May 2022
May 17, 2022Thanks to her efforts in leading the Patriot Period Project and other ambitious initiatives, Shafuq Naseem is this year’s Gender and Policy Center Leadership Award winner. “Our mission is to address menstrual equity and period poverty on Mason's campuses.”
May 16, 2022Olga Diupina, who finished her bachelor's degree in three years, completed several research projects on the accessibility of higher education, finding inspiration in English-language learners’ transition from high school to college.
May 13, 2022Want to know how Washington really works? An exclusive course on the inner workings of Washington featuring high-profile speakers is a first-ever partnership between George Mason University and the University of Pennsylvania.
May 11, 2022With encouragement of peers and professors, an undergraduate discovers a passion for research. Her passion turned into an award for her work.
May 9, 2022A Schar School professor wrote a report about global commerce and culture. The British Council commissioned a dozen artists to interpret the information. The results are on display.
May 5, 2022There are many ways the Schar School supports undergraduate research. The annual Research Fair is one of the highlights of the semester.
May 4, 2022A stellar student eschews the traditional path to take a prestigious fellowship in Congress. Aaron Stuvland believes it will prepare him for a career in academics.
May 3, 2022Former U.S. ambassador and distinguished senior fellow at the Schar School Bill Farrand has died.
April 2022
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May 2, 2022Collecting our thoughts: What were Schar School scholars thinking in April? See our op-eds.
April 29, 2022After presenting her work to the National Honors Society, this Schar School senior earned one more honor, an unexpected one at that.
April 27, 2022This Schar School undergrad is making the most of opportunities, the likes of which she would never have enjoyed at home in Cuba.
April 26, 2022Undergraduate research isn’t a longshot at the Schar School, it’s encouraged.
April 21, 2022Professionals from the U.S. diplomatic corps provided insight to careers in diplomacy to Schar School students. They were told they were needed around the world now more than ever.
April 21, 2022Researchers from the Schar School of Policy and Government’s Center for Advancing Correctional Excellence! and the College of Health and Human Services are translating research into actionable guidelines to help probation officers support their clients to achieve better outcomes.-
April 20, 2022Three George Mason University students from Ukraine offered to answer questions about the fate of their country during an “Ask Me Anything” session.
April 19, 2022Perú native Ana Belen de Abril García Inga came to the Schar School with high aspirations. She’s determined to accomplish them, for the good of her home country.-
April 19, 2022A new exhibition of original art commissioned to illustrate a book-length report by Schar School Professor J.P. Singh will be unveiled April 29, followed by a keynote from the ambassador from Tanzania and a panel discussion.
April 18, 2022Philosopher and activist Cornel West was the debut guest of the Schar School’s new Race, Politics, and Policy Center.
April 13, 2022This year’s Daniel Druckman fellow, Hashim Wahdatyar, looks to give voice to civilians when governments make important decisions.
April 13, 2022Arriving at George Mason University in fall 2018 as a freshman, John Marin Elias had already faced—and overcome—a myriad of challenges for one so young.
March 2022
March 31, 2022Schar School students were thrown into a dangerous international crisis that could have escalated into war. Fortunately, it was only a simulation—but the outcome was still a positive.
March 30, 2022Stu Shea, president, chairman, and CEO of Peraton, a Virginia-based national security company, will be the featured speaker at George Mason University’s Spring Commencement.
March 30, 2022In his first-ever visit to George Mason University, famed academic and activist Cornel West makes an appearance in the Schar School’s Race, Politics, and Policy Center’s first-ever in-person event on April 14.-
March 29, 2022The results are in: The Schar School of Policy and Government moved up nine spots in the latest U.S. News & World Report for 2023 Best Graduate Schools.
March 29, 2022PBS NewsHour anchor Judy Woodruff is the Schar School’s 2022 Spring Degree Celebration speaker.-
March 24, 2022The top-ranked International Commerce and Policy (ICP) master’s degree program at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government is changing its name, but not its objective.
March 17, 2022More than 1,300 people from across the United States and overseas tuned in to “The Directors' View: Russia & Ukraine,” a virtual program hosted by Mason's Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy and National Security.
March 15, 2022The app allows users to filter an interactive map of rapidly developing events in specific neighborhoods throughout the besieged country. A link to the original media outlet accompanies each data point representing a military or nonmilitary event.- March 9, 2022A first-ever multi-campus “teach-in” took a look at the Ukraine crisis from the viewpoints of several Schar School experts—and two of the war’s victims.
February 25, 2022Schar School of Policy and Government professor J.P. Singh leads a team of researchers from across George Mason University campuses that has been awarded a three-year, $1.39 million grant to study the economic and cultural determinants for global artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructures—and describe their implications for national and international security.
February 2022
February 23, 2022The conflict in Ukraine the world is observing now is nothing new to Anton Liagusha. When gun-brandishing, Russia-backed separatists took over the Donetsk National University in Donetsk, Ukraine, in 2014, the country’s prime minister hastily relocated the school to a new campus in Vinnytsia, 20 hours away by train. Now the disused former diamond cutting factory is the site of a university that is, technically, in exile.
February 23, 2022Collecting our thoughts: What were Schar School scholars thinking in February? See our op-eds.
February 17, 2022The results of climate change are creating Big Problems for policy makers. The Schar School has been teaching climate change as a national security problem, and governments should respond accordingly.-
February 15, 2022A webinar promises to lend insight to several important public policy topics: Incarceration, race, housing, and employment, among others.
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February 4, 2022Study abroad students traveled to Scotland to participate and observe the climate change conference COP26. Here’s why, and what they learned.
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February 3, 2022Schar School researchers set out to see what impact George Soros’ philanthropy was having on democracies. What they discovered might surprise you.
January 2022
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January 31, 2022Collecting our thoughts: What were Schar School scholars thinking in January? See our op-eds.
January 26, 2022The Schar School’s Naoru Koizumi leads a team of researchers working on a little-known public policy medical problem: racial disparity among live-donor kidney transplants.
January 26, 2022For Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Cold War with the United States never ended, said Richard Kauzlarich, a distinguished visiting professor at George Mason University.-
January 25, 2022See, hear, and read the insightful program about abortion rights and the attack on democracy at this page provided by Ms. Magazine.
January 24, 2022Meet the MPA student who works to keep space sustainable—outer space, that is.-
January 12, 2022A panel discussion co-sponsored by the Schar School and Ms. Magazine tackles a particularly thorny subject—two of them actually: Attacks on abortion and democracy.
January 7, 2022In a roundup of comments from the world’s top infectious disease experts on what has been learned from the pandemic, Saskia Popescu says the crisis has taught her the alarming, counterproductive political nuances of a collective response.-
January 5, 2022Collecting our thoughts: What were Schar School scholars thinking in early December? See our op-eds.
December 2021
December 13, 2021Freshman Daksha Magesh traveled 3,000 miles with an impressive pre-college resume to come to the Schar School. “I know I made the right choice,” she tells us.-
December 7, 2021A new course taught on Capitol Hill aims to instruct students on how Capitol Hill truly operates.
December 7, 2021Some freshmen students are inspired to do more than classwork. Zayd Hamid says he is here to help fellow students. Find out how and why.
December 6, 2021After witnessing a violent revolution in Cairo, Nardine Mosaad is now earning a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree at the same time at the Schar School. What’s she studying? Government, of course.-
December 3, 2021The fourth Schar School Regional Elected Leaders Initiative (RELI) capped off the year with an in-person dinner on the Arlington Campus after hosting the ceremony online last year.
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December 3, 2021A discussion among practitioners in Virginia’s criminal justice system about major reforms is long overdue. So we had one.
December 2, 2021A PhD candidate is named a “40 Under 40” Middle East scholar to watch. Jon Hoffman is 26. He can make the list for another 14 years.
December 2, 2021A Q&A with a Schar School freshman from Oregon who is interning on Capitol Hill. Meet Molly Izer.
November 2021
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November 30, 2021Collecting our thoughts: What were Schar School scholars thinking in November? See our op-eds.
November 16, 2021Coming as an exchange student from Spain, Clara del Olmo thought American college life would be all fun and games. She discovered she was wrong. It’s better.
November 10, 2021The media strategists behind the most expensive gubernatorial race in Virginia’s history met on stage to talk about what went right—and what went wrong.- November 4, 2021What is political science? We asked five Schar School professors who not only teach it, but are also political scientists themselves.
Meet the PhD Biodefense Student and Counterproliferation Advisor Who Writes Sci-Fi and Spy ThrillersNovember 4, 2021A science-fiction and espionage romance writer—who is also a Schar School PhD student in the biodefense program—reveals her true identity.-
November 2, 2021Collecting our thoughts: What were Schar School scholars thinking in October? See our op-eds.
October 2021
- October 27, 2021We ask Cato Abbot, a fulltime Schar School senior, what it’s like living—and studying—in Rome.
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October 18, 2021The Schar School’s Richard Kauzlarich discusses a new book about the changing nature of national borders with the author Klaus Dodds.
October 12, 2021As we close out Hispanic Heritage Month, the College of Education and Human Development’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) wants to honor the contributions of faculty members of Hispanic/Latinx heritage.
October 7, 2021A new national survey of U.S. nonprofits shows scale of diversity and the effects of the pandemic on donation trends.
October 6, 2021Three new studies funded by the national JCOIN program address addictions and disease in justice settings.
October 6, 2021With thousands of people and countless opportunities, there’s a lot to take in at Virginia’s largest public research university. To help George Mason University students find community and boost their on-campus experience, Housing and Residence Life created Learning Communities (LC), where students with common interests live and learn together during the academic year. Democracy Lab is one of the newest LCs. More than 60 freshmen from the Schar School of Policy and Government are enrolled for its inaugural year.
October 5, 2021One undergraduate student shares the value of her three internships. Her advice? Go for it.
October 4, 2021The Schar School’s Center for Advancing Correctional Excellence! Lands an NIH grant to mentor a scientists studying opioid abuse in criminal justice settings.
October 1, 2021Fulbright scholar Ludmila Oleinic joins the Schar School’s political science unit as a research assistant.
September 30, 2021Israel’s Mossad is said to have used a remote controlled weapon to assassinate an Iranian nuclear scientist.
September 28, 2021Associate Professor A. Trevor Thrall is interviewed by MIT Security Studies Program.
September 2021
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September 22, 2021A September 28 panel discussion takes on the timely topic of COVID-19’s impact on women and minorities in the workplace.
September 21, 2021The program directors behind the Schar School’s new learning communities came up with a clever way to teach new students living on campus where everything is. Plus, Mason president Gregory Washington delivered an inaugural address.
September 15, 2021David Rehr said he has spent his entire life thinking about how government can be more efficient and effective. That's a key reason he co-founded Mason’s RPA Initiative, in partnership with global software company UiPath, in January.
September 9, 2021To mark the 20th anniversary of Sept. 11, we reached out to our colleagues at the Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security and the Schar School of Policy and Government for their remembrances. Many of them have worked in the intelligence and policy communities and each has a unique perspective on a day that changed our world.
September 9, 2021Distinguished Visiting Professor Michael Morell is the only person who was with President George W. Bush on Sept. 11, 2001, when the 9/11 attacks occurred, and with President Barack Obama on May 2, 2011, when Osama bin Laden was killed.
September 7, 2021A team of Mason researchers at the Schar School of Policy and Government and the Volgenau School of Engineering helped the 3M corporation disrupt a significant and dangerous supply of counterfeit PPE.
September 1, 2021The new vice president of the George Mason University student body, Veronica Mata, has taken advantage of the school’s copious opportunities to practice leadership.
August 2021
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August 30, 2021Collecting our thoughts: What were Schar School scholars thinking in August? See our op-eds.
August 25, 2021Mason officials welcomed its largest incoming class ever, with Schar School’s Jennifer Victor delivering a Victor-ious speech about civility.
August 23, 2021The president of the student body at George Mason University, Natalia Kanos, is majoring in government for reasons beyond the classroom.
August 18, 2021Schar School of Policy and Government alumna Hiwot Yohannes has taken her lessons from her International Commerce and Policy degree and created a global skincare company for women of color.- August 17, 2021As the government in Afghanistan collapsed and the Taliban seized power on the heels of the American exit from the country, Ellen Laipson, former vice chair of the U.S. National Intelligence Council and director of the international security program at the Schar School of Policy and Government, gave her assessment of the situation in an opinion piece for Asia Times.
August 17, 2021Armed with degrees in two different fields, Thys van Schaik found the perfect position at George Mason University. He leaves the Schar School this year a quarter of a century later.
August 16, 2021When a Philippian terrorism researcher won a Fulbright scholarship, there was only one place she wanted to work: the Schar School of Policy and Government’s Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center.-
August 12, 2021New guidelines co-created by the Schar School’s Faye Taxman for the National Institute of Justice examines the “risk and needs assessment” instruments that impact those in correctional settings.
August 11, 2021A field trip to Washington, D.C., memorials introduce incoming Schar School of Policy and Government undergraduates to their new home while creating a policy-driven mindset.
August 9, 2021John S. Earle is promoted to University Professor by George Mason University’s Board of Visitors.-
August 6, 2021A new book by Schar School associate professor Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera features an exclusive interview with the former secretary for public safety for Mexico. He happens to be in jail awaiting trial for corruption.
August 3, 2021After fleeing a brutal regime, a Schar School freshman finds her voice.
July 2021
- July 30, 2021The devastation by extreme weather events caused by climate change is having an impact on more than the environment: It’s a major national security concern. The Schar School is addressing it as such.
- July 28, 2021Author Raymond Kuo’s latest publication, Contests of Initiative: Confronting China’s Gray Zone Strategy, explores current dynamics in the East and South China Seas and strategies for how the U.S. can deter Chinese coercion.
July 21, 2021Longtime George Mason University adjunct professor and benefactor Col. (ret.) Douthard R. (D.R.) Butler died on July 10 at age 86.
July 9, 2021Schar School Public Policy graduate Kevin Jon Fandl passed away June 29 from leukemia.
July 8, 2021In a world haunted by the specter of man-made pathogens, it’s useful to know where the Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) labs are. A team of Schar School researchers created an interactive map to identify them.-
July 6, 2021Collecting our thoughts: What were Schar School scholars thinking in June? See our op-eds.
July 1, 2021Professor Emeritus Hugh Sockett wrote a trilogy sequel to Dickens’ Great Expectations. What else would you do in retirement?
June 2021
June 29, 2021Starting a new job as a vaccine scientist at the same time as beginning a master’s degree might be daunting for some, but scholarship winner Lewis Grant is flourishing.-
June 28, 2021A $20 million, 5-year program launched in 2019 to study substance abuse will continue its groundbreaking research in a new location beginning this summer.
- June 28, 2021An impressive list of thought-leading speakers take on global climate change in a first-ever Schar School summer study-abroad course.
June 28, 2021Master’s in Public Policy 2015 alumna Camille Touton has been tapped by President Biden to manage water and power for 31 million citizens. It’s a big job, but she’s ready.
June 24, 2021George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government will launch its new Race, Politics, and Policy Center in Fall 2021 under the leadership of Professor Michael Fauntroy. Fauntroy, who taught at Mason for 11 years before joining the faculty at Howard University in 2013, returned to Mason in June.
June 22, 2021A new study shows why government agencies should adopt Robotic Process Automation. Bottom line: It makes government work better.
June 22, 2021Ready for the future: Master’s in Public Administration student Dymon Bailey lands a prestigious state fellowship and a summer job in state government.- June 21, 2021A trio of Schar School professors assumes the editorial leadership of a seminal nonprofit journal.
- June 15, 2021A Schar School professor uncovers “hidden figures” in Jim Crow-era Kansas City high schools.
- June 8, 2021Former CNN analyst Bill Schneider retires from the faculty after a dozen years teaching American politics.
- June 7, 2021A Schar School adjunct professor brings a career full of experience and expertise to the security studies classroom.
May 2021
- May 25, 2021Schar School of Policy and Government assistant professor Fengxiu Zhang lands a grant to begin work on a timely issue: infrastructure.
May 21, 2021Thinking about a career in intelligence? A panel of distinguished former intelligence officials spell out what’s in the future for the field.- May 5, 2021ICYMI, a recap of our Hayden Center conversation with three best-selling spy authors.
- May 3, 2021A new study by the Schar School’s Center for Advancing Correctional Excellence confirms the idea that a community needs to perceive changes in correctional systems as legitimate before being effective.
- May 3, 2021The 2021 keynote speech at graduation will be delivered by a woman who rose to the top levels of federal government—and she’s an alumna of the Schar School of Policy and Government.
April 28, 2021Illegal goods can have deadly consequences. Whether it’s a counterfeit face mask that doesn’t provide a frontline worker adequate protection from COVID-19, or a counterfeit pill laced with fentanyl (a synthetic painkiller 50-100 times more potent than morphine), millions of lives can be at risk. A multidisciplinary team of researchers and students at George Mason University is working to stop such criminal activity. Thanks to a nearly $650,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF)—and a $16,000 grant supplement awarded to two undergraduates on the team—they will be investigating how to disrupt illicit supply chains, influence policy, and ultimately save lives.
April 2021
- April 30, 2021Collecting our thoughts: What were Schar School scholars thinking in April? See our op-eds.
April 30, 2021This year’s Schar School of Policy and Government’s Godbold Award winner for public administration, Hunter Young, enjoyed a range of academic and practical activities that prepared him for his post-graduation career.
April 21, 2021Playing football for University of Notre Dame was something Steve Elmer said he could only dream of when he was younger. His talent combined with a scholarship had him playing on the field with a golden helmet as freshman. He became one of the team’s most experienced offensive linemen, having 30 starts to his name.- April 21, 2021A conference addressing international crime and asylum helps a high court reverse a crucial decision.
- April 21, 2021A 2014 PhD in Biodefense graduate has won a major award as an outstanding federal employee. Brian Mazanec is a director at the Government Accounting Office specializing in security issues.
- April 21, 2021A Guggenheim ‘Distinguished Scholar Grant’ will help the Schar School’s Philip Martin and colleagues to study post-conflict peacebuilding in Côte d’Ivoire.
- April 21, 2021Former senator and Schar School professor Chuck Robb discusses his new memoir May 5 with Brian Lamb.
- April 20, 2021A new Schar School program makes rapid grants available to improve practices affecting those in criminal justice settings. Speed is everything.
- April 19, 2021Professor Peter Mandaville discusses the Middle East tonight. We wondered what fascinates him about the region?
April 13, 2021Schar School alumna Lisa Greenhill has never let not being something stop her. Now she’s in a leadership position at an association, helping a professional field diversity.- April 5, 2021The Schar School’s Center for Advancing Correctional Excellence becomes part of a national network of like-minded university centers.
- April 1, 2021Collecting our thoughts: What were Schar School scholars thinking in February? See our op-eds.
March 2021
- March 31, 2021The new U.S. News & World report rankings show the Schar School’s graduate programs continue to climb.
- March 29, 2021A new $400,000 grant will enable Schar School and CINA experts to combat illicit trade that disguises itself as cybercurrency transactions.
- March 26, 2021More than 400 students representing120 universities from across 30 countries competed to control a simulated pandemic. Three students from the Schar School advanced to the final round.
- March 24, 2021A panel of law enforcement experts will examine the rise of domestic terrorism Thursday, March 25.
- March 11, 2021How Mason has changed in the past 31 years through the eyes of Schar School professor, Priscilla Regan.
- March 11, 2021Schar School Professor J.P. Singh is a Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow for the second time. Encore!
- March 11, 2021Retired professor Hazel M. McFerson died February 27. She was 78.
- March 11, 2021House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) discussed the state of U.S. intelligence with Michael Morell from the Schar School’s Hayden Center.
- March 11, 2021Collecting our thoughts: What were Schar School scholars thinking in February? See our op-eds.
February 2021
- March 11, 2021The new Graduate Certificate in Strategic Trade is already leading students towards their lifelong career in export controls.
- March 11, 2021Three Schar School biodefense graduates—all from the class of ‘19—take the helm of a global health organization, the Next Generation Global Health Security Network.
- March 11, 2021Hayden Center Distinguished Visiting Professor Michael Morell will come “Face to Face” with House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff on February 25.
- March 11, 2021George Mason University President Gregory Washington will discuss his experiences in change management in an inaugural event for the Master’s in Organization Development and Knowledge Management program.
- March 11, 2021Master’s in International Security student Sarah Erickson is named a visiting fellow at the think-tank Independent Women’s Forum. Here’s how the Schar School is helping.
- February 15, 2021When it comes to educating future diplomats for the Foreign Service Office, Mason is in the top 10 of U.S. universities.
- February 15, 2021Will we be in a rush to return to the days of “rush hour”?
- February 15, 2021One Schar School professor addresses climate change by studying what happens to those affected by it. His students get to create a map of communities affected by it.
- February 15, 2021NOT going with the flow: A new book by Schar School scholars collects public policy essays examining the Flint, Michigan, water crisis.
- February 15, 2021Orlando native Natalie Nehme uses what she learned in her government and international politics degree daily as a Washington, D.C., advocate.
January 2021
- February 15, 2021An Air Force veteran applies his expertise in a PhD dissertation that could have international impact.
- February 15, 2021The Schar School’s Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC) at the Schar School of George Mason University becomes a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
- January 19, 2021Former CIA officer and author David Priess becomes a professor in the Schar School of Policy and Government’s master’s in international security program.
- January 19, 2021The Schar School of Policy and Government partners with software firm UiPath to bring robotic efficiency to governments.
- January 19, 2021A graduating Schar School of Policy and Government senior overcomes childhood obstacles to excel in college life.
- January 19, 2021Collecting our thoughts: What were Schar School scholars thinking in December? See our op-eds.
- January 10, 2021Retired professor and former Schar School of Policy and Government department chair Louise White dies from complications from the novel coronavirus.