University Day

University Day service awardees honored for driving Mason’s progress

Colleen Rich — Thu, 10 Nov 2022 18:10:10 +0000

University Day service awardees honored for driving Mason’s progress Colleen Rich Thu, 11/10/2022 - 13:10

The ��AV community united recently to celebrate colleagues who have served Mason and/or the Commonwealth of Virginia from five to 45 years.

Mason’s annual University Day Service Awards recognized 652 individuals with food, music, mingling, and pictures with Mason President Gregory Washington and the Patriot mascot.

The Nov. 8 “green” event honored those with five, 10 and 15 years of service. The Nov. 9 “gold” event honored those with 20 to 45 years of service.

Glenn Smith (center, green tie) celebrates University Day with College of Visual and Performing Arts colleagues. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

“During the 20, the 30, the 40, to even 45 years of service that many of you have been involved with this institution, [Mason] has made some remarkable progress,” Washington said during the Nov. 9 ceremony. “That progress is due to every single person in this room. Your contributions are the reason for our success.”

This rings especially true for the two employees who were celebrating 45 years of service: Glenn Smith, director of theory and composition in the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music, and Abdulaziz Sachedina, International Institution of Islamic Thought (IIIT) professor and chair of Islamic studies in the Department of Religious Studies.

Smith and Sachedina said they joined Mason because of its potential for growth.

“When I came to Mason, it was so new, and I decided that I was going to do what I could to bring this university into the 21st century,” said Smith, who started at Mason in 1976.

One way he accomplished this was by bringing quantum physics and neuroscience to music, and creating Mason’s music for well-being programs, focused on vibrational healing with sound.

“I teach students energy psychology because everything is in a state of vibration,” Smith said. “If you’re a musician, you’re controlling vibrations, and you’re very powerful. You have to be careful how you use music, so I use it for healing.”

Abdulaziz Sachedina with President Gregory Washington. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

Smith created and directs the related music and well-being minor, as well as Mason’s Healing Arts Ensemble, which he founded in 2007 and allows students to apply music healing principles in performance.

Sachedina, who joined Mason in 2012 after teaching at the University of Virginia for 36 years, said Mason allowed him to “see other dimensions of higher education in Virginia” and grow his experience with what is now the largest public research university in the state.

His research and teaching on Islamic studies has expanded to larger issues of humanity, he said.

“My goal is making people aware of the idea of coexistence: that human beings need to learn to live together,” Sachedina said. “I want to see that our humanity shines through in a global society.”

Mason helped him travel to Iran to teach, which was important, he said, because “we need education to be the bridge of connection in the world.”

For both 45-year service awardees, their reasons for staying at Mason are simple: the students.

Students ask some of the best questions, Sachedina said, “and we learn from them as much as we teach them.”

That is why, Sachedina said, he wants to stay in Mason’s classrooms as long as he can.

Smith said that not only does he “get to play music and hear professionally played music every day,” he also gets to “help students grow into professionals in a relatively short period of time.”

President Washington ended his remarks on Nov. 9 by congratulating everyone on their milestones.

“I want to thank you, again, for your many many years of service,” he said. “Go Patriots.”

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Faculty and Staff News

University Day

Dewberry School of Music

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

University Day Service Awards program honors faculty and staff

Melanie Balog — Thu, 28 Oct 2021 16:56:28 +0000

University Day Service Awards program honors faculty and staff Melanie Balog Thu, 10/28/2021 - 12:56

Members of the ��AV community can celebrate their colleagues in person or virtually during this year’s University Day Service Awards.

The service awards ceremonies will be held Nov. 2-3 in Dewberry Hall, honoring faculty and staff who have been at George Mason five years or more. There are 693 awardees this year, which is an increase of 100 honorees compared with the 2016 ceremony.

“The University Day Service Awards ceremony is an opportunity for Mason to recognize our faculty and staff for their years of service and contribution to the institution,” said Lester L. Arnold Sr., vice president for Human Resources and Payroll. “The past 20 months have been very challenging for all of us, and our Patriots have provided dedicated service and commitment to this university more than ever before.

He added, “I am so glad that we will be back in Dewberry Hall to celebrate our awardees in person for our annual Green and Gold University Day tradition.”

Those with 20 to 50 years of service will be honored first at Mason Gold Day on Nov. 2, 9:30 – 11 a.m. Mason Green Day honors those with 5, 10 and 15 years of service from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 3.

Both events will be livestreamed from gmutv.gmu.edu, and participants will be able to post congratulatory comments to the awardees, which will appear during the livestream program. Both programs will include a pre-recorded video performance by Rick Davis, dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, and Linda Monson, director of the School of Music.

“We take the time at the University Day Service awards to shine the spotlight on those who make a difference at Mason every day—the employees,” said Beth Baroody, the faculty and staff engagement consultant in Human Resources. “These events are for them and about them, and we try to make these events special by offering a buffet meal, music and a full program honoring their service.”

Each recipient receives a certificate signed by President Gregory Washington and a pin, which is mailed to them after the ceremony. Those with 20 or more years of service also can choose a gift to commemorate their years at Mason.

James S. Trefil, Robinson Professor of Physics, will be honored with the 50-year service award. Learn more about him here. He is the third person to reach this milestone, joining Don Gallehr, Department of English, and Jane Flinn, Department of Psychology.

Throughout his career, Trefil has bridged the gap between science and society. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) and a former Guggenheim Fellow. A physicist and author, Trefil is known for his writing and his interest in teaching science to nonscientists, and he has 231 works in 978 publications in 10 languages and 41,805 library holdings.

Faculty and staff recognized for 40 or more years of service include:

50 years – James S. Trefil (Robinson Professors/Physics)
45 Years - James Bennet (Economics)
45 Years – Stuart Malawer (Schar School)
40 Years – R. Chris Jones (Environmental Science and Policy)
40 Years – Linda Miller (School of Dance)

See the program and get more details on the Celebration page.

“We really want to encourage people to say thanks to their colleagues for their time at Mason, since the people, all the people here, are what make Mason so great,” said Baroody.

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Faculty and Staff News

Campus News

University Day

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

Jane Flinn celebrates 50 years of service

Colleen Rich — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 09:00:45 +0000

Jane Flinn celebrates 50 years of service Colleen Rich Fri, 10/09/2020 - 05:00

��AV psychology professor Jane Flinn has achieved something few Mason faculty have: She’s celebrating 50 years of service. Flinn is only the second Mason professor to meet this milestone; English professor Don Gallehr was the first in 2016. Here are some fun facts we learned about her:

She was originally a physicist. Flinn started teaching physics at Mason in 1969. She could only teach part time on Tuesdays and Thursdays while her young daughter was in preschool, and she felt very fortunate to be hired “at a very new and very young” Mason.

She was born in England and educated at Oxford. Flinn originally came to the United States for her graduate studies. While working on her PhD in physics at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., she was able to audit some psychology courses and loved them. She decided to pursue a second PhD, this time in social psychology at George Washington University (GWU), which she worked on part time while teaching at Mason. After completing her second PhD, Flinn taught in both departments for almost 10 years.

She created Mason’s undergraduate neuroscience degree program. While at Mason, Flinn served as chair of the Psychology Department and director of the undergraduate neuroscience program she helped to create, among other duties. She also has been recognized with numerous accolades and awards including the David J. King Teaching Award, the university’s highest teaching award, and a University Mentoring Award. She is currently director of Mason’s Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience Program.

She loves her field of research. During a required physiological psychology class at GWU, she had an “a-ha moment” about her career. “I think that the professor and I were the only two people in the room who really understood the physics of neuronal conduction,” says Flinn. “I suddenly felt I had come home. I discovered the subject I love, which combines both hard science and behavior.” Flinn’s current research focuses on the role of certain metals in learning and memory, especially pertaining to Alzheimer’s disease and traumatic brain injury.

She thinks you should get moving. Flinn is a huge advocate for brain health. One of her favorite classes to teach is one she designed: The Brain in Books and Film. “I think it is important to understand how your brain works,” she says. And that includes the essential role that exercise plays in brain health. Flinn recently started adding a five-minute break to her classes during which she and students exercise using a video by Wendy Suzuki, author of “Healthy Brain, Happy Life.” “Interacting with young people on a daily basis is something that is valuable and perhaps keeps one’s brain going,” she adds.

She believes education is transformational. Each year, Flinn mentors undergraduate and graduate students in her lab and says she finds it very satisfying when her students find success. “Education opens doors, and at Mason it opens doors for students who might not otherwise have this opportunity.”

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University Day

Psychology Department

Neuroscience

Campus News

Masonat50

University Day celebrates faculty and staff virtually

Colleen Rich — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 09:00:10 +0000

University Day celebrates faculty and staff virtually Colleen Rich Fri, 10/09/2020 - 05:00

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University Day

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