These pathbreaking teams give a new look and feel to Mason’s public spaces

Lauren Reuscher — Thu, 20 Apr 2023 16:13:35 +0000

These pathbreaking teams give a new look and feel to Mason’s public spaces Lauren Reuscher Thu, 04/20/2023 - 12:13

The Patriot Pathbreakers Award, established by Human Resources and the Staff Senate, honors high-performing staff teams that embody the ��AV value of “Thriving Together.” These innovative teams use individual talents to overcome obstacles and make progress toward their goals. They have adapted their services and processes when necessary to meet the changing needs of the Mason community. Their work makes Mason All Together Different.

The Patriot Pathbreakers Award recipients will be recognized with other faculty and staff honorees at Mason’s Outstanding Achievement Awards ceremony on Tuesday, April 25, from 10–11:30 a.m. in the Johnson Center, Dewberry Hall. The ceremony will also be live streamed on GMU-TV; the link to watch the ceremony is posted on the Outstanding Achievement Awards website.

Creative Services, Office of University Branding

Creative Services designed the signage and banners displayed at Mason's 50th anniversary celebration in the Johnson Center. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

Team members: Ron Aira, Claire Brandt, Melissa Cannarozzi, Evan Cantwell, Priyanka Champaneri, Joan Dall’Acqua, Brian Edlinski, Sierra Guard, Rebecca Kobayashi, Jeeun Namgoong, Kerianne Plunkett, Michaela Reilly, DeRon Rockingham, Corey Schaut, Rebecca Siddon, Azriel Towner

The Creative Services team provides creative support, brand stewardship, resources, and consulting to departments, schools, and colleges across Mason. This team of graphic designers, writers, editors, photographers, videographers, and production staff creates materials that capture and convey the university’s brand to internal and external audiences.

Mason’s 50th anniversary celebration was one of the team's biggest projects to date.

“The 50th anniversary was a momentous occasion in Mason’s history, and Creative Services was tasked with creating materials that both celebrated Mason’s past while also generating excitement in our community toward the future,” wrote a nominator. “The production staff researched new and innovative media and delivery methods to mark the anniversary in ways that Mason had never showcased before, including large-scale environmental advertising.”

Creative Services helped set the scene for the anniversary celebration with window clings on Mason buildings, new light pole banners, sidewalk stickers, column wraps in EagleBank Arena, staircase decals, and more.

Through a cohesive campaign of print, digital, and large-scale environmental collateral, Creative Services succeeded in creating an environment that celebrated Mason’s 50th anniversary and generated excitement and energy about the university’s next 50 years—and beyond.

“The 50th anniversary celebration was an all-in effort for every team in the Office of University Branding, and the work of the Creative Services team was absolutely pivotal to our success,” said Paul Allvin, vice president and chief brand officer. “From designing the now-familiar event graphics to giving the celebration both graphics and audiovisual excitement, the work of this team helped to make this university-wide celebration an unqualified success.”

Mason Square Plaza Activation Initiative

Mason students, faculty, staff, and community members gathered for a concert on the plaza at Mason Square. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

Team members: Toni Andrews, Kenneth Darby, Margaret Duke, Sophie Gorshenin, Sara Hawes, Cathy Pinskey, Colin Stucki, Melissa Thierry

The Mason Square plaza activation initiative focused on the outdoor programming space at ��AV’s campus in Arlington, Virginia. With the construction of Fuse at Mason Square underway—which will add more than 345,000 square feet of space to the campus—vibrant new programming has already arrived on the plaza, making it a lively gathering place for the campus and nearby community.

The launch and continued success of new public programming on the plaza is due to the work of a collaborative team of staff from University Life, Mason Square Administration, Facilities, and the Office of Community and Local Government Relations.

The activation project was modeled after a similar project at Bryant Park in New York City, with a goal of turning Mason Square’s plaza into a gathering place that would revitalize its neighborhood, offering free events and activities for the community.

Chess game on the plaza at Mason Square. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

The schedule includes exercise classes, musical performances, a farmers’ market, informal speakers, and more. The team did not have a manual or a guidebook when building this initiative, a nominator wrote. They learned as they went along. They visited Bryant Park to see ideas in action. They followed their instincts and tested ideas to discover what would work best for Mason and the local neighborhood.

By turning the plaza into a lively gathering place, they are helping establish Mason as an anchor for the local community.

“Mason is always looking for innovative pathways to engage our community partners,” said Paul Liberty, vice president for government and community relations. “With the plaza activation and the development of Fuse at Mason Square, Mason students and staff and the Arlington community are coming together for a unique experience due to the efforts and creativity of this partnership. The Mason Square plaza activation team has brought Mason to the community and the community to Mason.”

Topics

Faculty and Staff News

Outstanding Achievement Awards

Patriot Pathbreakers Award

Human Resources

Mason Square

Office of University Branding

Office of Community and Local Government Relations

Facilities

University Life

Masonat50

Mason’s annual staff honors include new Patriot Pathbreakers Award for innovative teamwork

Colleen Rich — Mon, 12 Apr 2021 19:19:53 +0000

Mason’s annual staff honors include new Patriot Pathbreakers Award for innovative teamwork Colleen Rich Mon, 04/12/2021 - 15:19

All the teams recognized by the new Patriot Pathbreakers Award have found innovative solutions to keeping Mason students safe and operations moving forward during the pandemic. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

For the first time, ��AV is recognizing specific teams of employees for their innovative work. The newly created Patriot Pathbreakers Award will be presented at an awards ceremony Tuesday, April 13, to three staff teams for their work over the past year. The teams being honored are the Office of Admissions Relationship Management Team, the Housing and Residence Life and Student Health Services Team, and the University Life Emergency Funding Team.

The winners will be celebrated as part of Mason’s annual Outstanding Achievement Awards ceremony, held Tuesday at 10 a.m. and livestreamed via GMU-TV. The complete list of 2021 awards winners can be found here.

“The Patriot Pathbreakers Award acknowledges and applauds the innovative and collaborative efforts of a Mason team, recognizing those efforts have helped us find solutions to larger organizational problems, overcome challenges and support the Mason value of thriving together,” said Shernita Rochelle Parker assistant vice president, Human Resources strategy and talent management.

“The Patriot Pathbreakers Award, established by Human Resources (HR) and Payroll and the Staff Senate, seeks to honor high-performing teams that embody the Mason value of ‘We Thrive Together,’” said Lauren Reuscher, chair of the Staff Senate.

“High-performing teams are active pathbreakers, using the individual talents of team members to overcome obstacles and make progress toward their goals,” said Reuscher.

Reuscher said that the way the Mason community responded to the challenges of the past year inspired a group of Staff Senators and HR and Payroll staff to recognize the work accomplished by Mason’s most innovative teams.

The Office of Admissions’ Relationship Management Team is being honored for quickly pivoting from a primarily in-person service to an online presence to meet institutional enrollment goals.

“This team’s innovation helped them thrive despite the quick changes required in college recruitment,” said Reuscher. “By encouraging team members to bring their unique perspectives to the table, they find creative solutions.

The staff in Student Health Services and Housing and Residence Life is being honored for establishing a collaborative approach to keep the residential student community safe during the coronavirus pandemic, said Reuscher.

“These two groups worked together to educate students about COVID-19, carry out testing, and ensure proper quarantine or isolation for affected residential students,” said Reuscher. “Their collaboration put our community's health and safety at the forefront."

The third group receiving the Patriot Pathbreakers Award, the University Life Emergency Funding Team, quickly mobilized to distribute state, federal and donor funding through one centralized application for all Mason students, said Reuscher.

“Staff from different units in University Life dedicated their energy and talent to creating a new, effective process,” said Reuscher. “The majority of them volunteered to join this team, ready to go above and beyond to help our students during a challenging time.”

Topics

Faculty and Staff News

Human Resources and Payroll

Patriot Pathbreakers Award