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President’s town hall sessions scheduled

Pam Shepherd — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 16:10:19 +0000

President’s town hall sessions scheduled Pam Shepherd Mon, 04/01/2024 - 12:10

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��AV President Gregory Washington will host two 90-minute town hall sessions to discuss the state of the university and to engage with faculty and staff.

The first town hall, for faculty and staff working in academic units, will take place on November 18 from 2:30–4:00 p.m., in Dewberry Hall.

The second town hall, for Mason employees working in non-academic units, will take place on Monday, December 9 at 2:30 p.m., in the HUB Ballroom.

For those unable to attend in person, both sessions will be livestreamed on Zoom. Please contact your respective unit leadership for Zoom links and passwords.  While questions will be taken at the conclusion of each town hall, please note the Zoom chat function will not be enabled. Should virtual attendees have any questions, please provide them to your designated unit contact so they can be shared in-person during your respective town hall session.

Captioning will be available on the livestream. If you are in need of sign language interpreters for this event, please reach out directly to the Office of Disability Services. If United Language Group (ULG) services are needed, please reach out directly to the Office of Human Resources.

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President Washington to host two town hall meetings during fall semester

Pam Shepherd — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 16:12:15 +0000

President Washington to host two town hall meetings during fall semester Pam Shepherd Thu, 09/28/2023 - 12:12

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Gregory Washington

��AV President Gregory Washington will host two 90-minute town halls to discuss the state of the university and to engage with faculty and staff.

The first town hall, for Mason employees working in non-academic units, will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 10, from 3–5 p.m. on the Fairfax Campus in the Hub ballroom.

The second town hall, for employees working in academic units, will take place on Monday, Nov. 6, from 1–3 p.m. on the Fairfax Campus in the Johnson Center, Dewberry Hall.

For those unable to attend in person, both town halls will be livestreamed on Zoom. Please contact your respective unit leadership for Zoom links and passwords.

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Reflecting on Dr. King's determination and resolve

Melanie Balog — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 14:20:27 +0000

Reflecting on Dr. King's determination and resolve Melanie Balog Mon, 01/18/2021 - 09:20

Fellow Patriots:

This holiday weekend overflows with irony. When I think of any march on Washington, the image that immediately comes to mind is that of Martin Luther King Jr., arguably America’s greatest leader of non-violent social change, at the base of the Lincoln Memorial.

Contrast that with the images of the more than 25,000 soldiers who currently occupy our capital as a direct result of what former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund described as a “violent attack … unlike any I have experienced in my 30 years in law enforcement here in Washington, D.C.”

This irony creates many more questions than answers: How did a protest that was supposed to dispute an election get corrupted with guns, multiple Confederate flags, and racists and anti-Semitic slogans? The lack of a meaningful outcry from the protestors and their supporters that these elements did not represent their ideals left many to believe the protestors were in support of the vandalism, hatred and anti-American symbols and sentiments. It’s really illuminating that these were some of the very issues that King fought against.

How can we make sense of a nation that suddenly needs 25,000 troops in its capital just to safeguard the peaceful transition of power from one president to the next?

Is there really an equivalency between the protest in Washington, D.C. this summer following the deaths Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor, and the protest on January 6th? Did law enforcement treat these entities as equivalent?

And how on earth do we make sense of this at a time when we are supposed to be reflecting and taking meaningful action toward nonviolent social advancement?

I have found inspiration in the teachings of Dr. King himself, particularly from his Letter From Birmingham City Jail. He wrote it in 1963 as he sat in solitary confinement, having been arrested for peacefully protesting the oppressive segregation of Bull Connor’s Birmingham.

He is described as having felt despair and panic in his isolation. It is evident that many Americans share this sentiment today whether they are protesting police brutality or the election results.

During King’s incarceration, a sympathetic guard smuggled him a newspaper, which contained a scathing open letter to him from eight local clergy, who condemned him as an “extremist,” and his protests as “unwise and untimely.”

Out of his despair, he regained resolve and penned his now-immortal response. Three points in particular resonate with me on this weekend, and I invite you to reflect on them, as well:

Reject violence, no matter what.

In his letter, he described how he and his fellow protestors had to steel themselves for the violence they knew their peaceful protests would draw out. He would tell them: “We adopt the means of nonviolence because our end is a community at peace with itself."

King goes further to remind us that, “Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” These statements were lessons for his followers at that time but are equally true in this moment.

Progress toward social justice is not automatic.

“Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability,” Dr. King wrote from his jail cell. It takes constant work and the effective use of time. “We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right. … Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity.”

As we prepare to inaugurate a new president, we have reached a moment of sobering national reckoning about who we have been, who we are, and therefore, in time, who we might become. Just as we were told after each mass shooting over the last decade that “now is not the time” to address the root causes of gun violence in America, Dr. King was chided that his social movement was “untimely.” Waiting was always the advice he would receive, and thankfully reject.

We were not ready for the events of January 6. We as a nation will never be ready, or be comfortable, with the gut-wrenching truths that these events and the social justice events of 2020 now demand that we examine. It is time to stop waiting until we are “ready,” because such a comfortable moment will never present itself.

We are all extremists.

Dr. King initially bristled at being called out as an “extremist.” Then he thought more deeply about it and concluded that anyone who believes wholly in their cause will be characterized as an extremist. And so, he embraced his mantle as an extremist for love, justice, and equality.

“So, the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be,” he wrote. “Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice?”

So, Patriots, in keeping with this holiday as a day “on” and not a day “off,” here is a homework assignment for all of us: How can we be extremists for love and the extension of justice? Because today is ripe to do right.

Gregory Washington

President

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‘Grand challenges’ facing students get an airing on Mason president’s podcast

Damian Cristodero — Thu, 03 Dec 2020 18:02:46 +0000

‘Grand challenges’ facing students get an airing on Mason president’s podcast Damian Cristodero Thu, 12/03/2020 - 13:02

Mason President Gregory Washington will be an occasional guest host on the university's Access to Excellence podcast. Photo by Naomi Fort.

Think about what ��AV students are dealing with right now, Mason President Gregory Washington said.

There is the ongoing pandemic and the daunting task of searching for a first job.

“But they also have to start thinking about what they want to do with their lives,” Washington said. “I want to be able to give them some feedback. Here are some of the big issues out there that you can solve, that you can attack with your Mason education.”

Schar School dean Mark J. Rozell explained his ideas about reforming the Electoral College. Photo by Naomi Fort.

That feedback will come through interviews and discussions Washington will undertake with Mason faculty each month as a guest host on the university’s “Access to Excellence” podcast, available on platforms such as Apple, Spotify and Stitcher.

Washington’s first podcast, just released, is with Schar School Dean Mark J. Rozell, who talks about the presidential election, how Donald Trump has molded the Republican party in his own image, how to reform the electoral college, and where things go from here politically in this country.

“I’m hoping that a) students will listen, and b) they will use the feedback associated with this podcast to help chart their directions in terms of their majors, in terms of the directions they want to go in their own careers,” Washington said. “That’s the real motivator for me. I’m hoping to give them some clarity.”

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Incoming Mason president ready to take university to new heights

Damian Cristodero — Thu, 27 Feb 2020 23:49:22 +0000

Incoming Mason president ready to take university to new heights Damian Cristodero Thu, 02/27/2020 - 18:49

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