Schar School Faculty

Two Virginia Political Veterans Join Schar School Faculty as Professors of Practice

Jessica Bates — Tue, 27 Sep 2022 17:59:59 +0000

Two Virginia Political Veterans Join Schar School Faculty as Professors of Practice Jessica Bates Tue, 09/27/2022 - 13:59

In This Story

Terry McAuliffe

David Ramadan

Mark J. Rozell

Former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe (D)

Schar School of Policy and Government Dean Mark J. Rozell announced the signing of two longtime Virginia politics veterans to the faculty: Former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe (D) and former Virginia delegate David Ramadan (R).

>Both have previously served on the Schar School faculty—McAuliffe as Distinguished Visiting Professor (2018-20), Ramadan as government and international affairs adjunct professor (beginning 2004). Their terms as “professors of practice” begin immediately. A professor of practice engages with faculty and students in various capacities and shares relevant professional expertise.

McAuliffe served as Virginia’s 72nd governor from 2014 to 2018. Prior to his tenure as Virginia's top executive, he served as chair of the Democratic National Committee and co-chair of Bill Clinton’s 1996 re-election campaign. As governor, McAuliffe created 200,000 jobs, fought to expand Medicaid coverage, and protected reproductive rights.

“We are honored to welcome Governor McAuliffe back to the Schar School,” said Rozell. “He brings incomparable energy and insight to the classroom and provides a truly one-of-a-kind experience for our students.”

“I’m thrilled to be working alongside our country’s next generation of political leaders,” McAuliffe said.

Former Virginia delegate
David Ramadan (R)

Lebanese-born Ramadan, who received an EdD in leadership and learning organizations from Vanderbilt University in May, is a Schar School bachelor’s and master’s degree graduate and a former member of ��AV’s Board of Visitors (2010-12). He was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2011, and again in 2013.

“I am honored to continue to serve my alma mater as a member of the Schar School faculty,” he said. “As a practitioner-scholar, I look forward to building on decades of experience in business, education technology, entrepreneurship, government service, higher education, and international consulting to my work in the academy.”

“Like Terry, David brings a wealth of insight and experience to share with students,” Rozell said. “We are extremely fortunate to have both of these veteran Virginia political practitioners join the staff and enrich our offerings to students."

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Schar School Faculty

Schar School News September 2022

Mason team tackles climate change in Virginia counties through new three-step initiative

Mariam Aburdeineh — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 17:54:54 +0000

Mason team tackles climate change in Virginia counties through new three-step initiative Mariam Aburdeineh Thu, 12/09/2021 - 12:54

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Joel Hicks

Solving climate change is a grand challenge facing the planet. As more individuals and leaders are recognizing the need to switch to environmentally friendly practices, ��AV’s Local Climate Change Planning Initiative (LCCPI) is helping make that a reality for counties across Virginia.

“Our vision is to have Mason be the lead university in helping counties that lack the resources and expertise in [addressing climate change] get this done,” said Paul Bubbosh, a 1988 Mason alumnus and adjunct professor at the Schar School and College of Science.

Wealthier counties have funding to mitigate environmental issues, said Bubbosh, who started LCCPI with Schar School adjunct professor Joel Hicks in Fall 2021. Many smaller jurisdictions do not, he said, and they may not have staff for these initiatives.

LCCPI, housed within the Center for Energy Science and Policy, allows Mason to bring in its resources and expertise in modeling, engineering, environmental science, policy law, and more, to provide pro bono services to these counties, Bubbosh said.

Students will play an active role in the initiative’s three-stage process, which the Mason team is piloting in Manassas City.

The first stage, which Bubbosh said takes four to six months, is about gathering data on the county’s emissions footprint and having students conduct inventory modeling.

The next stage involves working with community leaders for a year to develop goals, such as changing streetlights to LEDs or reducing emissions, he said.

“In that process, which involves students leading community meetings with faculty, we begin to educate members of the public about the things they desire,” Bubbosh said. “It’s moving them toward understanding what makes the best, most economical, most practical sense for the community.”

Working at the local level is where critical change can happen, said Bubbosh, who said LCCPI was inspired by his time as a Peace Corps volunteer, when he saw how local communities are impacted by climate change.

That’s why stage three provides heightened value.

Hanna Metuda is one of two undergraduates volunteering with LCCPI. Photo provided.

“Any contractor you hire to do this leaves at stage two,” Bubbosh said. “We want to embed students in internships with the local county to help them implement what they found in stage two.”

“Being in the forefront and crafting creative solutions that could ripple through other communities is really inspiring,” said Hanna Metuda, a senior studying government and international politics. “That Mason is allowing students to be a part of that is exciting…and it gives me hope for our environment.”

Metuda is one of two undergraduates volunteering with LCCPI. She said growing up in the Philippines with the effects of pollution and climate change inspired her environmental drive. While she said she’s excited to apply what she’s learned in the classroom, she understands challenges could arise.

“Students will discover hurdles along the way that no classroom will ever be able to prepare a student for,” Bubbosh said, suggesting some challenges may be insurmountable. “However, that learning experience, even at a loss, is a win for students in terms of practical work experience.”

“It’s about seeing results—not academic exercises—and actually making a difference in someone’s life,” he said.

From left to right: Delegate Rip Sullivan (D-48th) from Manassas, Paul Bubbosh and Ambassador Richard Kauzlarich, Director of Mason's Center for Energy Science and Policy. Photo provided.

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Sustainability

Sustainability Research

Schar School

Schar School Faculty

College of Science

Center for Energy Science and Policy

Manassas

Campus News

Institute for a Sustainable Earth (ISE)

Government and International Politics

internships

Climate Change

climate change education

environmental science

Department of Environmental Science and Policy (ESP)

Mason’s new tech initiative is set to be an automatic game changer

Mariam Aburdeineh — Mon, 13 Sep 2021 18:57:24 +0000

Mason’s new tech initiative is set to be an automatic game changer Mariam Aburdeineh Mon, 09/13/2021 - 14:57

In This Story

David Rehr

David Rehr, Mason alumni, and other industry professionals discuss careers in the RPA industry as part of Mason's new RPA Initiative. Photo provided.

David Rehr said he has spent his entire life thinking about how government can be more efficient and effective.

The ��AV alumnus and director of Mason’s Center for Business Civic Engagement at the Schar School of Policy and Government spent 25 years as a lobbyist on Capitol Hill. Before that, he was a child growing up in the Midwest, the son of a hardworking postman who didn’t attend college.

His time in government, he said, made him a bit cynical, feeling that citizens’ hard-earned tax dollars, like his father’s, weren’t being used the most resourcefully.

Rehr said he learned about Robotic Process Automation (RPA)—what he believes could be the key to solving government and public sector inefficiencies—when he met someone from global software company UiPath in 2020.

That led to Rehr co-founding Mason’s RPA Initiative, in partnership with UiPath, in January.

“This gives Mason a really unique opportunity to help the public sector, and to make programs work better for citizens,” said Rehr, who earned a PhD in economics from Mason in 1998. “We’re the only university I could find that has such a program.”

“Mason has a history of innovation, technology, and studying public policy,” said Bobby Patrick, UiPath CMO. “We believe the partnership is a great fit and will benefit citizens seeking greater value in public-sector programs and initiatives.”

Rehr spoke over the phone about the initiative and its benefits.

What is RPA and how is it used?

RPA is an easy-to-use, commercial off-the-shelf technology that can automate repetitive, rules-based tasks.

During COVID, RPA greatly reduced the time it took to receive COVID test results. Another application analyzed photos of infected lungs…the robotics could determine within about a minute if you were going to have a complication.

There’s a digital assistant where if you have to fill out HR paperwork, you can scan your driver’s license and all your paperwork is filled out for you. For W-4 forms that multiple people have to sign, RPA can automatically send it to your supervisors, who are signaled by the technology that they have something to approve. It’s continuous from there.

Tell us about Mason’s RPA Initiative.

At the Schar School, we’re always focusing on how we can be innovative in our teaching and make an impact in the world.

The mission of the initiative is to research, educate, and communicate how the adoption of technologies can improve productivity, operations and service delivery for traditional and novel challenges of the public sector.

What can we look forward to with the initiative?

We’re hoping to be able to hire more students to work on projects, to further educate through webinars and instruction, do research, and communicate the benefits of RPA to the public sector.

The [School of Business] also has an RPA class. We’re hoping to take a multidisciplinary approach: how can we use all the Mason resources to make sure our students are aware of the opportunities and get hired when they graduate.

Will RPA replace human labor?

There’s not a substitution effect; there’s a complementary effect. This technology will help programs work better for people and more efficiently. It liberates workers from mundane things, which don’t appeal to their imagination. Using RPA will allow people the freedom to think about high value work priorities and unleash greater economic growth, greater prosperity, make everyone’s lives better, and help people have more fulfilling lives.

Where can people go to learn more about RPA?

The initiative produced a paper aimed at non-IT workers in June that’s been picked up around the world. We include examples of what’s happening globally with RPA, and explain the technology in a non-technical way. Those interested in getting involved can visit the RPA Initiative website.

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Schar School

Schar School Faculty

robotic process automation (RPA)

Alumni

Business

Costello College of Business

Center for Business Civic Engagement

innovation

Campus News

Schar School News September 2021

Mason Vision Series on the Middle East: Peter Mandaville

Anonymous — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 17:02:04 +0000

Mason Vision Series on the Middle East: Peter Mandaville Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 04/19/2021 - 13:02

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Peter Mandaville

Professor Peter Mandaville of the Schar School of Policy and Government will hold a discussion called A Decade Beyond the Arab Spring: New Challenges for U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East tonight at 7 p.m. as part of ��AV’s Mason Vision Series of events.

Mandaville’s former roles in the Middle East were serving as a senior advisor at the U.S. Department of State and as a member of the State Department's policy planning staff under former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. But we wanted to know what makes this region fascinating for him.

When and how did you become interested in the Middle East?

I was born and raised in the Middle East, the third generation of my family to live and work in the region as American expatriates. Most of that time was spent in Saudi Arabia, but at various points members of my family also lived in Lebanon, Yemen, and Egypt. So, I’ve had a lifelong connection to the Middle East.

What keeps it interesting for you?

What I find most interesting about the Middle East today—especially from the perspective of foreign policy analysis—is the fact that the rulebook governing regional politics and diplomacy seems to have been thrown out the window in the last few years.

Leaders in the region are starting to entertain a much broader portfolio of strategic relationships—including with China and Russia—and that brings with it a whole new set of variables and a more complicated calculus for U.S. policy makers.

What was the biggest challenge you faced in your role(s) with the State Department?

As academics, we are trained and incentivized to explore and explain the complexity of the world in our research and teaching. We relish the many shades of gray and rarely are we forced to repackage our expertise in terms of black and white, yes or no.

At the State Department, however, I found myself in situations where I had to advise senior national decision makers about what course of action the United States should take in response to some event or development, knowing that their decision would have significant and very tangible effects in the world. Making that shift was deeply challenging and, at times, highly stressful.

The Mason Vision Series will be live-streamed through GMU-TV at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 19. Individuals will have the opportunity to participate and engage in the discussion by submitting questions via email to GMUProv@gmu.edu or Twitter by using #VisionSeriesMason. To RSVP, click here.

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Schar School of Policy and Government

Schar School News April 2021