Faculty/Staff Announcements
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海角社区 Updates
Homecoming 2023: Registration Open
Celebrate Mason during Homecoming from Feb. 10鈥18. for a series of exciting events. Show your school spirit, reminisce, and share experiences with your friends and family. For more information, contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 703-993-8696 or alumni@gmu.edu.
Green Game Volunteers Needed
This year鈥檚 is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 25, at 7 p.m. when the Mason women's basketball team takes on the University of Rhode Island in EagleBank Arena.
The annual Green Game aspires鈥痶o be a "zero waste game," with 90 percent or more of all waste diverted from the trash through green purchasing, composting, or recycling.
Volunteers are needed to help Mason achieve its zero waste goal. and .
New Mason Web Location for COVID Information
Mason鈥檚 鈥淪afe Return to 海角社区鈥 website content has been moved and now resides on the Safety, Emergency, and Enterprise Risk Management website at . Old and bookmarked links will automatically redirect to this new permanent location. .
Reminder: Spring Shuttle Service Underway
Spring shuttle service began Monday, Jan. 23. For details and individual shuttle route schedules, visit . A valid Mason ID is required to ride, and guest passengers are not permitted. Contact shuttle@gmu.edu or 703-993-2828 with questions.
Mason's Digital Signage System Retires this Summer
OrcaTV, Mason鈥檚 digital signage system, will be retired at the end of the spring 2023 semester. Originally installed to communicate information in case of a campus emergency, that capability has been supplanted by Mason Alerts and Rave Guardian. With the system aging and requiring upgrades and component replacement, and with digital signage ad revenues failing to cover those costs, Operations and Business Services has decided to retire the system and devote its funding to more pressing needs.
OrcaTV will remain available until May 30. It will then be deactivated and the screens will be removed. Departments interested in obtaining these older flatscreen TVs, mounts, or other associated equipment are welcome to see what is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Contact Buz Grover at 703-993-5784 for more information.
Updating People Finder
Is your contact information up to date in People Finder, Mason鈥檚 online directory? Take a look at .
To update your directory listing or request a new listing, submit the information through the .
For department-wide updates, you may request a spreadsheet of all employees currently listed in a particular unit. Contact masondir@gmu.edu to request a master list to review and update.
Contact Lauren Reuscher, Strategic Communications, at masondir@gmu.edu with questions.
Love to Bike? Winter Bike to Mason Day is Feb. 10
Winter Bike to Mason Day is the Friday before Valentine鈥檚 Day. Join Parking and Transportation on Feb. 10 for a little bike love!
Stop by the Merten Hall lawn between 7:30鈥9:30 a.m. with your bike for a beverage and some biking-related giveaways. Contact transpo@gmu.edu for more information.
Training and Professional Development
Faculty and Staff Can Apply as Teacher-Mentor for UNIV 100 Courses
University Studies within the Office of Undergraduate Education is Mason鈥檚 one-stop center that offers transition courses to students throughout their college years. These courses provide the support students need during the various phases of transition from matriculation to graduation.
University Studies is now accepting applications from Mason staff to teach and serve as a role model for first-year students in UNIV 100: Introduction to Mason courses for fall 2023. The deadline to submit applications is Friday, Feb. 24. . Email questions to University Studies.
Faculty Engagement Series to Address Career Success
The University Life Faculty Engagement Series is designed to provide information about Mason students and services, hear faculty perspectives and insights from the classroom, and identify the ways our collective work in student success intersects and overlaps.
The next session in the series will be held on Thursday, Feb. 9, from 2鈥2:30 p.m. in the Johnson Center, Room A, and via . Saskia Campbell, executive director, University Career Services, will address the topic of career success. For details on each session, or email Alissa Karton.
Resources for You
Working Moms Group
The Support Group for Working Mothers at Mason is one way faculty, staff, and students can come together, discuss the issues confronting working parents, and perhaps spur changes on campus.
The group is celebrating its 20th year of meetings. This spring, the meetings will be a mix of in-person and virtual formats. The next meetings will be:
- Tuesday, Jan. 24, at noon in the Johnson Center, Room 240K
- Wednesday, Feb. 8, at noon on
For the full schedule, or join the for more information.
Contact Heather Aleknavage with questions.
All Adjunct Faculty Invited to Social Hour on Feb. 13
All Mason adjunct faculty are invited to attend the Adjunct Faculty Social Hour on Monday, Feb. 13, from 5鈥6:30 p.m. in Merten Hall, Room 1201. Meet Provost Ginsberg and mingle with fellow adjuncts in this community-building event. RSVP to Shannyn Snyder, co-chair of the Adjunct Faculty Committee.
Patriot Perks Basketball Watch Parties
Support the Mason Men鈥檚 Basketball team at the this spring. Cheer on the Patriots from these Patriot Perks locations during the team鈥檚 away games:
- Jan. 25: Ornery Beer Company, 6:30 p.m. (Mason at VCU)
- Feb. 4: Dave & Buster鈥檚 Fairfax, 2 p.m. (Mason at Loyola)
- Feb. 25: Patriots Pub & Grill, 5:30 p.m. (Mason at Dayton)
- March 4: Velocity Wings Fairfax, noon (Mason at Richmond)
Bring a Mason ID or Alumni Association Member Card to receive exclusive discounts at each location. Plus, there will be free Mason spirit items and giveaways provided by the program. Grab your friends, colleagues, or family to come celebrate and cheer on the Patriots! .
Guaranteed Ride Home
If you're a faculty or staff member who bikes, carpools, vanpools, uses mass transit (e.g., bus, Metro), or walks to work at least twice a week, you always have a ride backup with Guaranteed Ride Home (GRH).
Sponsored by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, it is free to sign up and free to use GRH. Once you register, you can use GRH up to six times per year. If a qualifying emergency arises, call Commuter Connections and they will arrange transportation for you (e.g., taxi, car rental, transit).
It is a good idea to sign up before you need it. Conditions apply; for details and to register, (scroll down to Guaranteed Ride Home). Contact transpo@gmu.edu with questions.
Encore Learning Spring Course Preview
, a partner of 海角社区, is gearing up for its spring 2023 semester. Based in Arlington, Encore Learning meets the continuing educational and social interests of anyone over age 50, regardless of residence location, by offering a wide variety of college-level noncredit courses, specialty clubs, events, and more.
The spring schedule includes 21 in-person courses, 19 virtual courses, and three hybrid courses offered simultaneously in-person and virtually. . The annual membership fee is $65 per individual. Each course costs $55 and requires membership through the course end date. on Feb. 2 at 9:30 a.m. Questions? Contact info@encorelearning.net.
TIAA Financial Seminars
Check out these upcoming financial seminars from TIAA:
- Feb. 15 at noon: Mid-Career Retirement Check-in
- Feb. 15 at 3 p.m.: Hindsight is 2020
- Mar. 9 at noon: Save in a 529 College Savings Plan
- Mar. 15 at 2 p.m.: Help Protect You, Your Family, and Your Money
.
Upcoming Performances at Mason
The Mason Cabaret 鈥 Baby, Dream Your Dream: The Women of Broadway
School of Theater
(ASL interpreted performance, Fairfax 海角社区, Harris Theatre)
(Fairfax 海角社区, Harris Theatre)
(SciTech 海角社区, Hylton Center, Gregory Family Theater)
A perennial favorite, the Mason Cabaret returns with a fresh line up of stellar vocalists offering showstoppers, ballads, and duets. As Sondheim once wrote, 鈥淪omething familiar, something peculiar, something for everyone . . .鈥 This 鈥渇un-raiser鈥 will have you dancing in your seat and humming all the way home. Ticket sales will support the Mason Players.
Saturday, Feb. 4, at 8 p.m.鈥
Sunday, Feb. 5, at 2 p.m.鈥
Center for the Arts
Virginia Opera presents Fellow Travelers by composer Gregory Spears and librettist Greg Pierce. Fellow Travelers follows idealistic Timothy Laughlin as he navigates through the intrigues of Washington, D.C., during the Red Scare of the 1950s. Working in a senator鈥檚 office, Timothy joins the fight against communism, but his values are put to the test when falls in love with Hawkins Fuller, a handsome State Department official. Sung in English with English surtitles.
Saturday, Feb. 4, at 8 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 5, at 2 p.m.
Hylton Performing Arts Center
In La Galerie, seven zany acrobats, one electrifying musician, and plenty of popcorn transform a black and white art exhibit into a colorful feast for the senses. Audiences of all ages will be in awe as the endearing characters defy museum etiquette and explore the exhibition from the inside out. Since 2015, this Quebec City-based circus company has dazzled audiences around the world with performances that blend acrobatics, poetry, and humor. This performance is appropriate for all ages.
School of Art
Thursday, Feb. 9, at 4:45 p.m.
Hosted via Zoom
Visual Voices is an online artist presentation and Q&A that provides exposure to a variety of practicing artists. Saki Mafundikwa is the founder and director of the Zimbabwe Institute of Vigital Arts, a design and new media training college in Harare, Zimbabwe. Mafundikwa鈥檚 book, Afrikan Alphabets: the Story of Writing in Africa, was the first book on Afrikan typography. His first film, Shungu: The Resilience of a People, a feature-length documentary, is an objective, in-depth look at the causes and effects of Zimbabwe鈥檚 political and economic decline through the voices of ordinary Zimbabweans.
Friday, Feb. 10, at 6 p.m.
Mason Exhibitions Arlington
Join artist Bennie Herron and his friends for poetry, music, and an artist talk. , featuring the work of Bennie Herron, is open at through March 11. Herron鈥檚 paintings channel and concentrate the currents of his poetry. Using a consistent formal vocabulary, he depicts emotionally charged busts of figures in dramatic contours, filled with dynamic and often fractured interiors. He has characterized these larger-than-life figures as 鈥渕irrors.鈥 Mason Exhibitions Arlington is located at 3601 Fairfax Drive, two blocks away from Mason Square.
Saturday, Feb. 11, at 8 p.m.
Hylton Performing Arts Center
Legendary choreographer Mark Morris celebrates The Beatles in his critically acclaimed Pepperland. Thanks to Morris鈥檚 distinctive wit, musicality, and inventiveness, Pepperland transforms The Beatles鈥 music into a performance that fills the stage with color and high-energy dance. Founded in 1980, the Mark Morris Dance Group is lauded as the world鈥檚 preeminent dance company. You won鈥檛 want to miss this much-anticipated cultural event of the season. This performance is appropriate for all ages.
Sunday, Feb. 12, at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Hylton Performing Arts Center
Bedtime has never been so exciting in this clever, imaginative, and heartwarming musical. Based on the beloved children鈥檚 book series by Anna Dewdney and Netflix TV series, Llama Llama Live, presented by the Bay Area Children鈥檚 Theatre, will have the whole family in stitches. Recommended for ages three and up.
Sunday, Feb. 12, at 2 p.m.
Center for the Arts
The acclaimed Czech National Symphony Orchestra (CNSO) returns to the Center with an uplifting program of masterworks and embraces the sheer joy and optimism of Beethoven鈥檚 Seventh Symphony. This good-for-your-spirit concert also showcases GRAMMY-nominated violinist Robert McDuffie, performing Brahms鈥檚 electrifying Violin Concerto in D Major (Brahms鈥檚 only violin concerto). This performance is appropriate for all ages.