Faculty/Staff Newsletter

A new national study led by George Mason University’s Bethany Cieslowski offers the first comprehensive look at what’s working, what’s not, and where the field needs to go next. Extended reality (XR) can give students experiences they might otherwise miss, but its success depends on thoughtful design, accessibility, and support. 

Collaboration between the college and local counties via the MAP Clinic's Empowered Communities help address opioid overdoses, substance use disorder, and behavioral health challenges.

Lucas Prieto explores the ties between aging, disability, and intimacy.

The college has a robust representation for the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting and Expo on November 2-5 at the Washington Convention Center. Learn about everything going on from booth to presentations by day, department, and person on the CPH @APHA webpage.

Seeking help with the CPH "Lounge"

Please help us with our presence at our APHA "Lounge," which is one-third of our George Mason CPH booth at the expo. You'd be there to chat and network with alumni, prospective students, or your peers who walk up about your research and your programs. Admissions staff will be at the booth to talk about admissions specifics and programs you don't know about. Sign up here. Sign up for one 30-minute session or more! Thank you! Email Mary Cunningham, mcunni7@gmu.edu, with any questions.

Yikuan Li, Suyoung Kwon, Alison Cuellar, and Hong Xue attended the opening of the new Virginia Research Consortium, a public-private partnership with a mission to inform state decision-makers and promote evidence-based health policy. They are pictured here with Virginia Delegate Rodney Willett (58th House District) and John Littel, Chief of Staff for Governor Glenn Youngkin.

The George Mason MHA team of Ananya Edupuganti, Blanca Toso, and Pratyusha Satpathy placed second at the 7th annual Penn State Health Case Competition. The case was "Understanding Adolescent Patient Attrition and Developing Strategies to Increase Engagement in a Comprehensive Chronic Care Management Program.” Martin Cohen advised the team.

4-VA is a partnership between nine Virginia universities, created to foster collaborations that leverage the strengths of each university and improve efficiencies in education across the commonwealth. 4-VA supports collaborative research, course and program development, expanded learning opportunities, and emerging tools for education through projects such as those listed under the numerous tabs here. 4-VA requires collaboration with faculty from at least one of the other 4-VA partner institutions. CPH is uniquely positioned to leverage its research and VR collaborations, as examples. A new announcement is expected in December, and we encourage you to start planning already.

Several faculty have expressed interest in the George Mason Grand Challenges initiative. Whether you are thinking about a small or large GC proposals, please reach out to Alison Cuellar as soon as possible to discuss alignment with college initiatives, matching funds, and support. 

The Office of Research, Innovation and Economic Impact announced the release of the FY26 Grand Challenge Initiative Request for Proposals (RFP). View FAQ document here.

November 14 | 10 am - 1 pm | In-person Fairfax Campus | RSVP for lightning talk registration and/or attendance

Join George Mason colleagues for the Grand Challenge Lightning Talks & Matchmaking Mixer — a fast-paced, engaging event where the Mason community shares bold ideas and connects across disciplines. Whether you're submitting a proposal, seeking collaborators, or just curious about transformative research, this is your chance to get inspired and get involved. Questions? Email GCI@gmu.edu. 

What is a lightning talk? A 3-minute presentation from a single person outlining your team’s idea that you are considering in response to the GCI RFP. This is a chance to seek collaborators or share/find resources that can be leveraged. There will not be time for Q&A after each presentation, but there is networking time built in after each section of lightning talks. Your team members can attend the event and participate in the mixer, but each talk will be presented by a single representative. 

Please reach out to Alison Cuellar as soon as possible to discuss alignment with college initiatives, matching funds, and support. 

All CPH Department Adjunct Instructors are invited to self-enroll in our new adjunct faculty community resource on Canvas via this link. Here, adjunct faculty will find quick links to George Mason and CPH adjunct faculty information, teaching tips and tools, and Harmonize boards to connect and engage over teaching ideas, pedagogy, and methods. Looking forward to seeing our community grow!

Thank you to Shannyn Snyder for all her work in developing this fantastic resource and Terri Ann Guingab for the technical support. Contact Cathy Tompkins, ctompkin@gmu.edu, with any questions.

Faculty APRs are due to your department chair or divisional dean on February 15, 2026. Because we are transitioning from a fall APR to a calendar year APR, reviews will span the following time period: August 1, 2024 – December 31, 2025. Following this academic year, the timeframe will be from January 1 – December 31. Please contact Cathy Tompkins, ctompkin@gmu.edu, with any questions. 

A University RPT session will be held on October 28, 11 am, on Zoom. The slides from the session will be posted online after the session. The link to join the meeting and the slides from last year can be found on the Office of the Provost website here (scroll down on the left-hand side to the bottom tile). This information is specific to our tenure-line faculty; the Provost’s Office holds a similar session in the spring for the instructional term faculty. This information session provides a high-level overview of the institutional process here at George Mason.

Please follow the links below to explore more about the faculty annual review process and procedures:

Nominations are due November 2 for the Adjunct Teaching Excellence Award and the Online Teaching Excellence Award. 

Nominations are due February 9, 2026 for the Presidential Awards for Faculty Excellence. 

If you are interested in nominating a faculty member, please contact Cathy Tompkins.

November 6 | 11 am  –  1:30 pm | Peterson Hall Multipurpose Room or Zoom | RSVP here

The CPH Marketing and Communication Office hosts the Science Communicator's Network for this hands-on Media Training workshop for faculty. You will learn about developing key messages, the changing media landscape, engaging all media, addressing misinformation and disinformation, and social media tips for scientists and researchers. RSVP to receive the Zoom linke for remote participants. Due to the hands-on nature of the workshop, in-person participation is encouraged.

Agenda

11 am – 12 pm | Lecture: Media Training 101 with Q&A                               

12 – 12:15 pm | Activity: Distill Your Abstract to a News Headline   

12:15 – 12:45 pm | Lunch  (to be provided)           

12:45 – 1:05 pm | Lecture: Changing Media Landscape; Elevator Pitch Training

1:05 – 1:30 pm | Activity: Develop Your Pitch!

November 10 | 11:30 am - 12:30 pm, including lunch | Multipurpose Room | RSVP

Join us for the college's new event: CPH Grand Rounds, where faculty and student teams report on timely topics in public health. The inaugural topic is "Polarization of Vaccine Policy and Consequences for Clinical Practice." There will not be an online option.

Speakers

November 14 | 12 - 12:30 pm | Zoom

More information about speakers to come. A calendar invite with a Zoom link is coming soon. This is the last one for the fall 2025 semester. Save the date for spring 2026 Lightning Talks: February 20 and April 10.

November 17 | 11:30 am | PHC Multipurpose Room | RSVP

Matthias von Schwanenflüegel is a visiting HAP affiliate faculty member from Germany. Lunch to follow his talk.

HAP retains the lead, with Nutrition & Food Studies following closely behind. T Rebmann was top individual stepper again last week.

Reporting for Ocotber 13-19 is due today by 11:59 pm. All CPH employees can join in—this includes adjuncts, GRAs, and wage staff. Report your preceding week’s steps here.

PUBLICHEALTH.GMU.EDU

Access the CPH brand toolkit, including CPH and department logos.

View the newsletter archives here.
Questions or comments about the newsletter? Email mcunni7@gmu.edu.