The Mason Spirit

On Wednesday, April 17, the George Mason University Alumni Association recognized its most prestigious alumni, as well as Senior of the Year and Faculty Member of the Year, at an elegant dinner in the Mason Inn Conference Center and Hotel. For a look at the biographies of those honored that night, please take a look at the Celebration of Distinction 2013 Program available online.

Continue Reading Celebration of Distinction 2013

The image scrolls by in an instant, and unless you are looking for it, you might not see the name “Vincent Oppido” rushing over Kristin Chenoweth’s glittery gown at the end of February’s broadcast of the 85th Academy Awards. But there it was, and now it’s on Oppido’s resume, along with a host of other accomplishments achieved during and after his studies at George Mason University.

Continue Reading Vincent Oppido: Composing a Career from Mason to Hollywood

George Mason University has entered into a membership agreement to join the Atlantic 10 Conference beginning with the 2013-14 season, President Ángel Cabrera announced today. The Patriots officially will become members of the 21-sport league on July 1, 2013. “This is an exciting time for George Mason University,” says Cabrera. “After careful consideration, we have concluded that joining the A10 is the right move at the right time for Mason.”

Continue Reading George Mason University Joins the Atlantic 10 Conference

A career in animal research has kept Jolanda Luksenburg, PhD Environmental Science and Policy ’12, hard at work all over the globe, but it was a trip she made while vacationing that led to one of her most fascinating discoveries, and to having her name bestowed on a whole new species.

Continue Reading Newly Discovered Owl Species Named for Mason Alumna

Mason alumnus Bobby Saini did his homework in the Johnson Center—as a student at a different college. After three tries, the budding entrepreneur was finally admitted to Mason. Now he is helping lead a technology startup into the burgeoning field of cyber security.

Continue Reading Twice Denied, Finally Accepted, Now Mason Grad Helps Lead Promising Tech Firm

Thanks to a $25,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation, the George Mason University School of Management’s Plan for Academic and Career Excellence (PACE) website received a much-needed upgrade before the 2012 fall semester.

Continue Reading School of Management Upgrades PACE

After volunteering at the National Stuttering Association, Mason electrical engineering student Jonathan Posey pondered how he could apply some engineering know-how to help people who stutter. He joined forces with fellow electrical engineering students. They came up with a plan to create a device that could replicate the technology but cost significantly less than electronic earpieces currently on the market.

Continue Reading Mason Engineering Students Work on Anti-Stuttering Device

He’s been to Cannes, Rio, and Hollywood. He’s worn Elton John’s eyeglasses (and he his), been slapped by Steve Carell (twice), arm wrestled with Sugar Ray Leonard, sang with Jack Black, got Matt Damon to admit to crying, and helped Russell Crowe meet Harrison Ford via Twitter. Steven Spielberg loves him.

Continue Reading Critic McCarthy: Asking the Right Questions

The questions: Who is the man with the question mark suit and what is he doing spending so much time at the campus Starbucks?

The answers: He’s Matthew Lesko, the longtime grants researcher made popular by colorful late-night infomercials in which he pitches his free money books. He busies himself on his laptop at the coffee shop between Chinese language classes at the Confucius Institute at Mason.

Continue Reading Who Is That Man and Why Is He Wearing That Suit?”

The early Mason Days in the ’70s were experiments in social media. We’d send a Tweet to the student body announcing when we’d be celebrating our founder, then the message would be circulated via everything from Facebook to Tumblr and then . . . ah, who are we fooling?

Continue Reading Mason Day? You Should Have Been Here in the ’70s…