Robinson Professors

Retro Mason: Clarence J. Robinson Professors 1984

Colleen Rich — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 16:29:57 +0000

Retro Mason: Clarence J. Robinson Professors 1984 Colleen Rich Wed, 07/27/2022 - 12:29

When people think of Clarence J. Robinson and his legacy at ��AV, they often think of his $5 million bequest to the university on his death in 1983, the largest gift the young university had ever received, and the things the university was able to do with that money. But Robinson’s true legacy goes far beyond a monetary contribution and hinges on a conversation and a single piece of advice: “If you get the people first, the bricks and mortar will follow.”

George Johnson, Mason president from 1978 to 1996, took that conversation to heart and used those words to build not only the well-regarded Robinson Professors program, but also a university of national stature.

“He was adamant that if you concentrated on just building, you would end up with empty halls,” says Johnson of the late Northern Virginia businessman. “He felt it was more important to get quality people first.”

Created in 1984, the Clarence J. Robinson Professors Program embodies Mason's commitment to making high-quality education accessible to undergraduate students. Established through a bequest from the late Clarence J. Robinson, the program attracts preeminent academics and award-winning scholars dedicated to teaching undergraduates.

A 1985 article in George Mason magazine has it took Johnson and a review committee seven months to find the first three Robinson Professor, which they hired from a pool of 250. They were: philosophy professor Thelma Lavine, Latin American scholar Roberto Márquez, and Middle East historian Shaul Bakhash.

Pictured here is many of the Robinson Professors with Johnson in 1995.

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

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Podcast - EP 38: Promoting a scientific worldview

Damian Cristodero — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 18:06:50 +0000

Podcast - EP 38: Promoting a scientific worldview Damian Cristodero Wed, 04/20/2022 - 14:06

In This Story

Gregory Washington

Jim Trefil, a Mason physicist and Robinson Professor, talks with Mason President Gregory Washington about the importance of a scientific worldview. The author of more than 50 books and one of the developers of the modern theories about quarks as a fundamental component of the universe, Trefil is helping pioneer a new way of teaching science and says you don’t have to be in a lab to learn: “You live in a world full of science.”

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Access to Excellence podcast

transformative teaching

Masonat50

Mason Trailblazer: Jim Trefil

Colleen Rich — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 15:02:17 +0000

Mason Trailblazer: Jim Trefil Colleen Rich Mon, 02/28/2022 - 10:02

As part of ��AV's 50th anniversary celebration, we are recognizing some of the Mason Trailblazers—faculty, staff, students, and alumni—who helped put Mason on the map. Each week we will be featuring one member of the Mason Nation who helped make a difference in our community and beyond.

Robinson Professor of Physics James Trefil is a huge proponent of science literacy and has written extensively about science for a lay audience, including more than 50 books. With his colleague, Robinson Professor of Earth Science Robert Hazen, Trefil created and taught the popular PROV 301 Great Ideas in Science, a class for nonscience majors that introduces ideas that have shaped the field, from the building of Stonehenge to the Big Bang. The textbook they created for this course, "The Sciences: An Integrated Approach," is in its ninth edition and is used at hundreds of universities around the country.

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Podcast - EP32: Hakeem Oluseyi calls his education 'a matter of life and death'

Damian Cristodero — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 19:24:16 +0000

Podcast - EP32: Hakeem Oluseyi calls his education 'a matter of life and death' Damian Cristodero Wed, 11/10/2021 - 14:24

In This Story

Gregory Washington

Hakeem Oluseyi tells ��AV President Gregory Washington how he went from a life of crime to being one of the world’s renowned astrophysicists. The Visiting Robinson Professor at Mason also describes what aliens might look like – think a two-foot tall Incredible Hulk – and tells a remarkable tale of how working as a hotel janitor, and eating room-service leftovers to survive, made him understand that his education was “a matter of life and death.”

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Robinson Professors

James Trefil celebrates 50 years of service

Colleen Rich — Thu, 28 Oct 2021 16:43:44 +0000

James Trefil celebrates 50 years of service Colleen Rich Thu, 10/28/2021 - 12:43

Robinson Professor James Trefil is the third ��AV faculty member to reach the milestone of 50 years of service, but his story is a bit different. Trefil taught at the University of Virginia before joining Mason’s then brand-new Robinson Professor Program in 1987.

A theoretical physicist and huge proponent of science literacy, Trefil has written extensively about science for a lay audience, including more than 50 books. With his colleague, Robinson Professor of Earth Science Robert Hazen, he created and taught the popular PROV 301 Great Ideas in Science, a class for nonscience majors that introduces ideas that have shaped science, from the building of Stonehenge to the Big Bang.

A Fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Association of the Advancement of Science, and the World Economic Forum, he has received numerous awards including the Andrew Gemant Award from the American Institute of Physics for “outstanding and sustained contributions in presenting a broad range of topics in physics to millions of nonscientists around the world,” and the inaugural AAAS Science Book Editor’s Award.

We sat down to talk to him via Zoom about his life, work, and role in Mason’s history.

James Trefil in his office in 2001. Photo by Creative Services

On becoming a scientist

I had a really good chemistry teacher in high school named Willard Meuhl. He was the first person who told me, “Hey, kid, you're good at this.” I came from a blue-collar neighborhood, and it wasn't clear to me until he told me that I could actually do it. I grew up in Chicago, where they have a lot of good museums, which were free at the time. I would go down to the Field Museum or the Adler Planetarium on a weekend and just hang out. I found this world of beauty and order that was very appealing to me. And I got the idea that I could be part of that. Also reading science fiction. I still go back and read Isaac Asimov stories.

On choosing physics as a discipline

When I went to University of Illinois, I was going to major in chemistry because of my high school teacher. But in the chemistry class, I kept asking questions like ‘Why do electrons go in those orbits and not some other orbits?’ And the instructor would always say, ‘Well, you got to go to physics to get an answer for that.’ The short answer is physics is where you ask the fundamental questions about the nature of the universe.

Theoretical physics is where you try to find the answers to what the experiments are finding. I worked with a couple of experimental groups early on in my career at the German Electron Synchrotron Laboratory in Hamburg. It was very corporate. Everybody had their assigned tasks, and you do what you're doing and you report it to your boss. That wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted to think my own thoughts and do things on my own, and a theorist doesn't need anything more than pencil and paper, or these days a laptop.

On becoming a Robinson Professor

I got this letter from Steve Diner who was vice provost at the time. It was sort of the standard ‘We have this position open…do you know anybody who'd be interested.’ I looked at it and said, ‘Hell, yes—me!’

Clarence Robinson had given George Johnson this money to move the university forward. And George decided that what he saw as the biggest problem in academe was senior faculty didn't talk to undergraduates. He started looking for people who were established in a field, but who thought across disciplinary lines, and had a history of teaching undergraduates.

Coming to Mason back then—we're talking about the 1970s and 80s—it reminded me of these towns in Western movies with unpaved streets. I remember they brought the new faculty together for a reception at what was then the Patriot Center. We were looking out toward what would become the Center for the Arts. At that time, it was just a swamp, and they had a drawing of what it was going to be like in the future with all these buildings. But I remember looking at that drawing and thinking “in your dreams.” But it happened. Watching this university grow has been an amazing experience.

James Trefil and Honors College Dean Zofia Burr (far right) meet with Honors College students in 2010. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

In those days, we were kind of a kitchen cabinet [for George Johnson]. I remember one meeting where George came in and said, “We're going to get rid of the geology department.” [Hazen] and I started arguing with him. We suggested turning it into the planetary science and earth science department. And George listened to us. In fact, that was the start of a major program here that spawned several departments.

On teaching undergraduates

I love it. They have their whole lives in front of them and are so full of enthusiasm. It's just fun being around them.

On science literacy

I wanted to teach what I called a scientific literacy course. The idea is very simple. To live in the United States in 21st century, you really should know a little bit about science. You don't have to be a scientist, you don't have to do calculus, but you should be able to read the newspaper. Then if somebody is talking about whether the use of stem cells is moral, you should know what a stem cell is. The course doesn't have a lot of math in it, but it has these great ideas. Bob and I taught it for many years. The first time I offered it I limited the enrollment to 10, because I didn't know if I could actually do it. But it went well. Bob and I are now working on the ninth edition of a textbook that came out of this course, “The Sciences: An Integrated Approach.” It's used in a couple of hundred universities around the country.

On partnering with Bob Hazen and other ‘Robinsons’

There were three scientists in the Robinson program—myself, Bob Hazen, and the late Harold Morowitz, and any possible permutation of collaboration between the three of us that you can imagine happened at one time or another. We wrote books together. We wrote articles and opinion pieces. We designed courses together. In fact, it was a Christmas party at my house when Harold asked a very simple question: What minerals were here when the earth was formed? Bob started to think about the idea of minerals accumulating over time and evolving, which is a major new breakthrough in that field for which he has been recognized. But it started with just a simple question.

Also three of us Robinsons were at Oxford at the same time. I was there as a Marshall Scholar, John Paden was there as a Rhodes Scholar, and Paul D’Andrea was there studying literature. John was captain of the basketball team, and I was a second-string power forward. So we actually played basketball on the same team a hundred years ago. Then we wind up with offices next to each other at Mason.

On establishing a College of Science

I think probably the most important thing that I did for Mason was chair the committee that founded the College of Science. I was asked to chair because I was the only scientist they could find who didn't have a stake in how things turned out—I didn’t need more space or another faculty slot. It gave me kind of a different standing with the committee that was very useful. In the end, I wrote the proposal that the Board of Visitors approved, and we now have a College of Science. We were just getting into being a major research university. And if you want to attract big money from one of these agencies, you got to convince them that you're ready. The College of Science has helped us do that.

On writing books

One of my favorite books is one I wrote very early on in my career called “Meditations at 10,000 Feet.” I used to spend my summers in Montana and go hiking in the mountains. In that book, I talked about different kinds of things that happened on my hikes and then how they led to lessons about the way the universe works. I also took a lot of photographs, which are in the book. My most favorite book is the one I just wrote with [Mason professor] Mike Summers, “Imagined Life: A Speculative Scientific Journey among the Exoplanets in Search of Intelligent Aliens, Ice Creatures, and Supergravity Animals.” We were trying to figure out what kinds of living things could exist in the universe. That that was a lot of fun.

On the future of the Robinson program

We were brought here to put the university on the map, and we, and a lot of other Mason faculty, have done that. We are on the map now, and we're an R1 research university, and we're up there in the rankings. So now the question is what can we offer the students that they might not get otherwise? I think bringing in people who have succeeded in some other part of life, but don't have necessarily have the kind of academic credentials that would get them into a regular department is a good way to go. [Robinson Professor] Steve Pearlstein is a perfect example of that. He’s a guy with a Pulitzer Prize who has accomplished a lot in life. Somebody like that has a lot to offer students.

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Faculty and Staff News

Hakeem Oluseyi inspires Mason students with “hope, hustle, and help”

John Hollis — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 19:28:50 +0000

Hakeem Oluseyi inspires Mason students with “hope, hustle, and help” John Hollis Wed, 10/27/2021 - 15:28

Professor Hakeem Oluseyi attributes his unlikely rise from the pull of poverty and crime to hope, hustle, and help, and he wants to pay it forward.

Now a renowned astrophysicist, inventor, and author who regularly offers his expert analysis on TV, ��AV Visiting Robinson Professor Hakeem Oluseyi credits education as his gateway to a better life. Raised by a single mother with little education, he lived in some of the nation’s toughest neighborhoods while constantly moving around and eventually being drawn into criminal activities at a young age.

An unlikely journey

A career in astrophysics seemed unlikely at best during Oluseyi’s youth, when stability was little more than a wishful fantasy following his parents’ divorce when he was 4 years old. His mother desperately sought opportunities to improve their lives, so the family was often on the move. Oluseyi says he never attended the same school or lived in the same state for more than two consecutive years, with the family often moving multiple times during the school year.

As a result, Oluseyi has experienced daily life in some of the nation’s toughest neighborhoods, including Houston’s 3rd Ward, New Orleans’s 9th Ward, and South Central Los Angeles, where some of his cousins were part of the notorious Crips gang who were, according to Oluseyi, “robbing banks and worse.”

In the final 16 months of that difficult 10-year stretch, Oluseyi lived in nine different households while attending five different schools in three different states.

Through it all, a young Oluseyi found refuge from the chaos in books, and his mental acuity quickly drew the attention of teachers and others, who saw his vast potential and helped guide him to another path.

“For me, education was a pathway... so I feel like I have to do for others what was done for me. I got by on hope, hustle, and help. That help didn’t just show up out of the blue, so I have to do the same thing.”

After enlisting in the U.S. Navy at age 17, Oluseyi eventually received a dual bachelor of science degree from Tougaloo College in Mississippi. Oluseyi has chronicled his stirring personal story in his bestselling memoir, A Quantum Life: My Unlikely Journey from the Street to the Stars.

Engage students, change lives

Oluseyi, who was the first person in his family to graduate from high school, now boasts a PhD from Stanford University and has held previous professorships at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of California-Berkeley.

He was the chief science officer for Discovery Communications and spent 2016 to 2019 at NASA’s headquarters, where he served as the space science education manager for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate via the Intergovernmental Personnel Act Mobility Program. He has written or co-written more than 100 scientific publications and has 11 patents.

Oluseyi hopes to help change the lives of Mason students the same positive ways that others did for him many years ago. He says part of why he wanted to come to Mason, out of all the colleges and universities in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area, was to be somewhere he could make a direct impact on students from working-class communities.

"There are people for whom someone like myself can make a difference in their life.”

Oluseyi began teaching classes in the spring 2022 semester, and he plans to engage with student groups and students in his classes to help grow community.

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President Gregory Washington to lead two faculty panels as part of Investiture activities

Colleen Rich — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 20:20:26 +0000

President Gregory Washington to lead two faculty panels as part of Investiture activities Colleen Rich Wed, 10/13/2021 - 16:20

��AV President Gregory Washington will lead two star-studded faculty panels as part of his Investiture activities next week.

Both panels will be in Merten Hall, Room 1201, and can be seen live on GMU-TV.

Thomas Lovejoy, Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, and Virginia Espina. Photos by Creative Services

The first panel, which will include Mason’s Thomas Lovejoy, Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera and Virginia Espina, will be from 5-6:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 18, and will focus on what Washington has called the “grand challenges” facing both the Mason community and the nation as a whole. The topics will include biodiversity, immigration and human trafficking, and health and pandemics.

“We will talk about the grand challenges we see related to our area of expertise,” said Correa-Cabrera, an associate professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government. “I will discuss the challenges related to immigration and human trafficking.”

Robinson Professors Spencer Crew, Steven Pearlstein, and Hakeem Oluseyi. Photos by Creative Services and Strategic Communications

The second panel, which will take place from 2:30-4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 19, will feature Robinson Professors Spencer Crew, Steven Pearlstein and Hakeem Oluseyi speaking on “Issues of Our Time.” The panel will discuss key issues of the day, including the political climate, race, and science.

Washington will open each panel with an overview. Panelists will then have about 10 minutes each to discuss. The live and virtual audiences will then be able to ask questions. Pam Shepherd, from the Office of the Provost, will relay questions from the online audience.

Those attending the panels in person must complete a Mason COVID Health Check and receive “green light” status on the day of the event.

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Campus News

Investiture

Robinson Professors

Astrophysicist Hakeem Oluseyi named Visiting Robinson Professor

Colleen Rich — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 19:30:03 +0000

Astrophysicist Hakeem Oluseyi named Visiting Robinson Professor Colleen Rich Wed, 08/25/2021 - 15:30

New Visiting Robinson Professor Hakeem Muata Oluseyi and Mason Provost Mark Ginsberg. Photo by Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications

For Hakeem Muata Oluseyi (Oh-lou-shey-eee), being named a Visiting Robinson Professor at ��AV represents the natural progression of his career.

The distinction, first awarded at Mason in 1984, recognizes outstanding faculty dedicated to undergraduate teaching and whose teaching and scholarship concern broad and fundamental intellectual issues.

“My life was transformed through education, and it helped transform my entire community,” Oluseyi said. “So I see the power that we have as academics to transform lives.”

Oluseyi, one of the nation’s best-known astrophysicists and president-elect of the National Society of Black Physicists, is the embodiment of that transformation.

His roots are in some of the toughest neighborhoods around the country, including Houston’s Third Ward, New Orleans’ Ninth Ward, rural Mississippi and South Central Los Angeles.

In his memoir, “A Quantum Life: My Unlikely Journey from the Street to the Stars,” Oluseyi recounts how some of his relatives were part of the notorious Crips gang, and how by 9 years old he was drawn into criminal activity.

But he also was a star gazer and a reader, he wrote, and eventually overcame the pull of that lifestyle and graduated from Stanford University with a PhD in physics.

Oluseyi was previously part of the faculty at the Florida Institute of Technology, and from 2016 to 2019 was the space science education lead in NASA’s Space Mission Directorate, where he provided strategic leadership and management for the directorate’s investments in science education and communications.

His expertise has been featured in media outlets such as National Public Radio, CNN, ABC, NBC, and National Geographic. He was even interviewed by world-famous astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson on his “Star Talk” podcast.

Oluseyi also appears as a host and scientific authority on Science Channel television shows, “How the Universe Works,” “Spaces Deepest Secrets,” and “Strip the Cosmos.”

“He is a renowned astrophysicist whose work has not only been exciting but who has been, and will continue to be, inspiring to students around the country,” Mason Provost Mark Ginsberg said. “Now, he brings his inspirational abilities to Mason to help the next generation of astrophysicists and astronomers.”

Oluseyi will begin teaching classes in the Spring 2022 semester. Until then he will participate by interacting with students and faculty, and being a visible presence on campus, Ginsberg said.

“Having Hakeem as a Visiting Mason Professor is a great honor for us and a great opportunity for the university,” Ginsberg said. “We’re delighted he is going to join us.”

“The joy of my career as an academic is working with undergrads and helping people to improve their lives,” Oluseyi said, adding, "Mason’s student body is my target audience—working-class people that are aspirational and ready to be tomorrow’s leaders. I’m hoping to influence them.”

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In Memoriam: Mary Catherine Bateson

Colleen Rich — Wed, 13 Jan 2021 22:09:42 +0000

In Memoriam: Mary Catherine Bateson Colleen Rich Wed, 01/13/2021 - 17:09

Mary Catherine Bateson, Clarence J. Robinson Professor emerita, died Jan. 2 at the age of 81. Bateson, the daughter of anthropologists Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson, was a best-selling author, a linguist, and a cultural anthropologist.

She taught at ��AV as a Robinson Professor of Anthropology and English from 1987-2002.

“Catherine was a tremendous addition to GMU and a great colleague,” said John Paden, Robinson Professor Emeritus of International Studies. “Always outspoken, insightful and to the point, whether with students, colleagues, or university administrators.”

She is survived by her husband of 60 years, J. Barkev Kassarjian, their daughter, Sevanne Margaret Kassarjian, son-in-law Paul Griffin, two grandsons Cyrus James and Anton Gregory Griffin, and her half-sister, Nora Bateson.

Learn more about her at www.marycatherinebateson.com. Read the obituary that was published in The Washington Post.

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