Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation

Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

Jimmy Hazel, steadfast George Mason alum and friend, looks to the future with a foundational gift

Colleen Rich — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 15:05:24 +0000

Jimmy Hazel, steadfast George Mason alum and friend, looks to the future with a foundational gift Colleen Rich Mon, 10/07/2024 - 11:05

James W. “Jimmy” Hazel, JD ’84, has led a life of service to the Commonwealth of Virginia—and to ��AV. In July 2024, as his term on the university’s Board of Visitors concluded, Hazel added to his considerable legacy with a gift of $1 million for the Smithsonian–Mason School of Conservation (SMSC).

James Hazel speaking at the university's 50th anniversary event. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

The gift, reflecting Hazel’s wishes to advance the important work of the school, creates two funds. The first will provide support for graduate or undergraduate students enrolled at SMSC, and the second will support the operations of the school’s programs.

“This gift represents my personal passion for conservation and my hope is that it will allow George Mason to draw in a diverse group of new PhD students to the program,” Hazel said.

Hazel is a cochair on the Advisory Board for SMSC, a research and academic facility in Front Royal, Virginia, that operates under a partnership between the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and George Mason. The facility covers more than 3,000 acres of forest, grassland, and pasture, and houses a range of endangered mammals, birds, and amphibians.

SMSC conducts research and offers proactive methodologies of conservation biology education and training, providing hands-on interdisciplinary programs to undergraduates, graduate students, professionals, and high school students. It draws from the educational innovation of George Mason faculty and the established work of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute to create a transdisciplinary approach to conservation leadership that is research-based, forward-looking, and ethical.

Students conducting field work at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Cody Edwards, SMSC executive director and interim dean, College of Science, understands the immediate impact of Hazel’s generosity.

“With this gift, he opens doors for students passionate about conservation and sustainability,” Edwards said. “Jimmy’s continued support helps ensure SMSC can continue to bring together internationally renowned experts who can offer those students an educational experience that will enhance their futures and ultimately, help preserve the world’s biodiversity.”

SMSC’s graduate programs include practical training in the tools necessary to conduct and report research, and allow students to work directly with experts and practitioners from all over the world. Students become part of a community of conservation scientists and leaders, developing relationships with these mentors and with each other, forming networks to help them launch into a wide variety of careers.

“My family has, and will always have, deep ties to George Mason and the Fairfax Campus,” Hazel said, “but I think one of the best university programs sits in Front Royal at the Smithsonian Mason School of Conservation. With the groundbreaking research being conducted at the facility, we have the potential to put this initiative on the map in a big way. I would like to think that this gift will help increase that momentum.”

“Jimmy’s impact on SMSC and its students goes well beyond this single thoughtful gift,” added Edwards. “His continued support has helped transform this program and placed it on a trajectory not envisioned when it was originally conceived.”

Hazel has been a dedicated, engaged member of the George Mason community. He served twice on the Board of Visitors: from 1994 to 2002, and his most recent appointment, from 2016 to 2024, included chairmanship of the Development Committee, a term as vice rector, and service as rector from 2020-22. He is a past president of the ��AV Alumni Association and the Law Alumni Association, and he served for 18 years on the ��AV Foundation Board of Trustees.

Hazel chaired George Mason’s successful Faster Farther Campaign, which closed at nearly $700 million—$200 million more than its original goal. He cochaired the presidential search committee that brought George Mason’s president Gregory Washington to campus in 2020. In recognition of his more than three decades of service to the university, Hazel was awarded the George Mason Medal in 2017.

Hazel, a lifelong outdoorsman who has served on the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (chairing the agency for three years), and on the boards of the Wildlife Foundation of Virginia and George Mason’s Potomac Science Center, is determined to make a lasting difference through SMSC.

Power the Possible

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Picture This: Salamander Safety 101

Lauren Reuscher — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 13:23:28 +0000

Picture This: Salamander Safety 101 Lauren Reuscher Thu, 06/06/2024 - 09:23

Three in hats. Two in t-shirts, two in rain jackets. Two wearing glasses. But what's one thing that all of these ��AV students are wearing? Well-fitted, sterile, hypoallergenic, slightly moistened gloves.

Photo by Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation

Some creatures like salamanders absorb oxygen through their skin. Even small amounts of oils on our bare hands, as well as chemicals present in soaps, lotions, hand sanitizers, and first-aid supplies, can harm the delicate salamander.

Photo by Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation

These students participated in the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation’s two-week course CONS 440/540 Field Skills in Ecology course in Front Royal, Virginia, where they practiced ecological research techniques like habitat evaluation, sampling, and identifying wildlife populations.

Photo by Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation

Another must-do for salamander safety: If you must pick one up, put it back exactly where you found it!

Photo by Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation

Learn more about the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation

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Conservation

Around Mason: Summer Camps Takeover

Sarah Holland — Wed, 09 Aug 2023 13:43:20 +0000

Around Mason: Summer Camps Takeover Sarah Holland Wed, 08/09/2023 - 09:43

Summer goes by fast—whether you’re a kid, or a kid at heart. The K-12 students who attended camps and youth programs at Mason this year filled those fleeting summer days with memories. With many camp options—including music, arts, recreation, sports, science, and space, just to name a few—these kids got to experience life in the Mason Nation at an early age. And we couldn’t be happier to host them. Here are some snapshots from their summer to remember.

CONS 100: Introduction to Field Conservation, Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation

Photo by Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation

The Introduction to Field Conservation Ecology program at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC) offers high schoolers hands-on experience in research field methods, with an emphasis on developing observational skills. Participants also earn college credit.

Many decades ago, the land that now makes up the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute functioned as a U.S. Army remount—a space used to provide exercise to horses. Racetrack Hill now serves as the site for many SMSC field activities, as well as recreation. During the first night of the program, high school students got to take in fantastic views, knowing that they would be returning many times in the coming days for hands-on conservation activities. See more photos.

Interstellar Dreams Space Center, College of Science

Photo provided

At the Interstellar Dreams Space Center at Mason's Fairfax Campus, middle schoolers took on roles as "mission specialists" to plan a lunar space station. The mission specialists made their own websites, learned to program a micro-controller to control electronics hardware and blink morse code with a light, learned about space, physics, astronomy, and more.

Campers also checked out various telescopes at the Mason Observatory—including the second largest on-campus optical telescope on the East Coast. The week culminated with a "press conference" attended by VIPs and families, where campers presented their lunar space station design.

Conflict Resolution Youth Summit, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Photo by Ayman Rashid/Office of University Branding

The Conflict Resolution Youth Summit, hosted by the Carter School, explores some of today's toughest problems through the lens of peace and conflict resolution. Through simulations, workshops and facilitated discussions, high schoolers delved into important conflicts and practiced the processes of promoting peace. Participants came away with new knowledge about global conflicts, social justice, peacebuilding, and collaborative leadership.

Mason Summer Band Camp, Mason Community Arts Academy

Photo provided

This summer, Mason Community Arts Academy (MCAA) kicked off the first-ever Mason Summer Band Camp. More than 100 students participated in the program led by faculty from the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music and the Green Machine.

Gold Star Volleyball Camp

Photo provided

George Mason Women’s Volleyball Head Coach Megan Shifflett Bachmann and other Mason volleyball staff hosted Gold Star Volleyball Camp on the Fairfax Campus. The camp emphasized the development of players of all levels to become more skilled and competitive athletes.

WGMU Podcasting and Radio Camp, WGMU

Photo provided

WGMU’S Summer Podcast and Radio Camp provided campers with training in a professional radio environment. Students had a chance to produce podcasts and be deejays, playing music over the WGMU radio station. Campers also learned from broadcast professionals how to write, edit, and produce podcasts, live DJ shows, commercials, promos, and public service announcements.

Tony Skinn Basketball Camps

Photo provided

Mason Men’s Basketball Head Coach Tony Skinn hosted two weeks of basketball camps at the Fairfax Campus. Boys and girls ages 7–14 learned about the game from Skinn, who was a two-time all-conference guard with the Patriots from 2003-06 and competed in the Final Four with the Patriots in the 2006 NCAA Tournament.

Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program, College of Science

Photo by ASSIP Intern Team

The nationally known Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program (ASSIP) provides transformative research opportunities for high school and undergraduate students. Selected participants work one-on-one with faculty researchers at ��AV and collaborating institutions using state-of-the-art technology across many disciplines. This summer’s ASSIP program welcomed a record 266 students, including 195 who participated in person. The program is open to high school students and Mason undergraduates.

Washington Journalism and Media Conference

Photo by Rafael Suanes/Washington Journalism and Media Conference

The Washington Journalism and Media Conference (WJMC) is an interactive, youth leadership program hosted on Fairfax Campus that provides highly engaged, high-performing high school students with a unique experience exploring careers in the areas of journalism, media, and related fields. Students experience an integrated and forward-thinking approach to journalism and media while acquiring valuable “in-the-trenches” knowledge through hands-on learning with industry leaders, award-winning journalists, international media outlets, and Washington insiders.

Learn more about Summer Camps at Mason

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Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Mason Community Arts Academy

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Faculty and Staff News

Vicki Kirsch, PhD, MSW, MA

Around Mason: Favorite Photos of the Year

Lauren Reuscher — Thu, 27 Jul 2023 14:27:50 +0000

Around Mason: Favorite Photos of the Year Lauren Reuscher Thu, 07/27/2023 - 10:27

Check out the Mason photo library

In This Story

All year long, photographers in ��AV’s Office of University Branding capture the moments that make Mason All Together Different. We asked our photographers to share their favorite photos from the 2022-23 school year.

As we prepare for a new academic year, let’s look back at these recent memories—skillfully frozen in time for the Mason vault.

Ron Aira, senior photographer, Creative Services

Weather can disrupt even the best laid plans. But according to Ron Aira, it can also create unexpected opportunities. In Aira’s favorite photos, forces of nature created powerful results. “Without the challenges of the wind and the rain, these shots would never have happened,” Aira said.

Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

Gabriella Grabovska, a first-year student in the Schar School, came to Mason from war-torn Ukraine. Aira captured her portraits in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

“It was very windy—her hair and the flag were flying all over the place,” Aira said. “I decided to go with the wind. I told her to face the wind, think about her country, and let the flag fly, thinking about what it represents to her.” Read more about Grabovska.

Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

Mason Day is a day of celebration and fun, but Mason Day 2023 was also a day of torrential rain. Aira and his equipment were getting soaked. But he watched as Mason students still enjoyed the day, not letting the rain ruin their experience.

“In the downpour, I saw a moment of peace between this couple under the umbrella,” Aira said. “It was a beautiful moment of quiet serenity, in the middle of the concert and the rain coming in sideways.”

Evan Cantwell, senior photographer, Creative Services

Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

“Sometimes as a photographer, I get to witness students’ ‘aha’ moments, and it was amazing to see how social work students connected with each other and horses from Project Horse Empowerment Center,” Cantwell said.

Each semester, Associate Professor Vicki Kirsch brings students from her advanced Trauma and Recovery course to the center to learn about the emerging field of equine assisted psychotherapy. Read more about their experiences.

Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

“We were finishing up our lifestyle photo session with students and the Office of International Programs and Services, and this robot beeped by,” Cantwell said. “This photo is also a great representation of how students from so many different countries all went to classes at Mason’s Fairfax Campus.”

Pumpkinbot, part of the Starship Robot fleet, appears on campus around Halloween. Because he’s somewhat elusive, those who spot him consider themselves lucky. “I’ve heard that if you take a selfie with Pumpkinbot, all your dining wishes come true,” Cantwell said.

Cristian Torres, videographer, Strategic Communications

Photo by Cristian Torres/Office of University Branding

In September 2022, students from the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation‘s Wildlife Ecology and Conservation program tagged monarch butterflies on their journey south to help researchers better understand their grand migration.

“This was a fun day,” Torres said. “We documented one of the different opportunities that students have in the field, capturing monarch butterflies to identify and tag them.” Watch the video.

Photo by Cristian Torres/Office of University Branding

Torres took photos at the Homecoming Tip Off Party in February 2023. “This was my first Homecoming at Mason,” Torres said. “I found the energy of the students celebrating together exciting. The event was full of happy faces, with everyone rooting for each other in the Lip Sync Battle.” See more photos from Homecoming events.

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Faculty and Staff News

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Schar School

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College of Public Health

Around Mason: Bugs, insects, and invertebrates of the Mason Nation

Lauren Reuscher — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 13:12:41 +0000

Around Mason: Bugs, insects, and invertebrates of the Mason Nation Lauren Reuscher Thu, 07/13/2023 - 09:12

The Marvel universe isn't the only place where insects and other invertebrates have superpowers. Mason faculty, staff, and students are studying and explaining the many roles these creatures play on our planet, learning more about a bug's life—and the big world surrounding them—every step of the way. Here's a recap of some of those stories.

SMSC student Spencer Harman (left) holds a monarch butterfly for tagging with guidance from Professor Joshua Davis. Photo by Mariam Aburdeineh/Strategic Communications

Monarch butterflies teach us how to protect them through their grand migration

Many creatures migrate to warmer habitats for the winter, but no insect does so quite as uniquely and spectacularly as the monarch butterfly, an endangered species. Undergraduates from the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation‘s Wildlife Ecology and Conservation program tagged monarch butterflies on their journey south to help researchers better understand their grand migration. Read more.

Mason's honeybee apiary. Photo by Sierra Guard/Creative Services

Honeybees and their honey could help solve crimes

An unlikely collaboration between Mason’s Honey Bee Initiative and the new outdoor Forensic Science Research and Training Laboratory could yield critical advances in forensic science. Read more.

The image on the left shows approximate human perception of flower color, and the image on the right depicts the bee-perceived color. Photo provided by Anna Siegle.

Bees can see ultraviolet (UV) colors, which are invisible to the human eye

When a bee sees a flower, it knows where to land thanks to its ability to see UV color patterns on the petals. A team at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation helps reveal what pollinators see, and why it matters for the future of conservation. Read more.

Ren Guerriero (left) and Mason student Matthew Perez study fruit flies in a neuroscience lab. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

Fruit fly behavior may reveal the impact of genes and disease on sleep

Assistant Professor of Neuroscience Ren Guerriero's teaching lab in the College of Science is using fruit flies to learn about the impact of genes and disease on sleep. Undergraduate researchers are investigating novel sleep-related genes by manipulating them genetically to see how they affect sleep and activity behavior. Researchers are also increasing and decreasing sleep in Alzheimer's disease model flies to determine how this impacts their Alzheimer's symptoms.

Worms are soil magicians

Worm bin composting in Mason's Greenhouse and Gardens turns biodegradable waste into healthy soil. Watch the video tutorial featuring Doni Nolan, Greenhouse and Gardens program manager.

What's the Patriot's favorite dance move? The worm.

Photo credit:

Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

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Forensic Science Research and Training Laboratory

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Graduate can’t deny an animal attraction

Colleen Rich — Mon, 08 May 2023 18:40:52 +0000

Graduate can’t deny an animal attraction Colleen Rich Mon, 05/08/2023 - 14:40

Gwendolyne Fields will have many career options once she graduates from ��AV.

During the summer of 2022, Gwendolyne Fields interned at the Cheetah Conservation Fund outside the town of Otjiwarongo in Namibia. Photo provided

Should she go for her master’s degree and PhD? Should she go to veterinary school and work with endangered species? Should she work with wildlife at a zoo?

“I don’t know, I’m still figuring it out,” said Fields, a senior biology major and member of Mason’s Honors College who is set to graduate this month. “But I do know I want to work with animals, and specifically conservation.”

Fields has a great head start, having just finished an internship at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C., where she did behavioral analysis of two Asian elephants. She has also lined up a summer internship at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom as a conservation education presenter.

But closest to Fields’ heart was her internship during the summer of 2022 at the Cheetah Conservation Fund outside the town of Otjiwarongo in Namibia. That’s where she worked with the animal that has been her favorite since age 5, comparing the growth rates of Namibian and Somaliland cheetah cubs.

Fields recently presented her data from that internship at the National Conference for Undergraduate Research at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. It was the cap to a Mason experience that not only fed her interests but gave her the hands-on experiences she needs to take her next steps.

Mason was there with funding for her internships through the Office of Student Scholarship, Creative Activities, and Research. Fields also attended the Endangered Species Conservation program at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation in Front Royal, Virginia.

“I’m so grateful I came here,” Fields said of Mason. “I learned so much and made so many connections with people; great friends and memories.”

“She’s motivated, she’s self-reliant, she is naturally curious, and interested in exploring the world around her, in every sense of it,” said David Luther, assistant professor in Mason’s Biology Department and Fields’ mentor. “And she actually knows when to ask the right questions. That’s important for not stopping progress in whatever she is trying to achieve.”

Fields is from Arlington, Virginia, but with her dad constantly on the move at the State Department, the family also lived in Ethiopia, Argentina, Nepal, Luxembourg, and Germany. Fields speaks fluent French, is conversational in German, and can speak some Spanish.

Her love of cheetahs began when a wildlife veterinarian with whom her father worked in Ethiopia showed her some rescued animals. Fields called the Cheetah Conservation Fund herself to set up her internship. Though her research focused on monitoring and analyzing the growth rate of cubs up to 6 months old, Fields also worked with cheetahs throughout the facility, feeding them, cleaning their enclosures, and giving talks to tourists.

The baseline result that Namibian cheetah cubs had better growth rates than Somaliland cubs is important, Fields said, because “some cubs don’t have their mothers or the skills to survive in the world. So it’s important for zoos and other places that have cheetahs to really take care of them as best as possible. How much food should we give them at a certain age or weight? And if they are at a certain weight, we can estimate their age.”

Fields said she worked with about 30 cheetahs and learned they have personalities much like people.

“Some might seem a little grumpy,” she said. “Others are all lovey-dovey and want to come up to you to get your attention. Every day I was reminded how beautiful and majestic they are. I’d love to go back eventually and finish the research.”

Count it as another of her career options.

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Students

Graduation

Honors College

Office of Student Scholarship Creative Activities and Research (OSCAR)

College of Science

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SMSC students tour Smithsonian whale archives

Colleen Rich — Tue, 04 Apr 2023 16:24:40 +0000

SMSC students tour Smithsonian whale archives Colleen Rich Tue, 04/04/2023 - 12:24

Learn more about SMSC

A fond, feathery farewell: Students help track wetland birds heading south for the winter
November 8, 2024
Jimmy Hazel, steadfast George Mason alum and friend, looks to the future with a foundational gift
October 7, 2024
Picture This: Salamander Safety 101
June 7, 2024
Around Mason: Summer Camps Takeover
August 9, 2023
Around Mason: Favorite Photos of the Year
July 27, 2023

Smithsonian’s cetacean specialist John Ososky gave SMSC students a tour of the National Museum of Natural History’s Museum Support Center. Photo by Kathleen Hunt/SMSC

Last week undergraduates in ��AV’s Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC) semester-away program had the opportunity to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the National Museum of Natural History’s Museum Support Center in Suitland, Maryland.

The students were introduced to the archive of rare whale specimens in the Museum Support Center by the Smithsonian’s long-time cetacean specialist John Ososky.

Ososky showed the group the very first Rice’s whale ever described, a critically endangered species of whale identified for the first time in 2020, as well as specimens of bowhead whales, killer whales, narwhal tusks, North Atlantic right whales, and rare deep-diving beaked whales, among others.

Also accompanying the students on the tour was Mason wildlife endocrinologist Kathleen Hunt who described her current whale research, including how hormone analysis of museum specimens can help researchers understand the problems affecting modern-day populations, and what can done about it.

Ososky also spoke to the students about how valuable their archived specimen collections can be in identifying new species, species that have gone unrecognized until recently, and in determining causes of mortality in endangered species.

Students in SMSC’s Endangered Species Conservation semester-away program spend 16 weeks living on site at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia. During this time, the undergraduates have the opportunity to practice conservation firsthand with experts from the Smithsonian Institution, Mason, and wildlife protection agencies around the world.

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Picture This

Conservation students tag monarch butterflies to help save the endangered species

Mariam Aburdeineh — Mon, 05 Dec 2022 17:05:52 +0000

Conservation students tag monarch butterflies to help save the endangered species Mariam Aburdeineh Mon, 12/05/2022 - 12:05

Monarch butterflies in Michoacan, Mexico. Photo by Getty Images.

Many creatures migrate to warmer habitats for the winter, but no insect does so quite as uniquely and spectacularly as the monarch butterfly.

From the United States and Canada, tens of millions of monarchs fly each year to a place they—and the previous butterfly generation before them—have never been before: tall trees found in a few mountain forests in central Mexico. Their tiny wings can take them on a roughly 2,500-mile transcontinental journey to these beautiful butterfly sanctuaries.

Protecting an Endangered Species

In late September, 18 undergraduates from the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation‘s (SMSC) Wildlife Ecology and Conservation program tagged monarch butterflies on their journey south to help researchers better understand their grand migration.

“It’s important to track [their movement] because monarchs are listed as an endangered species as of this summer [by the International Union for Conservation of Nature],” said senior environmental and sustainability studies major Nadia Gray.

Gray, who said she previously volunteered with the Norfolk Botanical Garden as a butterfly docent, is attending her second semester at SMSC. The Virginia Beach native said monarchs are facing threats including habitat loss, air pollution, and climate change.

“[Tagging] allows us to hopefully track some of them along the way south, but also to see what proportion of the tagged butterflies end up in central Mexico,” said Assistant Professor of Conservation Science Joshua Davis.

According to the nonprofit citizen-science program Monarch Watch, tagging also helps answer questions about the origins of monarchs that reach Mexico, the timing and pace of their migration, factors that impact their survival rates, and more.

SMSC student Spencer Harman (left) holds a monarch butterfly for tagging with guidance from Professor Joshua Davis. Photo by Mariam Aburdeineh.

Elusive Flyers

Using aerial nets with a delicate fabric to protect the butterflies, the students spent two afternoons in the fields at SMSC’s Front Royal campus to capture the fluttering insects.

On the second afternoon, the students caught three monarchs and placed sticker-like tags with serial codes on the butterflies’ hind wings.

SMSC student Nadia Gray using an aerial net to catch butterflies in the field. Photo by Cristian Torres.

“It is no small feat to catch these butterflies,” said Davis, who purchased the tags from Monarch Watch and has participated in the program with SMSC students since 2018. “If they’re going to survive this many thousands, many hundreds of miles journey south, they have to be pretty robust fliers.”

Even with many people, catching monarchs can be difficult. On the group’s first afternoon in the field, they were slightly ahead of most monarchs’ migration. The very few monarchs they did see were too swift to catch.

Still, the group learned more about butterflies and caught, identified, and released nine other butterfly species, including whites and sulfurs, and the common buckeye.

Information being recorded on one of the tagged monarch butterflies. Photo by Mariam Aburdeineh.

On the second day in the field, the butterflies were also difficult to catch because of the wind, but students like senior environmental science major Spencer Harman were determined to succeed. That kind of determination is central to the Mason experience, which challenges us to show up ready to work that much harder in our quest to solve problems through critical actions and research.

“More likely than not, [the monarchs] were actually in the trees,” said Harman, who caught one that dropped out of a tree in front of him.

The Place for Aspiring Conservationists

Being in the field for experiential learning is one of the highlights of Harman’s SMSC experience, he said.

“I’ve been interested in SMSC since high school and now that I’m here, it’s really interesting how specific we can get into the field of conservation,” said Harman, who grew up in Gainesville, Virginia.

“You get to have lots of hands-on experiences and then you get to meet with conservation professionals—it’s a really whole experience for anyone who wants to be, or is interested in, being a conservationist.”

Gray agreed.

“It’s just a good place to come if you need to get your foot in the door in the world of conservation, or if you want to make those connections with people that are working for, say, the Smithsonian or Virginia Working Landscapes.”

It’s a rewarding experience for professors, too.

“The thing I enjoy most about being here at SMSC is just the unique opportunities we have from an educational perspective,” Davis said.

“The student engagement is really fantastic,” he added. “It’s a self-selected group, and they’re really, really interested in this sort of thing. It makes teaching a lot of fun.”

Learn More about the Smithsonian Mason School of Conservation

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Conservation

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Retro Mason: Smithsonian-Mason Semester 2009

Colleen Rich — Wed, 13 Jul 2022 18:25:46 +0000

Retro Mason: Smithsonian-Mason Semester 2009 Colleen Rich Wed, 07/13/2022 - 14:25

In September 2009, during a behind-the-scenes tour of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C., hippo keeper John “J. T.” Taylor brought out a hippo skull to show students participating in the Smithsonian-Mason Semester. During the same visit, the students had the opportunity to feed Happy, a 5,500-pound Nile hippopotamus.

In 2000, Mason and the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo and Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) joined forces to educate the next generation of conservation leaders. The Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation was created.

During the Smithsonian-Mason Semester, students live at SCBI's 3,200-acre campus in Front Royal, Virginia, and learn directly from prominent conservation practitioners and Smithsonian scientists as they engage in hands-on research that’s critical to saving endangered species and preserving biodiversity.

Mason is one of the few universities to partner with the Smithsonian Institution in this way.

Read more about the early years of the Smithsonian-Mason Semester in the Mason Spirit magazine.

Photo credit: Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

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