Faculty/Staff Newsletter

Weinstien was selected for her outstanding contributions in the field of behavioral health research, which includes her specialized expertise in chronic illness and mental health.

The Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) has launched Public Health, Now More Than Ever — a new initiative, supported by member institutions, to encourage students to pursue degrees in public health and highlight the field’s vital role in creating healthier communities. Spread the word by sharing the college's LinkedIn posts here or this one too! Look out for more posts on social media throughout the summer.

Do you have an expertise that the public could benefit from, especially in a topic in the news? Let the marketing and communications team know if you're willing to collaborate on a faculty expert tip sheet!

Report your April 21 - April 27 steps by midnight today, April 28. Late submissions will not be counted. Winners will be announced next week.

HAP continues to be in the lead with Nutrition & Food Studies in second place. This past week, Terri Rebmann had the most steps for an individual.

We are excited to launch the college's five-year strategic planning process. This is our opportunity to think big, build on our momentum, and shape our future together—with courage, clarity, and collaboration. All faculty and staff are encouraged to complete the Strategic Plan survey by May 18. Your voice makes a difference – please take a few moments to complete the brief 12-question survey. 

Over the past year, faculty and staff contributed to our vision, mission, and values work with deep thought and energy—from retreats and forums to surveys and council sessions. Your engagement has been nothing short of inspiring. Together, we’ve distilled this input into a mission, vision, and set of values that capture both who we are and who we aim to become. 

Vision 

Creating a healthier tomorrow for all, prioritizing prevention today. 

Mission 

Building healthier futures through interprofessional education, innovative research, and dynamic partnerships. 

Values 

Help make the college's Degree Celebration a success for our spring 2025 graduates! The college needs help from faculty and staff during the ceremony and reception.

College Degree Celebration
Saturday, May 17 | 2–4 pm | EagleBank Arena

The college needs several volunteers (marshals) to assist with the college's ceremony in EagleBank. 

College Degree Reception
Saturday, May 17 | 1-3 pm, after  the College's Degree Celebration | Peterson Hall 

Volunteers are needed to help clean up after the reception on Saturday, May 17. This is a great way to help if you don't want to deal with the crowds at EagleBank Arena!

Over the next several newsletters, we'll share details about the pilot research projects CPH is supporting.

Maryam Farvid, Nutrition and Food Studies: Her project aims to identify the metabolomic profiles associated with the Diabetes-Risk Reduction Diet and to evaluate the associations between these metabolomic profiles and breast cancer incidence. Her pilot will use data from the UK Biobank, a large population-based cohort study initiated in 2006, involving over half a million men and women aged 40 to 69 years in the United Kingdom. Farvid plans to pursue follow-up funding from NIH, the American Cancer Society, the American Institute for Cancer Research, and others.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has announced New Research Support Awards to support community-driven research that uplifts the knowledge, expertise, and power of Indigenous and other historically marginalized communities of color to develop or test solutions that advance racial and Indigenous health equity. Letters of Intent are due July 16, 2025 at 3 pm ET. Access the funding page and register for an informational webinar on May 2. Note that the lead applicant organization must be a Community-Based Organization with a demonstrated history of health equity work.

Congratulations to Becki Sutter and Anna Pollack on their elections to George Mason’s Foundation Committee and the Board of Visitors Research Committee!

The college is excited to see Sutter and Pollack representing the CPH faculty with such dedication. We sincerely appreciate their willingness to serve in these important roles. The five new faculty across the university elected to the Foundation and various BOV committees are listed below. 

GMU Foundation - Rebecca Sutter
APDUC - Tim Gibson (non-CPH)
Finance and Land - Maggie Daniels (non-CPH)
Development - Niki Valastara  (non-CPH)
Research - Anna Pollack

Calling all full-time tenure-line and term faculty! Share your thoughts (anonymously) about the university and college leadership. Please complete the faculty evaluation of administrators (FEA) survey; a link should be in your inbox.

Through this survey, share your thoughts about how well the deans, the university president, the provost, and your department chair are engaging with faculty and how faculty feel about their support. The FEA is run through Gallup in partnership with Human Resources and the Provost Office. 

The survey closes May 1. If you have already completed the survey, thank you very much! 

Please contact Cathy Tompkins with any questions, ctompkin@gmu.edu.

The Staff Council is interested in what offerings Classified Staff, Wage, and A/P Faculty are interested in for this coming year.  The Staff Council will email out a survey in the next couple of weeks and hopes that you will share your ideas with us.

The Staff Council represents the interests of all Classifed Staff, Wage and A/P Faculty employees in the college.  The goal of the Staff Council is = to offer support, representation, opportunities, and a voice to all of these employees.  However, in order to be effective, we need to have ratified bylaws. Read them here:  Staff Council Bylaws_Draft_v3.pdf

Please vote (yes or no) here.  

We need your help so we can be most effective! 

Let Chair Allie McKay (amckay4@gmu.edu) know if you have any questions or concerns. 

George Mason’s space optimization study launched in fall 2023 and is now entering Phase 3, which includes spaces within Peterson Hall,

The study gathers anonymous information through existing wireless access points to identify activity and numbers of people using spaces. This helps the university make informed decisions to improve support for and efficiency of building spaces and campus operations. 

Occupants may see contractors on site throughout the week of April 28 to calibrate systems in the various buildings. No interruptions are expected. For more project information, visit the Space Utilization website or contact spacemgt@gmu.edu with any questions.

These events previously have been in the newsletter; to see full event descriptions, please consult previous newsletters.

April 29  12 pm | Peterson LOCATION 

Our yoga instructor, Teri Patterson is back and looking forward to seeing you all on Tuesday! Please contact Cathy Tompkins, ctompkin@gmu.edu, with any questions.

April 29 | 12 - 1 pm | Zoom

The Department of Nutrition and Food Studies invites you to join it for "Food Allergies," a presentatiom by Dr. Kapllan Sulaj, Visiting Fulbright Scholar with the Dean’s Office, from the Agricultural University of Tirana, Albania.

April 29 | 10 am - 2 pm | Population Health Center | Sign Up

Learn more.

April 30 | 10:30 am – 12 pm | Zoom (Meeting ID: 936 1629 6358
Passcode: 238727)

May 6 | Dewberry Hall | Learn more 

PUBLICHEALTH.GMU.EDU

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

View the newsletter archives here.