George Mason University can trace its roots back to the 1950s when the Virginia state legislature passed a resolution, in January of 1956, to establish a branch college of the University of Virginia in Northern Virginia. In September of 1957 the new college opened its doors to seventeen students, all of whom enrolled as freshmen in a renovated elementary school building at Bailey's Crossroads. John Norville Gibson Finley served as Director of the new branch, which was known as University College.
George Mason, of whom the University is named after.
The City of Fairfax, Virginia, then the Town of Fairfax, purchased and donated 150 acres of land to the University of Virginia for the college's new location, which was referred to as the Fairfax Campus. In 1959 the Board of Visitors of UVa selected a permanent name for the college: George Mason College of the University of Virginia. The Fairfax campus construction planning that began in early 1960 showed visible results when the development of the first forty acres of Fairfax Campus began in 1962. In the Fall of 1964 the new campus welcomed 356 students.
Local jurisdictions of Fairfax County, Arlington County, and the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church agreed to appropriate $3 million to purchase land adjacent to GMC to provide for a 600 acre Fairfax Campus in 1966 with the intention that the institution would expand into a regional university of major proportions, including the granting of graduate degrees.
On April 7, 1972 the Virginia General Assembly enacted legislation which separated George Mason College from its parent institution, the University of Virginia. Renamed that day by the legislation, GMC became George Mason University.
In 1979 GMU opened its law school in Arlington by acquiring the International School of Law, which was a private institution that had recently attained provisional accreditation from the American Bar Association (ABA). By 1981 the law school, now known as the George Mason University School of Law (GMUSL), gained full ABA accreditation.
George Mason Athletic logo 1982-2004
George Mason Academic logo 2004-present
Also, in 1979, the university moved all of its athletic programs to NCAA Division I. Enrollment that year passed 11,000. The university opened its Arlington campus in 1982, two blocks from the Virginia Square-GMU station in Arlington. In 1986 the university's governing body, the Board of Visitors, approved a new master plan for the year based on an enrollment of 20,000 full-time students with housing for 5,000 students by 1995. That same year university housing opened to bring the total number of residential students to 700.
Through a bequest of Russian immigrant Shelley Krasnow the University established the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study in 1991. The Institute was created to further the understanding of the mind and intelligence by combining the fields of cognitive psychology, neurobiology, and artificial intelligence. In 1992, GMU's new Prince William Institute began classes in a temporary site in Manassas, Virginia. The Institute moved to a permanent 124-acre site located on the Rt. 234 bypass, ten miles south of Manassas, by the year 1997, and is now known as the Prince William Campus. The university graduated more than 5,000 students that following spring.
While George Mason University is relatively young, particularly compared to established research universities in Virginia, it has grown rapidly, reaching an enrollment of 29,728 students in 2005, and has become the largest public university in the state of Virginia. The University's stated goal is to become the major public research university of the U.S. national capital area. According to a 2005 report issued by the university, enrollment is expected to reach 35,000 students by 2011 with more than 7,000 resident students. The university currently suffers from traffic and parking problems due to the large number of students who commute to attend classes.
In Iota XI Chapter v. George Mason University, 993 F.2d 386 (1993), the Fourth Circuit held that George Mason University, a state university, had violated the Sigma Chi Fraternity's First Amendment rights by suspending its privileges as a university organization. Sigma Chi is a leading appellate precedent in favor of expansive speech protection for free speech on campus.
In 2002 Mason celebrated its 30th anniversary of independence from the University of Virginia and launched its first capital campaign with a goal to raise $110 million. It concluded by raising $142 million, $32 million more than their goal. The George Mason University logo, originally designed in 1982, was updated in 2004.
Attractions
Mason's faculty boasts Nobel Prize-winning economistsJames M. Buchanan (1986) and Vernon Smith (2002). Another economics professor, Walter E. Williams, is well-known as a syndicated columnist and occasional guest host of the Rush Limbaugh radio show. The College of Liberal Arts and Human Science includes history professor, Roger Wilkins, who shared the Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the Watergate scandal with Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein while he was working at The Washington Post. In addition, one of GMU's professor of communications and Public Policy is Frank Sesno, current CNN special contributor. The government department's MPA program recently signed on Paul Posner, former Director of Federal Budget & Intergovernmental Relations at the Government Accountability Office GAO. The school of Public Policy also has Char Miller, recognized nationally for heavy involvement in law school admission preparations for undergraduate students.
Mason has achieved many prestigious rankings in recent years, including:
Most diverse university in the nation, by the Princeton Review, with students from all 50 states and more than 135 countries.
George Mason is regarded as a competitive and selective university in terms of its admissions by the Princeton Review and Collegeboard. As Mason continues to grow from a smaller commuter school to a nationally recognized research institution, its admissions criteria has become increasingly more rigorous.
George Mason operates the [Mason Metro], a website devoted for applicants to learn more about student life. The site is modeled after the Washington Metro subway system, and includes various subway stops throughout the system relating to student life.
Undergraduate
In Fall 2005, Mason's undergraduate applicant pool consisted of 15,887 applicants with 10,517 (66%) admitted, and 4,503 enrolled. Of those who applied, 10,313 were high schoolseniors applying as first time freshmen and 5,564 were transfer students. Of those enrolled 77.5% are from Virginia, while 22.5% are from out-of-state.[Admissions Statistics 2005-2006]
Mason offers an early action program for admissions. All applicants who submit a complete application by November 1 will automatically be entered into the non-binding program. Admissions decisions for early action applicants are released in mid-December. All freshmen applications are required to be received by January 15 in order to be considered for admission, with decisions released by April 1.
Of those who apply, roughly 14% are from the top 10% of their high school class, while nearly half are from the top-quarter and nearly everyone is from the top half. The average ACT score is 26[[Citing sources citation needed]], and the average SAT (consisting of math and verbal only) is 1161[[Citing sources citation needed]].
In 2004, the freshman applicant pool consisted of a 3.36 average GPA broke down by the following groups:
16% had HS GPA of 3.75 and higher
17% had HS GPA between 3.5 and 3.74
25% had HS GPA between 3.25 and 3.49
27% had HS GPA between 3.0 and 3.24
15% had HS GPA between 2.5 and 2.99
On May 25, 2006, George Mason released its plan for a new Standardized testing-optional undergraduate admissions program.[Standardized testing-optional undergraduate admissions program] This will allow students from the top 20% of the high school class and a GPA of 3.5 or higher to apply without submitting either ACT or SAT scores. Students applying through this method should have completed challenging course work including several Advanced Placement and/or International Baccalaureate courses. However, students must also submit two letters of recommendation and an essay in addition to the already required letter of recommendation and essay in its regular freshman admissions process.
Students accepted into the general University may then be invited to apply for the Honors Program in General Education (a curriculum to replace standard general education requirements with more challenging and writing-intensive courses). Those accepted will not only receive an academic scholarship, but will also be invited to apply for the University Scholars program. From each freshman class about 30 students are accepted into the Scholars' Community. Benefits include a program coordinator, the University's largest scholarship, priority course selection, priority housing selection, special opportunities with the Robinson Professors, and opportunities for independent research.
Graduate
In 2005, there were 6,536 graduate applicants, with 3,885 (59%) admitted, and 2,298 enrolled in 69 masters and 24 doctoral degree programs. This marks a 7% increase in applications from 6,106 in 2004.
Law
In 2005, there were 6,019 applications for George Mason University's School of Law, with 914 (15%) accepted, and 224 enrolled. This marks a 19.4% increase in applications from 5,039 in 2004. Due to Mason's law school being ranked in the top tier of all law schools in the United States, its admissions is among the most selective in the country. Of admitted students, the average LSAT score was 165 out of 180, and the average undergraduate GPA was 3.57 out of 4.00. The school is comprised of 52% Virginia residents and 48% out-of-state students.[Law School Admissions Statistics]
Organizations
George Mason offers more than 200 clubs and organizations, including sixteen fraternities, fifteen sororities, twenty-four International-student organizations, twenty-five religious organizations, Student Government, club sports, and student media. Mason also offers an ArmyROTC program, called the The "Patriot Battalion."
Mason also operates a Campus radio station, [WGMU]. The radio station offers music, entertainment, news, and public affairs relating to the University.
The north side of the Johnson Center with the statue of George Mason in front.
George Mason's Fairfax campus is the largest of the campuses, with approximately eighty buildings spread over 677 acres in Fairfax, Virginia. Fairfax also has the largest student population of the campuses, with approximately 17,000 students regularly attending classes.
The Fairfax campus houses more than 4,000 students with current construction bringing the student population to more than 5,000 by 2008. There has been heavy construction on campus in recent years, especially the [Northeast Sector Development.]
The Fairfax campus is served on the Washington Metro by the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU station on the Orange line. The CUE bus serves the students through routes from the Metro station to the University and additional stops throughout Fairfax. The cost is free for students with a Mason Identification card, and $0.50 for other riders.
Arlington
The Arlington campus was established in 1979 for its law school. Originally classes were offered in the former Kann's department store. Since then the school has grown to offer a multitude of graduate degrees. In 1996, Arlington's campus began its first phase in a three phase campus redevelopment project. In 1998, Hazel Hall was completed to house the law school, the Mercatus Center, and the Institute for Humane Studies. The second phase, to be completed in 2007 is underway for a 250,000 square-foot building to house the School of Public Policy, the College of Education and Human Development, the School of Information Technology and Engineering, the School of Management, the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, the School of Computational Science, the College of Visual & Performing Arts and academic and student supports services. Arlington's campus is projected to reach an enrollment of 10,000 students by the completion of its redevelopment.
George Mason's Prince William campus opened On August 25, 1997 in Manassas. It is located on 124 acres of land. The campus offers a high-tech/bio-tech and emphasizes bioinformatics, biotechnology, forensic biosciences educational and research programs in addition to computer and information technology. The campus also offers creative programs of instruction, research, and public/private partnerships in the Prince William County area.
Prince William offers: a M.A. in New Professional Studies in Teaching, M.A.I.S. with a concentration in Recreation Resources Management, B.S. in Administration of Justice, Undergraduate programs in Health, Fitness, and Recreation Resources, Graduate programs in Exercise, Fitness and Health Promotion, and Nontraditional programs through Continuing and Professional Education in Geographic Information Systems and Facility Management.
Prince William also boasts the 300-seat Verizon Auditorium, the 110,000 square foot Freedom Aquatic and Fitness Center, and an 84,000 square foot, $40 million Performing Arts Center scheduled to open in 2008. Other buildings on the Prince William campus include: The Occoquan Building, which houses various academic, research, and administrative resources, Bull Run Hall, a 100,000 square foot building which opened in the fall of 2004, and Discovery Hall, which was completed in 1998 at a cost of $20.4 million.
Loudoun
In the fall of 2005, the university opened a temporary site in Loudoun County, Virginia. Several months later, it announced the acquisition of 133 acres of land to build a fourth suburban campus that is scheduled to open in 2009. Planning for the new campus is moving along briskly: in January of 2006, the university received preliminary approval of its plans from Virginia's State Council for Higher Education.
Mason's current Loudoun site offers four graduate programs: Master's in Business Administration, Masters and doctoral programs in the College of Education and Human Development, Graduate Degree in Nursing, and a Master of Science in Telecommunications. It also offers five undergraduate programs: minor in Business and Management, certificates in the College of Education and Human Development, BS in health science, minor in Information Technology, and an introductory course in Social Work. Other graduate level courses, such as those offered by the Department of Information and Software Engineering, are periodically taught at the site.
As Mason's presence in Loudoun grows from a small branch of the university into a major satellite campus, it will increasingly offer the same services available to students attending George Mason University's Fairfax, Arlington, and Prince William campuses.
Ras Al Khaimah
George Mason has recently opened a new campus in the Ras Al Khaimah emirate of the United Arab Emirates. It is in the process of building a permanent campus Emirates Highway at the Umm Al Quwain-Ras Al Khaimah border to be opened in 2009. Currently, the campus is located at the former Higher Colleges of Technology for Men in the Al Zahara area of Ras Al Khaimah. The future campus will include a library, a student lounge, a recreation and fitness center, sports facilities, and a cafeteria.
Mason's Center for Global Education's Study Abroad program has been rated as one of the top twenty programs in the United States, offering dozens of programs ranging from one-week spring break programs to full year programs.
The school's sports teams are called the Patriots. The university's men's and women's sports teams participate in the NCAA's Division I, and are members of the Colonial Athletic Association, or CAA. The school's colors are green and gold. George Mason has two NCAA Division I National Championships to its credit: 1985 Women's Soccer and 1996 Men's Indoor Track & Field.
The Patriots, who had never won an NCAA tournament game before 2006, became the first team from the CAA to crash the Final Four and were the first true mid-major conference team since 1979 to do so (that year, the Larry Bird-led Indiana State Sycamores as a #1 seed, and the Penn Quakers as a #9 seed both reached the Final Four). The Patriots also tied Louisiana State as the lowest-seeded team to reach the Final Four (both did it as #11-seeds; LSU did it in 1986).
Presidents past and present
Lorin A. Thompson, (1966-73)
Vergil H. Dykstra, (1973-1977)
Robert C. Krug, (1977-1978)
George W. Johnson, (1978-1996)
Alan G. Merten, (1996-present)
Notable Alumni and Former Students
In Government
Anna E. Cabral, Treasurer of the United States (Currently Attending GMU Law School)
Kristine A. Iverson, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs
