Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Solon Simmons looks for win-win opportunities in his role as Faculty Senate president

Melanie Balog — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 16:17:28 +0000

Solon Simmons looks for win-win opportunities in his role as Faculty Senate president Melanie Balog Wed, 09/04/2024 - 12:17

Solon Simmons, professor of conflict and analysis in the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, enters his first year as the ��AV Faculty Senate president. At George Mason since 2006, Simmons has been a member of the senate for eight years. He also has served, among other roles, as interim dean for the Carter School and the university’s vice president for global strategy during the pivotal start-up years of Mason Korea.

The George caught up with Simmons to discuss the senate’s recent achievements, issues the group will be tackling this year, and how his academic expertise might serve him as Faculty Senate president.

Simmons

What do you consider some of the Faculty Senate’s major achievements in recent years, and what issues do you envision being focal points for the senate in 2024-25?

One thing that becomes immediately clear when you look at the history of the Faculty Senate here at Mason is the strong legacy of independent leaders who have served there. In just the past decade, we have seen significant growth in collaboration between faculty and administrative leaders. What stands out to me are the roles that senate leaders played in co-chairing the last presidential search, chairing the recent provost search, and in establishing new norms for the acceptance of financial support [of the university]. Faculty representatives have served on every major initiative in the university from promoting the rights of term faculty, to supporting Mason’s COVID-19 response, to developing the conversation about how to have difficult conversations across lines of difference.

This coming year will bring many challenges, but my hope is that we focus on our people, using evidence to center employee engagement and placing proper value on the contributions of both faculty and staff and helping to modernize and update our concept of what a university is for. We are here to pursue both excellence in knowledge and access to wisdom, and all of us—staff, student workers, tenured faculty, term faculty, and administrative/professional faculty—have an important role to play. The faculty job is changing, but in an era of automatic thinking and information overload, it is more important than ever.

How do think your expertise in peace and conflict resolution will serve you both within the Faculty Senate and as the faculty representative on the Board of Visitors?

I direct what’s called the Narrative Transformation Lab. Our baseline assumptions are that emotions matter as much as arguments do and that facts are only intelligible when situated in relation to values. From what I have seen of our new board members, they are very principled people who want the best for the university as articulated from their own point of view. Assuming that everyone brings the best intentions to the case makes it easier to look for those win-win opportunities that are almost always available if you search for them, and no one should forget that win-win is a peace and conflict resolution concept if not THE concept that defines the field.

From a global perspective, American universities have a real advantage over most other countries. Our decentralized structure allows and even forces each of our institutions to serve as global laboratories for the organization of knowledge, producing an intellectual ecology in which we have developed and sustained most of the best universities in the world. Look at the data. Whether it’s Nobel Prizes or global university rankings, the world still looks to the U.S., and increasingly the U.S. looks to Mason. The board members know what a great value proposition Mason is and they have no intention to compromise that. Our job is to make sure intentions match the available opportunities and to keep faculty centered in that conversation.

How significant of an issue is AI for Mason faculty? What sort of discussion is the Faculty Senate having about the implications of AI?

I’m really excited about AI, especially that part that works with language and writing. I like the metaphor of the old Texas Instruments calculator that people often use about the 1970s. We used to think of using a calculator as “cheating” just like we think of writing with the aid of a language model today. I use AI almost every day now, and I find it makes me that much smarter. It feels like what it was like in the ‘90s to start using Google and the other search engines that we had back then. You can just do so much more. Over the summer, the leadership team had a great presentation from a colleague at the University of Michigan who made a point that stuck with me: all good uses of AI require a human-in-the-loop. Maybe someday machines will tap into some form of universal consciousness and discover how to do without us, but so far, it looks like only the human being has the wisdom, contextual awareness, and moral judgment that is necessary to apply knowledge to meaningful problem solving.

If AI is not something to be afraid of but something to use, nevertheless, it really is time to wake up. What we mean by knowledge is changing and our modes of assessment will have to change along with that. It seems to me that AI places emphasis on lived experience and the present moment that will challenge all of us to grow in ways that will be both painful and exhilarating.

Since the pandemic, Faculty Senate meetings have taken place entirely on Zoom. Will that continue? Do you find that meeting virtually leads to greater engagement from senators and from faculty around the university?

There is nothing like face-to-face interaction, but we will continue to use Zoom for the actual Faculty Senate meetings. I think it’s just part of the new normal of higher education. Not only can a senator access the meeting from any one of our many campuses and locations (including Mason Korea), but this format allows for a much larger array of visitors to attend as well. I think the format expands the value of the senate to the university community and makes it easier and more efficient for us to manage our deliberations.

You’re coming up on two decades at the university. What are the major differences between the George Mason you came to in 2006 and the George Mason of today?

I will admit that the first I heard of ��AV was its famous Cinderella Final Four run in 2006, the year I arrived. Back then it was described almost like a commuter college with peaks or pillars of excellence. Now the university feels like a major player. In 2006, we were known for a variety of innovative and special programs like the old multidisciplinary Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (now the Carter School) that I joined. Now, we are good at almost everything we do, and getting better each year. I like President Washington’s line that this is the most competitive university environment in the country, and still we excel and grow. This is a great place to work and a great place to be a professor. My goal is to make the job even better.

Editor's note: Earlier versions of this story gave Simmons' rank as associate professor. We regret the error.

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Carter School student knocks the socks off year-long internship

Shayla Brown — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 17:53:35 +0000

Carter School student knocks the socks off year-long internship Shayla Brown Fri, 08/23/2024 - 13:53

��AV senior Nathaniel Socks has had two internships in his field, and he credits a course he took his sophomore year with his advisor Jane Walker for helping him get them.

“I took Jane [Walker]’s course CONF 314 Career Development Seminar, which was so helpful because we created resumes and [practiced] interviews,” said Socks, who is majoring in conflict analysis and resolution in the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution.

Nathaniel Socks. Photo provided

“I was able to get an internship with the Department of State that spring, and then also got accepted to do this Pathways internship, which could turn into a full-time job, so I’d say her class worked exactly how it was supposed to for me,” he said.

The Pathways Internship program is designed to provide students with opportunities to explore federal careers while being paid for the work performed. Socks is interning with the General Services Administration (GSA), a federal agency that works on procurement and acquisition services, and after completing a year-long internship, he’s eligible to convert to a full-time position through competitive hiring.

“As an intern here, I've been providing overall general support for different projects, as well as creating a newsletter for the team on travel industry updates. A big part of what my office does is work with travel management companies to get them contracted with different agencies,” said Socks.

Rather than zeroing in on one optimal career path, Walker, director of Undergraduate Student Services for the Carter School, said she uses the Career Development Seminar to help students expand their career focus and consider a minimum of three options.

“Conflict is everywhere, our students can apply their degrees to many different career paths—we want them to fully explore those opportunities within the class,” said Walker.

“Nathaniel is an excellent student, but more importantly, he is a hard worker that approaches life with humility—these are traits that will take him far in his career as they are valued and important for advancement and success,” she said.

For his previous internship at the Department of State, Socks was a staffer for the front office at the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.

“As a staffer, we did everything from drafting department documents to pushing papers to get cleared by heads of leadership. I would say that, because of everything going on in the Middle East, that position was a little bit more hectic and versatile, [whereas] this job with GSA and my responsibilities are more consistent,” said Socks.

Socks, who is working on a minor in intelligence studies, said it was originally his goal to work in international relations, but his internship at GSA has opened up the possibility of working in the travel industry.

“The GSA also contracts to the Department of State, so there’s still possibilities of me being able to get more experience with international affairs there,” he said.

Socks is set to graduate from George Mason in December and hopes to continue his journey at GSA.

“I didn't always feel confident in these different positions, especially with them being federal agencies, but the biggest lesson I’ve learned is to just be confident in your abilities,” said Socks.

In This Story

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Find your own internship with the help of Career Services

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Satellite imagery could aid in seeking justice for human rights violations in Sudan

Sarah Holland — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 13:26:43 +0000

Satellite imagery could aid in seeking justice for human rights violations in Sudan Sarah Holland Wed, 08/21/2024 - 09:26

On April 15, 2023, intense violence erupted in Sudan’s capital city of Khartoum between the state-run military and a non-state militia group. Over the past 16 months, the conflict has continued to expand in scale. Peace negotiations have collapsed. Civilians have experienced catastrophic humanitarian conditions.

��AV’s Daniel Rothbart has for many years investigated the plight of civilians in war globally. He believes that out of the 59 protracted violent conflicts around the world, the civil war in Sudan is among the most horrific.

“This conflict has had catastrophic humanitarian implications,” explained Rothbart, the Druscilla French Chair in Conflict Analysis and Resolution in the Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution. “There have been an estimated 16,000 fatalities and numerous cities destroyed. Right now, Sudan has the largest number of internally displaced persons in the world at 10.7 million people.”

As peace talks failed and conflict escalated, the Conflict Observatory, managed by the MITRE Corp and funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization operations, approached Rothbart and the Carter School to support an investigation into the human rights violations associated with the civil war.

In areas of violent conflict, scholars like Rothbart must find remote methods of data collection. One such method is through Open Source Investigations (OSINT), where publicly and commercially available information, such as satellite imagery, social media posts, and news reports, are collected and analyzed.

Because the Conflict Observatory specifically requested satellite imagery evidence, Rothbart enlisted a team of researchers from the College of Science’s Department of Geography and Geoinformation Science, including department chair Dieter Pfoser, to gather and analyze the images. Through this method, they can show side-by-side images of the large-scale destruction of civilian areas over the course of the conflict, such as markets, neighborhoods, and health care facilities.

Comparison photos of an area of El Fasher, North Darfur, Sudan showcasing the destruction of civilian property as a result of the ongoing civil war, as featured in the Sudan Conflict Observatory Situation Report "Impact on Civilians from Fighting in El Fasher, North Darfur, May 9-27, 2024"

This is a valuable kind of data for understanding the impact and trend of protracted violence, Rothbart said. “It captures the evolution of events over time in a particular region, and the amount of detail these experts are able to gleam from these images has been used to great effect.” As detailed in the report, the experts can distinguish between a building burned and a building bombed: important evidence for building a future case in prosecuting human rights violations.

But satellite imaging only tells part of the story of the destruction and devastation. Other information comes from witness testimonies, which Rothbart and his team gather with the help of the Sudan Human Rights Hub. By combining these two methods of data collection, they can paint a more robust picture of the breadth and depth of violence.

“For example, with both testimonies and open-source intelligence, we have documented that some militant forces have systematically killed civilians, bombed hospitals, and engaged in large-scale gender-based violence, ” Rothbart said.

Through these reports, Rothbart and his team are the primary source of evidence of civilian devastation in the war in Sudan. And while the evidence submitted by the team is under the discretion of the State Department, it could be used to prosecute the perpetrators of the described human rights violations.

The project is also an opportunity for students to gain valuable experience. Current conflict analysis and resolution PhD student Beltina Gjeloshi, and alumnus Mathieu Bere, PhD Conflict Analysis and Resolution ‘22, are both supporting members of Rothbart’s team.

“I’ve learned best practices in open-source investigations, a myriad of new digital tools, and how to capture evidence via different channels, such as satellite images and social media,” said Gjeloshi. “Coupling the training with my human rights and conflict resolution background has allowed me to formulate unique insights and use tools transdisciplinarily.”

“This deliberate violence against civilians requires that the international community takes measures to enforce international humanitarian law, protect civilians, and hold perpetrators accountable. The work that we have been doing in this project contributes to the fulfillment of that moral and legal requirement,” said Bere.

Daniel Rothbart. Photo by Creative Services/Office of University Branding

"On a purely academic and scientific side, we have been using, and hope to contribute to improve, some innovative technological tools, especially OSINT and GIS tools, for remotely monitoring and documenting what is happening in conflict zones, and for conducting real-time conflict research,” said Bere. “For example, we are exploring the possibility of developing an AI model that will facilitate some of the steps of the data-gathering process that may be automated. The project is an interdisciplinary work, which requires collaboration between experts from various disciplines."

Every conflict is unique, but there are repeated patterns in motivations, actions, and strategies. Rothbart hopes that the global peace community can learn from why and how peace talks have been unsuccessful in Sudan to improve their approaches to other protracted conflicts.

“We must be prepared to recognize that under certain conditions human beings can commit horrific acts,” Rothbart explained. “But in every case of protracted violent conflict, we find human beings who show an enormous degree of courageous compassion in the face of horrific violence. And that’s important to keep in mind.”

Find pathways to peace at the Carter School

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High school students learn conflict resolution skills at annual Conflict Resolution Youth Summit

Colleen Rich — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 19:42:17 +0000

High school students learn conflict resolution skills at annual Conflict Resolution Youth Summit Colleen Rich Tue, 08/20/2024 - 15:42

��AV’s Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution hosted its largest group of high schoolers to date, 46, for its ninth annual Conflict Resolution Youth Summit in July.

The ninth annual Conflict Resolution Youth Summit included a trip to Washington, D.C. Photo provided

Students came to George Mason’s Fairfax Campus from as far as Massachusetts, Texas, and China to participate in the four-day summit, which included a day trip to Washington, D.C., and 15 skill-building workshops designed to explore and address the various dimensions of conflict through mediation, negotiation, and collaboration.

The summit began with a workshop by James Coan from “More Like Us,” an organization dedicated to spreading the message that that Americans are more similar across the political spectrum than people realize. This workshop, titled “Defining the Perception Gap,” was aimed at fostering political depolarization and focused on engaging participants in meaningful dialogue about the misperceptions surrounding different political ideologies.

Following this, participants moved into the Carter School's bridge-building activities, which further challenged their perceptions, teamwork, and communication skills. These activities were instrumental in strengthening the group dynamics and enhancing their effectiveness throughout the summit.

The first simulation, known as the Portlandia Project, was conducted by Ryen Middleton, a graduate student from ��AV’s College of Public Health. In this simulation, participants took on roles in a multi-stakeholder scenario addressing an environmental crisis affecting working-class communities, applying negotiation skills to meet diverse needs.

The Conflict Resolution Youth Summit saw its highest attendance ever this year. Photo provided

The simulation had a big impact on Olivia Ossa, a student at Thomas Worthington High School in Worthington, Ohio. “I loved the simulations,” Ossa said. “[The Portlandia Project] gave me the opportunity to experience negotiating and compromising, as well as getting a chance to play a crucial role in community building and forming connections with my teammates. I really enjoyed the Model UN vibes it gave and learned a lot from it!”

To illustrate the broad spectrum of conflict, the Carter School hosted two community artists. Sol O'Neill worked with participants to create two, 5-foot-tall Indigenous figures, symbolizing place and home for Virginia tribes, with influences from South American culture. Renowned artist and Mason Artist in Residence Abi Naanseh introduced participants to the traditional techniques of Arabic calligraphy through his mural "Mahaba and Salaam."

“Abi was fantastic. I learned a lot, and he was clearly very passionate about his work,” said Owen Simmons, from Osbourn Park High School in Manassas, Virginia.

On the final day, participants tackled the issue of human trafficking in collaboration with Freedom Connections, a group of Carter School students who work on issues surround human trafficking. They focused on identifying signs of trafficking and exploring resources to support affected individuals.

The summit concluded with the conflict capstone event, where participants applied their newly acquired skills to address issues identified by their peers. Their findings and solutions were presented to their families during the closing ceremony.

New for the summit this year, students were able to stay overnight in George Mason residence halls. This was important for the soon-to-be college-bound students, such as Eli Wike from Potomac Falls High School in Sterling. “My favorite part was probably getting to get a taste of college life through the experience,” Wike said.

Additional support for the summit was provided by George Mason’s Student Success Coaching, Facilities, and Mason Exhibitions.

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State Department initiative brings Carter School students to the forefront of peacebuilding

Sarah Holland — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 20:13:07 +0000

State Department initiative brings Carter School students to the forefront of peacebuilding Sarah Holland Thu, 06/06/2024 - 16:13

Presentations aren't an uncommon final exam component. But few are as high stakes as presenting research to the U.S. Department of State in the hopes of paving the pathway to peace in fragile countries.

Photo provided

As part of the new Academic Centers of Conflict Anticipation and Prevention (ACCAP) initiative, ��AV students in the new Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution course Fragile States Policy had the opportunity to work with the U.S. Department of State on priority research.

ACCAP is a national academic partnership between American higher education institutions and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO) to anticipate, respond to, and prevent conflict in the global system that impacts U.S. national security interests.

“No matter how great the expertise of our staff or contractors, there’s only so much capacity we have to address some very critical topics,” explained Keith E. Noble, CSO’s Chief Data Officer and Advanced Analytics Office Director, who served as the instructor for the course in Carter School. “The idea for ACCAP is that we can reach out to our university partners to get supplemental analysis, research, and data that can help us expand our priorities.”

The U.S. Department of State initiated a search for the inaugural cohort of institutions conducting research in the conflict and stabilization space. The Carter School was, according to Noble, one of their first picks.

“The Carter School, which is the largest school in the country focused on conflict and stabilization-related issues, is right in our backyard,” he said. “And there was unique alignment in CSO’s core mission and the Carter School’s expertise, values, and willingness to engage the department to help us make better data-driven decisions in this space.”

This first cohort includes eight institutions, with hopes for expansion.

Based on conversations with its office directors and other agencies, CSO compiled a list of research opportunities pertaining to countries represented in the Global Fragility Act (GFA). Each institution can then claim the opportunities through a database, based on whether they have faculty with expertise, or interest in teaching a course or capstone around a relevant topic. The Carter School took it one step further: what if Noble himself taught a course based on this consortium, and selected the topics for Carter School students to research?

Noble, who saw this as an opportunity to demonstrate how CSO wanted each institution to approach their selected research, agreed.

For the course, Noble selected topics that he thought would be achievable within the semester time frame as well as appropriately challenging for the students—Coastal West Africa: Social Network Analysis (Ghana and Togo); Women, Peace, and Security (Haiti); Women in Politics (Haiti); and Communal Impact Mining (Papua New Guinea).

Chad Cline, MS in Conflict Analysis and Resolution ‘24, was on the Women, Peace, and Security team. “I learned so much about each country in the GFA,” he said of his classroom experience. “It gave me a different perspective.”

With ACCAP’s goal being delivering valuable research to CSO, Noble wanted stakeholders involved in his students’ research from the start. “We wanted this to be an iterative process where department staff spent time investing in the students, providing mentorship and building relationships so the department could, first, get a better final product, and second, show these students that CSO could be a destination after they graduate,” Noble said. “It was mutually reinforcing incentives.”

At the end of the course, Carter School students presented their work at the U.S. Department of State; George Mason was the first institution to submit completed projects.

Chief Data Officer and Advanced Analytics Office Director Keith Noble. Photo provided.

“It was a mix of anticipation, preparation, and planning, as well as a deep sense of responsibility,” recalled Hamad Aldhlea, a PhD student in conflict analysis and resolution. His team worked on Coastal West Africa: Social Network Analysis. “I received invaluable feedback, and it was an excellent opportunity to build a network with State Department officials.”

The course is planned to run again in the fall.

“There are any number of internships and opportunities for students within this department and other USG agencies that offer great experience, but rarely reach the critical point where the work the students are doing is impacting policy,” Noble said. “This work, however, is filling critical gaps and will have real and practical impacts on our offices and the work we do. We’re looking to the Carter School to make substantive contributions to our global mission.”

Karina Valenzuela, a PhD student in conflict analysis and resolution, also worked on Women, Peace, and Security. “It’s one thing to write a paper for a grade and quite another to present research to a group of professionals working in these complex situations who tell you the work you’ve done is valuable,” she said.

Noble believes that the Carter School’s proximity to Washington, D.C. and the expertise and quality of its faculty and students will allow it to play a leading role in the developing ACCAP community.

“I think this will not only enhance the prestige of the university, but will help deliver real-time, value-added analyses that will help this government make better data-informed decisions,” Noble said, “and that’s something the Carter School should be very proud of.”

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Graduating Carter School student is trailblazing a new path to peace

Sarah Holland — Tue, 07 May 2024 19:31:22 +0000

Graduating Carter School student is trailblazing a new path to peace Sarah Holland Tue, 05/07/2024 - 15:31

Keil Eggers is the first to admit that his research methods are unique to the world of conflict analysis and resolution. But as he is hooded at the 2024 Commencement ceremony at George Mason, his unorthodox approach is becoming the standard for George Mason Peace Engineering Lab in the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution.

Photo provided

Eggers, who is graduating from Mason with his PhD in Conflict Analysis and Resolution, has been a champion of complexity-informed conflict transformation, futures, and SenseMaker: a technology that applies a quantitative framework to narrative data submitted and interpreted by the subjects themselves.

“My professors have always been willing to let me experiment and have supported me in trying new things,” he said. “That’s one of the biggest strengths of the Carter School, how it allows people to explore unique combinations of scholarship, ideas, and disciplines.”

As a Kansas native with an interest in international politics, Eggers knew he wanted to be in the center of the action in the Washington, D.C., region when applying as an undergraduate. George Mason was the perfect fit. After a year in the international politics degree program, however, he took a course in the Carter School, and “it sealed the deal,” he said.

“I found it to be a much more helpful approach to problem-solving. It’s less about protecting one country’s interests and more about building international relationships based on dialogue, mutual learning, and mutual respect. It creates much more fulfilling relationships.”

After graduating with his BA in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from the Carter School and the Honors College in 2015, Eggers received his MA in International Peace Studies from the UN-Mandated University for Peace before returning to George Mason for his PhD.

Eggers’ approach to research using sensemaking technology is unique, particularly in academia, and very few programs could accommodate it. The Carter School, however, was interested in Eggers’ methodology and had a fellowship with that topic in mind. He was the first to receive the Peace Engineering Fellowship, one of the Provost PhD Awards designed to support the creation of the Peace Engineering Lab, where conflict analysis and resolution experts would work with engineers to create innovative technologies for peace building.

“More and more often, engineers are put on the front lines to solve social conflict through designing infrastructure or new technologies,” Eggers explained. “But their solutions also have social impact, which needs to be accounted for and considered during the design process. They need more tools to understand that impact and how it will affect peace, which we can provide. And, on the other side, we need support in developing and implementing new analytical technologies.”

Part of Eggers’ work with the lab included setting up internal and external partnerships, including with the Cynefin Centre for Applied Complexity: the creators behind the SenseMaker tool. The lab has used SenseMaker in local, national, and international research projects.

“I saw my role as creating a strong intellectual foundation for the lab, trying to figure out what our unique approach as the only conflict analysis and resolution school in the broader peace engineering field could be,” Eggers said. “We were building the plane as we were flying it, so to speak. We had a strong belief that this is an emerging field and a gap that needed to be filled. We keep showing up, putting in the work, and we’re cementing our role in the field as being at the forefront of this.”

Through the largest grant ever given to Carter School, the lab recieved funding to expand into one of the university's research centers. It plans to relaunch in fall 2024.

Meanwhile, Eggers simultaneously completed his dissertation, utilizing the same sensemaking technology he worked to implement in the lab. With the support of partnering organizations Horizon Project and Common Ground USA, “Us Against When: Futures and Complexity-Informed Conflict Transformation in the United States” looked at five states with higher risk of political violence, collecting data from 800 subjects. He presented his work at the Alliance for Peacebuilding’s PeaceCon2023, and used his research to build the syllabus for and teach Honors 360: "Us Against When: Exploring Peaceful Futures for the United States."

After graduation, Eggers hopes he can continue his work to develop complexity-informed approaches to research, sensemaking, and futures methodologies through a postdoc position. He also has a dream of putting together a music festival for peace at the Carter School's Point of View facility.

“Your destiny is in your hands when you enter a PhD program,” Eggers said, when asked what advice he would give to a first year PhD. “Explore what you like, craft the experience you want. Believe in your own power to be persistent and pave the path you want to see.”

Spring Commencement 2024

Build peace in the Carter School

Recognizing George Mason's 2024 graduates

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May 17, 2024
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May 9, 2024

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Mason Korea senior discovers his passion for peacebuilding and opera

Colleen Rich — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 18:10:55 +0000

Mason Korea senior discovers his passion for peacebuilding and opera Colleen Rich Wed, 04/10/2024 - 14:10

After several leadership camps in the United States and the U.K. during junior high, Seung Gyo Kim felt that pursuing college abroad was the best way to express his unique identity and broaden his knowledge.

Seung Gyo Kim. Photo provided

“I wanted to break away from the fixed framework of Korean success and be at a place where I can freely chase my interests,” said the ��AV undergraduate. After being introduced to the extended campus of Mason Korea through an admissions event in 2015, he realized he could still stay near his family and develop his English skills by receiving the same quality instruction in Korea.

While he was considering taking over his parents’ business after college, he enrolled in management courses at Mason Korea. However, a turning point came when Kim enlisted in the Korean Air Force military band as a singer for his mandatory service.

“After thinking about how I could integrate different fields with my passion for opera singing, I realized my devotion to creating my artwork, which would only be possible through an interdisciplinary field,” Kim said. This thought was the beginning of Kim not only changing his major to conflict analysis and resolution, but also taking advantage of Mason Korea as a platform for his career aspirations.

After taking classes on interpersonal dynamics, speech communication, and international conflicts, he realized he was interested in public diplomacy. With help from the Career Development Center at Mason Korea, he was able to secure an internship with the United Nations Office of Sustainable Development (UNOSD) and in a policy advocacy program of the World Federation of United Nations Association (WFUNA).

“I would have never imagined being able to intern at these institutions,” said Kim. “These opportunities provided by Mason Korea showed me that I could do valuable work.”

Kim brought these experiences and ideas to Mason’s Fairfax Campus, where he has been preparing for a Korean Art Song event at the 2024 Peace Week hosted by the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution in September. Through the event, he aims to share the stories and struggles of many Korean immigrants and international students by bringing Korean opera singers and the local community together. He hopes to bridge generations and share the diversity of the Korean diaspora through the event, ultimately reaching the goal of merging peacebuilding with opera singing.

“Seung Gyo epitomizes the caliber of young leaders who are indispensable in shaping our world for the better,” said Roland B. Wilson, program coordinator and term faculty member for the conflict and resolution program in Mason Korea. “Moreover, like countless other students who have graced our unique and highly sought-after program, Seung Gyo's journey underscores the importance of nurturing talent and fostering leadership among our youth."

Kim plans to graduate in December and hopes his story will inspire other students to forge their own pathways. “Mason Korea as an environment is a place for students who have not yet discovered their true passion, but have the will to pursue their unknown dreams, to be shaped by faculty, staff, and their peers,” he said.

“Mason Korea is people who were interested in who I was as an individual and were eager to give me a chance to see my worth in this world.”

Mason Korea opened its doors to in 2014. As part of Mason Korea’s 10th anniversary, Mason will host events in Korea and on the Fairfax Campus. This is the first in a series of stories highlighting Mason Korea students.
Learn more about Mason Korea's anniversary >>

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Intergenerational conversation brings together OLLI members and Mason students

Lauren Reuscher — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 14:24:57 +0000

Intergenerational conversation brings together OLLI members and Mason students Lauren Reuscher Wed, 04/10/2024 - 10:24

Members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at ��AV and students from the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution explored their lived experiences and had the opportunity to talk about their feelings, opinions, and thoughts regarding the current events surrounding Israel and Palestine.

The Dialogue and Difference Project aims to promote cultural, political, and social understanding through the process of community dialogue participation. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

The March 20 event was organized by OLLI, the Carter School, and the University Libraries, which provided informational resources for the event. Carter School’s Dialogue and Difference Project was used to facilitate the conversation.

OLLI is a Mason affiliate organization that offers intellectual and cultural experiences in a welcoming atmosphere to Northern Virginia residents in their retirement years. OLLI Mason Executive Director Jennifer Disano called the event a major success and a model for future intergenerational conversations across Mason’s campuses and beyond.

“Not only did this event create a meaningful intergenerational dialogue, but it also provided a real-world opportunity for student facilitators to practice their skills,” said Anne Osterman, Dean of Libraries.

The Dialogue and Difference Project team offers student-led group facilitation to encourage and facilitate meaningful discussions, leading to better understanding between individuals and groups.

OLLI member Pat Bangs said, the event “was a unique and valuable opportunity for OLLI members and students to discuss issues that are important to us, in a setting that allowed passionate, conflicting opinions to be voiced in a respectful manner. I was reminded of the diversity of this generation and have great hope for their future contributions."

OLLI member Richard Crawford seconded the value of the event, saying he gained insight into how social media influences students’ understanding. “I was impressed with their analytical approach to conflict resolution,” he said. “What [the students] may lack in experience is offset with their critical thinking and intelligence.”

Event participants voiced enthusiasm for planning and participating in future intergenerational conversations, recognizing their value and significance.

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Mason’s research is best in Virginia in multiple EduRank rankings

Sarah Holland — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 16:41:23 +0000

Mason’s research is best in Virginia in multiple EduRank rankings Sarah Holland Wed, 04/03/2024 - 12:41

Eighteen ��AV programs are ranked the best in Virginia in a new report by EduRank that focuses on performance in research.

Students enjoy the cherry blossoms on the Fairfax Campus. Photo by Eduardo de Souza/Office of University Branding.

Topping the list is Mason’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, which for the second consecutive year was ranked No. 1 among all public institutions and No. 2 among all institutions nationally.

Best-in-Virginia programs were spread across the university and included those from the Costello College of Business, the Schar School of Policy and Government, the College of Engineering and Computing, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS), the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, the College of Visual and Performing Arts, the Antonin Scalia Law School, the College of Education and Human Development, and the ROTC.

That research is supported by entities such as the Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Impact, which has overall responsibility for Mason’s research enterprise and support of entrepreneurship and innovation. And Costello College’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship lets students dig into entrepreneurship, from the theoretical to the experimental.

Mason’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is anchored by the university and reaches out into the broader community. Mason Enterprise, a division of the Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Impact, is a strategic collection of 24 programs that support entrepreneurs and small business owners across Virginia, and conducts more than 1,500 training programs and more than 30,000 hours of one-on-one counseling with entrepreneurs in the community and from universities each year.

It is that environment of research, discovery, and innovation, which is a main contributor to Mason’s R1 designation from the Carnegie Classification of Higher Education as one of the nation’s top research universities.

And though the EduRank rankings focus mainly on research performance, they are an indicator of the quality of the programs from which that research is produced.

“Mason is committed to accelerating the translation of research into practice by leveraging university talent, infrastructure, and partnerships to create solutions for societies’ toughest challenges at speed and scale,” said Andre Marshall, Mason’s vice president for research, innovation, and economic impact. “It is a credit to our faculty and students that Mason is a place where we can put theory into practice.”

Added Paula Sorrell, Mason’s associate vice president of innovation and economic development, “Mason was originally created by the business community to serve its needs, and for 50 years it has been doing just that. In the past four years, we’ve significantly amped up our tech entrepreneurship to support and mirror the rapidly growing tech economy, adding 16 new programs and counting.”

Research is the bedrock of entrepreneurship, Costello College dean Ajay Vinzé said.

The university’s top rankings “are in many ways reflective of our approach to business education and the business of higher education,” he said. “Our approach—built on the foundation of a rich university-wide entrepreneurial ecosystem, powered by a growing body of faculty research across multiple fields of study—is changing the arc of higher education expectation and delivery as we prepare the next generation of leaders.”

Costello College is a contributor to the top entrepreneurship ranking, along with the Schar School and the Mercatus Center, all of which produce volumes of research, articles, and papers for an abundance of publications.

Schar School dean Mark J. Rozell called entrepreneurship research “a very distinguishing feature for a public policy and government school.”

Its research at the Center for Micro-Economic Policy Research (CMEPR), for example, is focused on diversity and disadvantaged groups among entrepreneurs, especially those who are Black, immigrants, and female. It also looks at job creation by minority entrepreneurs in minority and low-income communities.

“The center brings an unusual contribution to research on entrepreneurship by focusing on these issues,” said John Earle, the center’s director and a Distinguished University Professor, who has published more than 60 articles and scholarly papers. “While the typical focus for entrepreneurship studies is for performance, especially for firms receiving venture-capital support, CMEPR research analyzes a much broader range of businesses, and how public policies affect the entry, growth, and survival of those owned by minority entrepreneurs.”

At the College of Engineering and Computing, Dean Ken Ball noted that CEC faculty garnered more than $119 million in research awards in 2023.

Dean Alpaslan Ozerdem's Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution class. Photo by: Ron Aira/Office of University Branding.

“I’m proud that our research has informed and strengthened our academic programs and led to innovation and economic growth that benefits society,” Ball said. “Mason has consistently been a national leader in cybersecurity, data analytics, software engineering, aviation, and web development. These rankings reflect the impact CEC researchers have in areas of engineering and computing that are relevant to everyone, as well as our leadership position among Virginia’s public universities.”

CHSS dean Ann Ardis said her college’s contributions to research in best-of-Virginia areas such as criminology, broadcasting, law enforcement, journalism, and political economy “are a testament to the scholarly excellence of our faculty. We take immense pride in our researchers’ contributions to Mason’s growing reputation nationally as a comprehensive R1 institution with strengths across a range of research areas.”

For Alpaslan Özerdem, dean of the Carter School, the ranking in conflict resolution “fuels our dedication to shaping a more peaceful and understanding world.”

Özerdem noted that the school has been at the forefront of teaching, researching, and implementing conflict resolution for four decades.

“So being recognized as the premier institution for conflict resolution in Virginia deepens our pride and reaffirms our vital role within the broader conflict resolution ecosystem of the commonwealth,” he said.

Here are the programs ranked the best in Virginia, with ranking among public institutions and overall national ranking; best in Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland (DMV) where noted:

Aviation: 8, 11 (best in the DMV)

Broadcast Journalism: 40, 58

Cinematography: 29, 48 (best in the DMV)

Conflict Resolution: 15, 28

Criminology: 19, 26

Cybersecurity: 21, 33

Data Administration: 19, 29

Entrepreneurship: 1, 2 (best in the DMV)

Human Rights Law: 9, 28 (best in the DMV)

Intellectual Property Law: 6, 18 (best in the DMV)

Law Enforcement: 5, 10 (best in the DMV)

Military Science: 33, 47

Political Economy: 14, 28

Public Policy Administration: 17, 29 (best in the DMV)

Radio & TV Broadcasting: 37, 55

Remote Sensing: 29, 39

Software Engineering: 11, 15

Web Development: 12, 18

See EduRank’s methodology here.

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Carter School partners with Rotary to scale up peacebuilding

Colleen Rich — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 17:19:07 +0000

Carter School partners with Rotary to scale up peacebuilding Colleen Rich Tue, 03/05/2024 - 12:19

The Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School at ��AV, the top-ranked national public institution for peace and conflict resolution, has partnered with Rotary International, one of the largest global membership service organizations, to provide education and develop modalities to assist Rotary clubs in promoting local, regional, and global peace.

Dean Alpaslan Özerdem with Gordon McInally, president of Rotary International. Photo provided

For nearly a year, Carter School faculty have met with Rotary to identify areas in which their missions overlap and where each organization may benefit from the expertise of the other.

Through this partnership, the Carter School and Rotary will incubate new peacebuilding ideas and accelerate existing ideas to make them more effective. The Carter School will also assist in developing replicable modalities of peacebuilding—peacebuilding action “templates” that can be duplicated and applied to address the needs of different conflicts.

Rotary connects 1.4 million people of action from more than 46,000 Rotary clubs in almost every country in the world. Their service improves lives both locally and internationally.

“This critical partnership will open many opportunities for both organizations as they can build on each other’s strengths and expertise in peacebuilding,” said Alpaslan Özerdem, dean of the Carter School. “We have taken our time in forming this partnership as we wanted to ensure that it is a bottom-up process and incorporated a vast body of viewpoints in shaping how it would be transformational with its impact on peace. We are ready to scale up our efforts to build more peaceful societies worldwide. Knowing that we will take this transformational journey with an organization like Rotary fills me with confidence, excitement, and hope.”

Photo provided

Additionally, the Carter School will tap into its Better Evidence Project (BEP) expertise, which hosts an online depository of peacebuilding research and applied successes. Under this partnership, Rotary’s peacebuilding efforts will be integrated into the BEP database, making their organization’s work accessible to other peacebuilders. Plans include an online forum, tying Rotary into a global community of researchers and practitioners where peacebuilders can strategize and discuss their work.

Taking advantage of its expert faculty, the Carter School will provide educational strategies to equip Rotary members and their leaders to be more effective peacebuilding practitioners. In addition to seminars, the Carter School will host several “Peace Salons,” intimate gatherings to raise awareness and build networks with Rotary members in peacebuilding practice. In Fall 2024, Rotary and the Carter School will host the first Peacebuilding Praxis Conference, illustrating the nexus of theory and practice.

“Creating peaceful, welcoming, and inclusive societies is at the heart of what Rotary is about,” said Rotary International President Gordon McInally. “We’ve made peacebuilding the cornerstone of our global mission with everything we do, from fighting disease to supporting education, building toward the optimal conditions for more peaceful and resilient societies. But we can’t do this alone. Through our partnership with the Carter School, we will help empower, educate, and increase the capacity of our members and participants to become even more effective catalysts for peace.”

Charles Davidson, a Carter School professor specializing in local peacebuilding and partnerships between international and local constituents, will facilitate connections between Rotary members and faculty with expertise in a geo region or peacebuilding specialty. “With the global reach of Rotary and the world-renown expertise of the Carter School, I believe this collaboration will innovate peacebuilding efforts at both the local and global levels with specific but far-reaching impact and education,” Davidson said.

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Mason’s research is best in Virginia in multiple EduRank rankings

Here are the programs ranked the best in Virginia, with ranking among public institutions and overall national ranking; best in Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland (DMV) where noted:

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