The Mason Spirit

Our students and alumni reflect Mason’s global presence, and we will continue to have a lasting impact on the world. Quite a statement! As we think about Mason’s core educational mission and our hopes for Mason’s future students, we are reminded about the role each of us has in continuing the Mason legacy by ensuring that future students enjoy the same opportunities that we enjoyed.

George Mason University turns 40 years old this spring, and the Alumni Association is committed to ensuring that Mason will continue to enrich the education of students for many more years. In fact, the association has affirmed its commitment to students with a $10,000 sponsorship donation to the Merten Scholars, a scholarship fund that will provide recipients a full four-year award as part of the University Scholars program. The Merten Scholars fund was established to honor Mason’s president Alan Merten and his wife, Sally, two individuals who have made Mason a great place and now leave a legacy of scholarship as they move to the next chapter in their lives. Our association will be forever grateful to them for making Mason a special place.

Just as this spring marks the transition from winter, Mason will also undergo a transition as we welcome Ángel Cabrera, Mason’s sixth president. The presidential search was a thoughtful process that included unprecedented alumni input—from the numerous responses we received to the presidential search survey to the 12 alumni who served on the search committee. I had the privilege of serving on that committee and am confident that Dr. Cabrera will continue Mason’s growth and success and will expand our opportunities for solidifying the Mason brand. I hope each of you will join me in welcoming Dr. Cabrera and his family when he begins his tenure in July.

Many of you are also making major transitions: returning to Mason for advanced degrees, sending your children to your alma mater, or perhaps making a career change or pursuing retirement. What we each have in common is that our lives today were shaped by experiences from our days at Mason. In this issue of the Mason Spirit, we feature several alumni who are making a difference in the world and had their lives changed while they were at Mason. These individuals aren’t the only alumni whose Mason experiences forever changed their lives. We join them as we recall that college challenged what we knew and forced us to consider a world much larger than us. We began new lives at Mason, and today we continue to blaze new trails as part of Mason’s legacy.

Go Patriots!

Tennille Smith Parker ’97
President
George Mason University Alumni Association