Faculty/Staff Newsletter

Northern Virginia Magazine named Melissa Perry, Dean of the College of Public Health, one of the area’s top 50 most influential people of 2024. The top 50 list recognizes those who are making a difference in Northern Virginia and giving back to their community. Dean Perry was lauded for leading the College of Public Health and the next generation of health professionals as well as her distinguished scientific accomplishments.

Afghan victims of combat arrive in the United States as refugees with unique health care needs. Rebecca Sutter, professor in the School of Nursing at George Mason University, has been awarded a $3 million Services to Afghan Survivors Impacted by Combat (SASIC) grant to develop health service delivery infrastructure for Afghan survivors, refugees, and immigrants impacted by combat trauma and violence.

Please mark your calendars for the two CPH faculty meetings scheduled for the Fall, 2024 semester:

Tuesday, October 1, 2024 | 10:30 am - 12:00 pm | Virtual
Thursday, December 12, 2024 | 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm | Virtual

More details are to come from faculty council.

George Mason is an institutional member of NCFDD!

This week's highlight:

This week, I want to encourage you to explore the NCFDD library with more than 21 pages of recorded webinars. I challenge you to watch one of the recorded webinars this semester and let me know your thoughts!

Go to the website and use your George Mason email address to create an account. There is a plethora of resources, webinars, and trainings that you may find beneficial!

Janusz Wojtusiak, Professor, HAP, has a new one-year project “Technical-Ethical Evaluation of Artificial Intelligence-based Tools for Assessing Injuries on Diverse Skin Tones,” supported by the Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Consortium to Advance Health Equity and Researcher Diversity Program (AIM-AHEAD)

Rebecca Sutter, Professor, Nursing, has a new 4-year HRSA project, “Opioid-Impacted Family Support Program.”

November 6, 2024 | 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm | Natcher Conference Center
November 7, 2024 | 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm | Natcher Conference Center

In-person networking is back. Take advantage of living so close to the National Institutes of Health!

NIH is holding its annual

Under a new formal CPH-Statistics Department collaboration, CPH faculty can request statistical support for papers, proposals, abstracts, LOS, and more. I encourage you to leverage this mechanism to extend your capacity and enhance your work.

As part of our initiative to develop CPH’s research mentoring, we have invited Joya Misra to deliver training sessions to junior and senior faculty.

Misra is a professor at U-Mass who has participated in NIH- and NSF-supported mentor trainings and is an experienced mentor-trainer in the research space. She promises to deliver interactive, discussion-based sessions to junior and senior faculty in separate sessions.  

Post-tenure Faculty: October 7, 10:15 am - 11:30 am
Pre-tenure Faculty: October 7, 12:30 pm -1:30 pm

Please locate the calendar item in your mailbox, RSVP, and plan to attend!  

Information Technology Services (ITS) has completed migrating all MESA M: Drive mydata and shared drives to Microsoft 365 (M365).

All users have received direct notice about their M365 migrations. As a reminder, if you manage a shared space, please inform your share members of these changes and their impact.

The MESA system will be fully decommissioned on Wednesday, November 6, 2024. All original data on MESA is now read-only and will be removed during the decommissioning process.

To provide further support, ITS will continue to hold M365 training sessions through September. If you can not attend, all training sessions are recorded and stored in the Collaboration Collective MS Team – MESA Migration Project channel. The channel will remain open past the project's close to serve as a forum for M365 collaboration with peers.

For more resources and project details, visit the MESA to M365 Roadmap.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the ITS Support Center at 703-993-8870 or support@gmu.edu. 

Austin A. Deray (آستین آ. درای), Assistant Director in Graduate Student Life and Holly Mason Badra (هالی میسون بدرا ), Associate Director in Women and Gender Studies (WGS), would like to announce a new faculty/staff affinity group.

We would like for SWANA (Southwest Asian and North African) and Middle Eastern faculty and staff to come together, socialize, and share stories, food, and laughter as we get to know each other! It's totally casual and just a good way for folks from similar backgrounds to connect.

Please fill out this short form so we can add you to our email list where we will share information about events and get-togethers!

If you have any questions or want more information, email Austin at aderay@gmu.edu, or Holly at hmason2@gmu.edu.

Risk, Safety, & Resilience (RSR) and the Department of Police & Public Safety wants everyone to become familiar with procedures on how to prepare for and respond to emergencies.

1) Be Prepared:
- Register one or more cell phone numbers with Mason Alert.
- Prepare for and respond to potential emergencies at ready.gmu.edu.
- Respond to violence on campus and sign up for training on the Active Threat Response page.
- Sign up for the Rave Guardian public safety app for free through the iTunes store and the Google Play store.  

2) Online Emergency Preparedness Training: Students and employees are required to take Emergency Preparedness Training through MasonLeaps.
 
3) In-Person Training: RSR offers Active Threat, Hands Only CPR, Automated External Defibrillator (AED), Stop the Bleed and Narcan (Opioid overdose) training programs. Group classes can be arranged by emailing RSR@gmu.edu.

4) See Something Say Something: Report observations to University Police by dialing 911 or 703-993-2810. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact RSR at RSR@gmu.edu or 703-993-8448.

Click below for more details.

Thursday September 26, 2024 | 11:00 am - 2:00 pm | Atrium of Katherine Johnson Hall

Creative Services Photography will be holding a FREE OPEN CALL photo session for new faculty, staff, and administrators. As a reminder, students are not eligible.

We ask that priority be given to new hires and those who have not had a photo taken in the last 4 years. This photo session is your opportunity to obtain a professional George Mason head shot for use on Mason-affiliated websites and publications.

You will need to sign up for a slot to be photographed!

Sittings should take no longer than 15 minutes. Please try and adhere to the time slot that you signed up for.  

Wear solid colors and have your hair and makeup ready! 

A George Mason email is required for us to send you the gallery link, with all of the edited photographs from the entire open call, approximately 30 days following the open call date.  

Sign-in information required onsite: 

First name, last name, title, school or college affiliation or department on campus, Mason email address. 

Tuesday, October 15, 2024 | 9:00 am – 4:15 pm| Location TBA

Speaker: Nadia Fawaz
Topic: "AI for Public Health: From Guidance to Implementation"

Nadia Fawaz is a presidential innovation fellow and senior technical advisor to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Tuesday, October 15, 2024 | 9:00 am – 4:15 pm | Johnson Center, Dewberry Hall

Each year, George Mason designates a day for bringing faculty and staff together for professional and personal growth, known as Faculty-Staff Enrichment Day (FSED). Faculty Staff Enrichment Day offers professional and personal development workshops, lunch, and a chance to network with George Mason colleagues.

This year’s event centers on faculty and staff engagement, using the Gallup Q12 as a framework. Workshops will focus on important themes like role clarity, access to resources, leveraging strengths, recognition, care and wellbeing, professional development, and more! It's a great opportunity to gain practical insights and tools that enhance both your work life and personal development. Look forward to a full day of learning, engagement, and connection!

All George Mason employees are invited to participate!
Supervisors are encouraged to provide flexibility during work hours for their teams to attend.

The DC Public Health Case Challenge aims to promote interdisciplinary, problem-based learning around a public health issue that faces the local Washington, DC, community. Universities in the DC area that have a school or program of public health form teams consisting of 3-6 members from at least three disciplines.

2024 Board Topic: "Mental health and substance use disorders in Washington DC"

University team rosters are due TODAY, September 23, 2024. 

Contact for more info:

Debora Goldberg (dgoldbe4@gmu.edu)
Evelyn P. Tomaszewski (etomasze@gmu.edu)
Eman Elashkar (eelashka@gmu.edu)

October 4, 2024 | 12:00 pm - 12:30 pm | Virtual
November 1, 2024 | 12:00 pm | Virtual

October 4 Lightning Talk Presentations Announced!

Martin Binks, Nutrition
“Obesity: A Complex Multifactorial Disease"

Glynita Bell, Social Work
“Innovation in Social Work Practice”

Michael Bloom, Global and Community Health
“Racial and ethnic differences in gestational exposure to environmental phenols”

Zoom link: https://gmu.zoom.us/j/95112031827

If you have any questions, please contact Cathy Tompkins, ctompkin@gmu.edu.
 
To access the recordings from previous Lightning Talks, please go to:  https://publichealth.gmu.edu/lightning-talks

October 8, 2024 | 12:30 pm - 3:15 pm | Zoom

Registration is now open for the free, virtual Healthcare Disparities Conference. This year’s theme is, “A Call for Commitment,” exploring the evidence and value of sustaining health equity efforts.

October 9, 2024 | 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm | Peterson Multipurpose Room

Exploring Policy Options to Support the Health, Safety, and Well-Being of Healthcare Workers

The panel discussion will delve into critical policy changes aimed at enhancing the health, safety, and well-being of health care workers. Before the panel discussion, we will host a reception at 4:30 pm EST, where you will have the opportunity to engage with our students, faculty, and fellow speakers.

The CPH Steps Challenge results now include the reported steps of adjunct, GRA, and wage employee walkers!

OSA is still in the lead with HAP running a competitive second.
Naren Durbha had the most steps for an individual.

All CPH employees can join in, including adjunct, GRA, and wage employees!

Participants may walk anywhere, anytime, within the weekly time frames, counting their steps, and then report their CPH unit affiliation along with the steps they’ve walked.

At the end of the semester, the unit with the most steps (proportionally) will be awarded a prize and take the trophy! Report your steps no later than 12:00 pm on the Monday after each Monday-through-Sunday challenge week. 

Report September 16 - 20 steps by 12:00 pm TODAY, September 23.
Bookmark this link to report your steps and get stepping!

Canceled this Week 

CPH yoga is on hiatus for the week of September 23, as the instructor will be out of town. Come back next week! The next class will be Tuesday, October 1. If you have any questions, please contact Cathy Tompkins.

Every Thursday | 12:00 pm - 12:30 pm | Peterson Lobby  

Walk with your CPH colleagues! Get updates or schedule an impromptu walk through our walking group on MS Teams.

PUBLICHEALTH.GMU.EDU

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

View the newsletter archives here.