Mason President

College of Engineering and Computing

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

In This Story

��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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Washington elected to the National Academy of Engineering

Colleen Rich — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 02:12:13 +0000

Washington elected to the National Academy of Engineering Colleen Rich Wed, 02/08/2023 - 21:12

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��AV President Gregory Washington has been elected into the National Academy of Engineering, the highest engineering honor in the country, the academy announced Tuesday.

President Gregory Washington. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

Washington, who holds three mechanical engineering degrees, including his doctorate, from North Carolina State University, has held deanships at The Ohio State University and the University of California Irvine (UCI).

In electing Washington, the Washington, D.C.-based National Academy of Engineering cited his “advancement of technology at the interface of electromagnetics and materials, and dedicated leadership and service in engineering education.”

Washington was one of 106 new U.S. members elected to the academy Tuesday as announced by NAE President John L. Anderson. The newly elected class will be formally inducted at NAE’s annual meeting Oct. 1.

“I am tremendously honored to be elected into the National Academy of Engineering,” Washington said. “I proudly share this honor with the many mentors and colleagues at North Carolina State, Ohio State, UC Irvine and George Mason who have helped me along my journey.”

Among Washington’s main achievements in academia was extending the understanding of electromagnetic systems that incorporate smart materials and other active components in the emerging field of Smart Electromagnetic Structures (SEMS)—electromagnetic devices that are enhanced by the mechanical and electrical performance gains offered by smart materials. Washington is credited with one of the first uses of neural networks (machine learning) applied to electromagnetic systems.

As dean at UCI from 2011 to 2020, the first African American dean of engineering in the vast University of California system, Washington launched six research initiatives focused on helping faculty at all levels grow interdisciplinary research. These programs led to substantial growth in research expenditures and awards over a five-year period. Washington also led a multi-school team of faculty and administrators in establishing the Irvine Materials Research Institute, a $28 million research facility focused on materials characterization.

At both UCI and Ohio State, Washington instituted policies and procedures that led to the hiring of diverse faculty cohorts. Eight of 11 new hires at Ohio State and greater than 40% of his 58 new faculty hires at UCI were women or underrepresented minorities. Half of his department chairs at UCI were women and half of the associate deans were women or from underrepresented groups.

Washington developed global strategic relationships with key universities in Asia and U.S. multinational corporations and led in the establishment of a joint 3+2 program that allowed students from more than 14 universities to receive a BS from their institution and an MS from UCI simultaneously.

Washington founded and led the establishment of the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) Diversity Recognition Program, resulting in Inclusive Excellence Plans at institutions around the country. In addition, Washington established 17 new outreach and engagement initiatives for thousands of students and K-12 teachers in Southern California.

At both UCI and Ohio State, Washington developed and implemented initiatives to increase funded programs in interdisciplinary research. These included hiring of faculty along programmatic thrusts (not just departmental lines), hiring proposal coordinators, starting external proposal pre-submission review, and novel cost-share policies. He also led statewide economic development and engagement programs centered around advanced energy and manufacturing.

Washington has conducted research for National Science Foundation (NSF), NASA, General Motors, Boeing, HRL, Eaton Corp, the Air Force Research Laboratory, and the U.S. Army Research Office, among others and has served on many boards, including the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, NSF Engineering Advisory Committee, Institute for Defense Analyses, the Sandia National Laboratory’s Engineering Science Research Foundation, and the National NIH Advisory Council for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering.

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President Washington’s Investiture promises to add some pomp to our circumstances

Colleen Rich — Mon, 27 Sep 2021 14:44:06 +0000

President Washington’s Investiture promises to add some pomp to our circumstances Colleen Rich Mon, 09/27/2021 - 10:44

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Mason will celebrate Mason’s eighth president, Gregory Washington, with a week of activities and a special investiture ceremony in EagleBank Arena on Thursday, Oct. 21, at 1 p.m. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

President Merten had a horse-drawn carriage. The audience at President Cabrera’s enjoyed the first spoken word presentation from a member of the Green Machine. Each celebration of a new president at ��AV has had its own flair and reflected the personalities of the men being inaugurated.

In October, the campus community will celebrate Mason’s eighth president, Gregory Washington, with a week of activities and a special investiture ceremony in EagleBank Arena on Thursday, Oct. 21, at 1 p.m.

Why are we calling it an investiture?

Inaugurations are meant to mark a beginning. For university presidents, this ceremony often occurs within the first year. The pandemic made such a celebration impossible as all efforts at Mason were focused on keeping the university running smoothly and the university community safe, especially students, during a stressful and unusual time.

President Washington also wanted to wait for a time when it was safe to bring people back together.

Mason’s successful handling of safety protocols and keeping COVID-19 under control makes such a celebration possible, and the Mason Nation is asked to RSVP here for the Oct. 21 Investiture by Oct. 4.

Events planned for that week include a celebration in Mason Korea and on other campuses; faculty panels discussing the grand challenges and issues of our time; and Accelerate 2022, an Arlington Campus conference focused on innovation, entrepreneurship, and business community engagement; among others.

A Look Back at the History of Inaugurations at Mason

Photo by Creative Services

President Ángel Cabrera was inaugurated on April 26, 2013, in an IDEA-focused (Innovation, Diversity, Entrepreneurial, Accessible) celebration in EagleBank Arena. Guest speakers included AOL founder Steve Case. The event included a spoken word performance by Mason student (now alum) Sha’air Hawkins.

Photo by Creative Services

President Alan Merten and his wife, Sally, rode around campus in a horse-drawn carriage with the sign “Just Inaugurated” for part of the festivities surrounding his April 4, 1997, inauguration.

Photo courtesy of University Libraries Special Collections

President George W. Johnson during his inaugural speech, April 7, 1979. The event took place in the gymnasium of the Physical Education Building, which was later expanded into what is now called the Recreation and Athletics Complex (RAC).

For a comprehensive look at leadership changes throughout Mason history, check out “Mason Inaugurations through the Years” on the ��AV Libraries' Special Collections Research Center blog, Vault 217.

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Investiture

Viewing the impact of ��AV through the lens of its namesake’s legacy

Colleen Rich — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 14:53:22 +0000

Viewing the impact of ��AV through the lens of its namesake’s legacy Colleen Rich Mon, 06/28/2021 - 10:53

President Gregory Washington spoke about Mason's legacy at a Town of Vienna Liberty Amendments Month event.

The “complicated” life of George Mason IV ties directly to ��AV’s “profound” standing today as Virginia’s largest and most diverse public university, Mason President Gregory Washington said Thursday at a Town of Vienna Liberty Amendments Month event that celebrated constitutional freedoms.

Washington noted in his talk at the Vienna Community Center that Mason the man insisted on individual rights being built into the framework of the country’s founding but at the same time enslaved an estimated 128 people on his Gunston Hall plantation. Mason freed none of his slaves upon his death in 1792.

Those conflicting principles in recent years have led to a greater contextualization of the school’s namesake by students, faculty and leadership to present all sides of his complex legacy.

“Without the Bill of Rights, you can’t have the 13th, the 14th, the 15th and the 19th amendments because there would not be a process,” Washington said to the estimated 50 audience members “So while [Mason] did not facilitate the release of his slaves, the mechanism of the Bill of Rights, which he is credited with establishing, actually freed them.”

Introduced at the livestreamed (Washington remarks begin at 23:00) event by Virginia House of Delegates member Mark Keam, Washington devoted most of his 18-minute presentation to the impact of the university, which he deemed “a gem in your community.” He highlighted Mason’s majority-minority enrollment, with no racial or ethnic group comprising more than 40% of the student body and with no marked disparity in degree attainment among groups.

“You can’t find another institution in Virginia with that performance,” Washington said. “You can’t find another institution in the DMV with that performance. And you’d be hard-pressed to find another institution in the country with that level of performance.

“So when I say the institution is profound and special, it indeed is. What’s happening on that campus is not happening virtually anywhere else in the country.”

A related panel discussion that followed featured a presentation from George Oberle III, director of the Center for Mason Legacies and professor in the Department of History and Art History in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Joining Oberle on the panel were Vienna Councilman Chuck Anderson and Virginia Del. Ken Plum.

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Center for Mason Legacies

A message from President Washington on L.T. Services

Melanie Balog — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 23:17:44 +0000

A message from President Washington on L.T. Services Melanie Balog Mon, 02/22/2021 - 18:17

��AV values everyone who works on our campuses, whether they are faculty, classified staff, student employees, or contractors. We hold high standards toward the treatment of everyone.

For the past several months, the university has actively sought resolution of troubling accusations brought forward regarding how employees and/or contractor staff are treated at L.T. Services and its subcontractors, with whom Mason contracts for janitorial services at its 220 buildings throughout Northern Virginia.

The university has conducted an initial review of the complaints. As a result, I have ordered an outside audit of the labor practices of L.T. Services and its subcontractors as they relate to their contract with Mason. The advisory CPA firm Baker Tilly will conduct the audit, and I look forward to learning the results of what I expect will be a thorough, fair, and thoughtful audit.

In order to be fair to all involved, we will not be able to offer any further public comment on findings until the outside audit has concluded.

Gregory Washington, President

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