Retro Mason

Retro Mason: George Mason College opens in Fairfax, 1964

Colleen Rich — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 21:09:43 +0000

Retro Mason: George Mason College opens in Fairfax, 1964 Colleen Rich Thu, 09/12/2024 - 17:09

George Mason College officially opened in Fairfax, Virginia, on Sept. 14, 1964. Then a branch campus of the University of Virginia, the college welcomed 356 registered students and had a faculty that included seven full-time and 18 part-time instructors. The campus consisted of four buildings, then named North, South, East, and West.

At the time, it was the only college in the capital region with buildings that were fully air-conditioned. Though the temperatures were comfortable inside, some amenities still needed to be added. Food service was not available at first, but efforts were quickly made to address that. During the first week of classes, vending machines were hastily set up in a study hall.

George Mason would later set up a dining hall, the Ordinary, in the South Building (now called Krug Hall). The Ordinary was open until the University Union, now known as Student Union Building I, was built in 1974.

Photo credit: George Mason College, fall 1964. ��AV photograph collection, #R0120, Special Collections Research Center, ��AV Libraries

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Retro Mason: Muzzio places fifth at the Barcelona Olympics, 1992

Colleen Rich — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 17:32:21 +0000

Retro Mason: Muzzio places fifth at the Barcelona Olympics, 1992 Colleen Rich Mon, 08/05/2024 - 13:32

Muzzio Places Fifth at the Barcelona Olympics, 1992

��AV alumnus and former track star Rob Muzzio, BS ’87, finished fifth in the decathlon competition during the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Although he didn’t bring home a medal, Muzzio told the Washington Post that he performed a “personal best” in the second day of the 10-event decathlon, moving from 20th place the first day to fifth place finish overall. Muzzio won the pole vault portion of the competition.

In addition to Muzzio, who was representing the United States, nine George Mason athletes qualified to represent their native countries in 1992: heptathlete and long jumper Diane Guntrie and sprinters Anthony Wallace and Patrick O’Connor of Jamaica; pole-vaulter Istvan Bagyula of Hungary; middle-distance runner Abdi Bile of Somalia; sprinters John Myles-Mills, Eric Akogyiram, and Tim Hesse of Ghana; and long-distance runner Stephan Franke of Germany.

Barcelona was the second time Bile, who was the 1987 world champion in 1,500 meters, carried Somalia’s flag in the opening ceremonies. His first time was when he competed in 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Information provided by Fall 1992 Inside Patriot Circles alumni newsletter.

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Retro Mason: North Campus, 1972–1983

Colleen Rich — Thu, 25 Jul 2024 18:25:58 +0000

Retro Mason: North Campus, 1972–1983 Colleen Rich Thu, 07/25/2024 - 14:25

Façade of the North Campus building in 1975.

��AV once occupied the former Fairfax High School building, located on Fairfax Boulevard between Fairfax Circle and the intersection of Routes 50 and 29. From 1972 to 1983, George Mason operated a satellite campus, known as North Campus, at the location.

The original Fairfax High School building opened in 1935. In 1972, the growing student population moved into a new building, the current Fairfax High School, located in the City of Fairfax on Lion Run.

George Mason was looking for additional facilities to host new programs in nursing, education, and business. Space on campus was limited, and enrollment was doubling every two years. The university purchased the former high school from Fairfax County Schools for $1.8 million. The property consisted of approximately 100,000 square feet of space (including classrooms, a cafeteria, library, and theater), and 16 acres of land, which included athletic fields.

In 1983, George Mason sold the property to the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, which used the space for Pope Paul VI High School. Today, the historic building is part of the Boulevard VI housing development.

Photo credit: University Libraries' Special Collections Research Center, Broadside photographs collection (#R0135)

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Retro Mason: Vernon Smith wins Nobel Prize 2002

Colleen Rich — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 12:52:30 +0000

Retro Mason: Vernon Smith wins Nobel Prize 2002 Colleen Rich Thu, 12/01/2022 - 07:52

Twenty years ago, in December 10, 2002, Vernon L. Smith was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, recognizing his pioneering work in the field of experimental economics. Currently professor emeritus of economics and law, Smith returned to campus in November 2016, just shy of his 90th birthday, for a ceremony renaming the Metropolitan Building at Mason Square (formerly the Arlington Campus) Vernon Smith Hall. Smith was the second Mason economist to win the Nobel for his work. The first was James M. Buchanan in 1987.

Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

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Retro Mason: Fairfax Campus aerial shot 1995

Colleen Rich — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 18:05:04 +0000

Retro Mason: Fairfax Campus aerial shot 1995 Colleen Rich Tue, 11/22/2022 - 13:05

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One of ��AV alum Neil Adams’ most memorable moments as a professional photographer came while he was working for what was then Mason’s Office of University Publications in 1995.

There was a Huey helicopter on campus for a Reserve Officer's Training Corps (ROTC) event.

“I was always one with the attitude of if you don’t ask, you’ll never get,” Adams said Adams, who graduated from Mason with MA in visual information technology in 2001. “So I walked over to the officer, told him who I was, and asked if there was a possibility they could take me up to take some aerials of the university. They said, sure, you just have to put on a uniform. They gave me a uniform, I went to my office to change, and they took me up.”

Adams, who worked at Mason from 1991 to 1999, said they flew about six or seven loops around the Fairfax Campus while he took photos.

“I had a harness on, and I was hanging out the side of the helicopter,” he said of the moment.

Find out more about Adams.

Photo credit: Neil Adams

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Retro Mason: Stephen King appears at Fall for the Book 2011

Colleen Rich — Fri, 07 Oct 2022 16:30:05 +0000

Retro Mason: Stephen King appears at Fall for the Book 2011 Colleen Rich Fri, 10/07/2022 - 12:30

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Learn more about Fall for the Book

On September 23, 2011, Stephen King spoke at ��AV’s Fall for the Book before a packed Center for the Arts audience. He read from his soon-to-be-published book Doctor Sleep, a sequel to The Shining, and accepted the Mason Prize for his extraordinary contributions to bringing literature to a wide reading public.

Since 1999, Fall for the Book, an independent nonprofit literary arts organization based at Mason, has hosted such award-winning authors as Neil Gaiman, Diana Gabaldon, Mitch Albom, Amy Tan, John Lewis, and Angie Thomas, among others.

The festival promotes reading by sponsoring year-round events, including the festival held every October. This year’s festival runs October 12–15, 2022. Partners include the Fairfax County Public Library, the Fairfax Library Foundation, and the City of Fairfax. Now in its 23rd year, Fall for the Book is Northern Virginia’s oldest and largest festival of literature and the arts.

Find out more about this year’s festival.

Watch a video to King’s talk.

Photo credit: Alexis Glenn/Creative Services

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Retro Mason: Ansari in Space 2006

Colleen Rich — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 20:41:48 +0000

Retro Mason: Ansari in Space 2006 Colleen Rich Fri, 09/30/2022 - 16:41

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In 2006, ��AV alum Anousheh Ansari, BS Computer and Electrical Engineering ’88, captured headlines around the world when she embarked upon an 11-day space expedition to the International Space Station, accomplishing her childhood dream of flying to space. As a result of her mission, she became the first female private space explorer, first astronaut of Iranian descent, first Muslim woman in space, and fourth private explorer to visit space.

She shared her experiences on campus during National Engineers Week 2007 and was Mason’s Winter Graduation speaker in 2012, where she was awarded an honorary doctorate.

Ansari is currently the CEO of the XPRIZE Foundation, the world’s leader in designing and operating large incentive competitions to solve humanity’s grand challenges. Ansari and her family sponsored the organization’s first competition, the Ansari XPRIZE, a $10 million competition that ignited a new era for commercial spaceflight. Since then, she has served on XPRIZE’s Board of Directors.

Ansari received her honorary Doctor of Science at Winter Graduation in 2012 from then Mason president Ángel Cabrera. Photo by Craig Bisacre/Creative Services

Prior to being named CEO of XPRIZE, Ansari cofounded and served as the CEO of Prodea Systems, a leading Internet of Things (IoT) technology firm.

Ansari serves on the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council and has received numerous honors, including the WEF Young Global Leader, Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and STEM Leadership Hall of Fame, among others. She is a UNESCO Good Will Ambassador and serves on the board of Jabil and Peace First, as well as several other not-for-profit organizations focused on STEM education, youth empowerment and social entrepreneurship.

She published a memoir, “My Dream of Stars,” to share her life story as inspiration for young women around the world.

Photo courtesy of Ansari

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Retro Mason: Science and Technology Campus dedicated 1997

Colleen Rich — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 20:53:52 +0000

Retro Mason: Science and Technology Campus dedicated 1997 Colleen Rich Thu, 09/15/2022 - 16:53

In 1994 ��AV broke ground on 120 acres in Prince William County that was donated by IBM, local real-estate developers, and private families. Originally called the Prince William Institute, that parcel, now the Science and Technology Campus, anchors the Innovation Park in that county and is home to the Biomedical Research Laboratory, a Biosafety Level 3 research facility that is one of only 12 in the country, and an outdoor forensic science research laboratory that is one of only eight in the world.

In this photo from the campus dedication and opening of the first building on September 24, 1997, are former President George Johnson, Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathleen Seefeldt, State Senator Charles J. "Chuck" Colgan, Delegate Harry Parrish, and President Alan Merten.

Photo credit: University Libraries' Special Collections Research Center, ��AV Photograph Collection, 1950s-1999

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Retro Mason: Mason Korea launches 2014

Colleen Rich — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 15:14:58 +0000

Retro Mason: Mason Korea launches 2014 Colleen Rich Fri, 09/09/2022 - 11:14

Mason Korea launched in Songdo, South Korea, in March 2014, as part of the Incheon Global Campus, a national project established by the Korean government and Incheon Metropolitan City to innovate the Korean education system and nurture the next generation of global leaders. Mason Korea offers degrees in six undergraduate disciplines and encourages Korea-based students to experience one year of their college studies in the United States. More than 700 students, representing more than 20 countries, are currently studying at Mason Korea.

Photo credit: Ji Kang/Creative Services

Learn more about Mason Korea

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Retro Mason: Gorbachev Visit 2009

Colleen Rich — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 20:01:59 +0000

Retro Mason: Gorbachev Visit 2009 Colleen Rich Wed, 08/31/2022 - 16:01

Mikhail Gorbachev was no stranger to ��AV. On March 24, 2009, a sold-out crowd of 1,500+ students, faculty, staff, and others gave the former Soviet leader a standing ovation as he took the podium for his keynote address at a two-day Mason conference titled “1989: Looking Back, Looking Forward.” The above photo shows Gorbachev meeting with attendees at a reception in his honor during the conference.

This was not late Soviet leader’s first visit to Mason. He also spoke at the World Congress on Information Technology in 1989.

Gorbachev, who is credited for ending the Cold War, died on August 30 at the age of 91.

Photo credit: Creative Services

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