturn associated with the coronavirus pandemic, President Gregory Washington told the Board of Visitors Thursday.

We are nearing the end of a remarkably successful fall semester, especially considering where we started and what we’ve been through. Just five months ago, our greatest challenge was figuring out how we could deliver a Mason education to a record number of students during a global pandemic. Now, in two weeks, we will graduate a class at winter commencement that includes more than 4,600 graduates and more than 5,000 when counting students earning certificates.

Understanding what anti-racism, diversity and inclusion mean for George Mason University was just one of the goals of Monday’s Freedom and Learning forum hosted by President Gregory Washington. Ensuring a common definition of the terms helps create meaningful dialogue, and helps the Mason community understand the work of the Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Task Force.

Members of Mason’s Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Task Force have been analyzing the state of the university, making recommendations, and preparing for the work ahead. We recently spoke with the task force leadership to see how the initiative is going.

We are halfway through the fall semester, and by all accounts, we have passed one of the biggest hurdles facing universities: George Mason University has successfully reopened our campuses, kept our community safe, and delivered on our educational mission despite the pandemic. This has been challenging work for everyone in our community, and I want to applaud the efforts to make Mason a model for success.

Members of the George Mason University community learned about leadership and activism from world soccer champion, double Olympic gold medalist and author Abby Wambach at Mason Reads on Monday afternoon.