Faculty/Staff Newsletter

Convened by George Mason’s College of Public Health, educators and health leaders gathered to imagine how colleges can prepare for a generation unlike any that has come before and how to engage this generation in transforming the future of health care leadership.

With this appointment, Evelyn Tomaszewski will help elevate the global voice of social workers in advancing human rights, social justice, and promoting sustainable development through the UN and UN agencies.

Thank you to everyone who continues to acknowledge individuals in your units who are going above and beyond. The November Wall of Wow winner is Le Anne Wisnieski from Social Work—celebrating her efforts of going above and beyond to plan and organize the Department of Social Work's Halloween celebration!

The last day for December acknowledgements for the Wall of Wow is on December 17. Pictures will be taken of the boards on December 18.

The final tally of steps for the fall semester reveals that HAP has won its third consecutive title as the unit with the most steps! Congratulations, HAP!

Nutrition and Food Studies came in second, and honorable mention goes to the Dean's Office, which showed the most dramatic steps increase from last semester.

The individual with the most steps for the semester is T Rebmann, who logged 2,290,251 steps. All walkers together, over the entire semester, recorded over 25 million steps (25,898,178).

Congratulations to all winners and all walkers!

The Steps Challenge will now go on vacation for winter break.

Congratulations to our CPH faculty on publishing over 110 articles since July 1.  View them here.

2026 NIH mHealth Training Institute. Applications are now open for the 2026 National Institutes of Health mHealth Training Institute (mHTI), a premier program dedicated to developing the next generation of transdisciplinary researchers in mobile health (mHealth). The 2026 mHTI will offer a hybrid learning experience, combining interactive online webinars with an intensive in-person institute at UCLA. The program will be held on June 7–11, 2026. Application information available here. Applications are due January 20, 2026.

For Assistant Professors interested in applying for an NSF CAREER award, George Mason offers a cohort mentoring program! Eligible faculty are invited to register for the 2026 Mason ORIEI NSF Career Cohort. Deadline to register is January 26, 2026. The NSF Career Writing Program is designed to strengthen faculty competitiveness for the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development Program through a structured writing process, targeted mentorship, and access to grant writing resources. This cohort-based initiative runs from February to June 2026 and supports participants with 4–6 hours of monthly engagement. Activities include interactive workshops, monthly cohort breakout discussions, mentor meetings, and dedicated writing time to help faculty refine their proposals and position themselves for success. 

CPH is seeking applications for its pilot research program, underscoring our commitment to pioneering investigations and impactful scholarly pursuits. We encourage you to submit your applications. The deadline for submission is January 21, 2026. Awards will be made by March 10, 2026, and extend for 12 months. The CPH pilot awards will support the direct costs of research, such as laboratory experiments, field studies, data collection, or data acquisition. Investigators may request up to $30,000; in all, approximately 8 awards are anticipated. Details on the application and review process are available here. Many thanks to the CPH Faculty Research Committee for helping to design the pilot program and guidelines. 

It is time to nominate your colleagues (and self-nominate) for the CPH faculty and staff awards! We have a new community service impact award for full time faculty. Check it out below.

Nominate now for:

Staff Awards -  due February 20, 2026  

Faculty Teaching Awards -  due March 16, 2026 

Faculty Community Service Impact Award – due March 16, 2026

Research Awards -  due March 16, 2026

Note: these are Word documents and might not automatically open in a window. Check your Downloads folder.

The CPH awards event will take place on April 9, 2026.

If you love watching The Pitt as much as Marketing does, join us in 2026 to share your reactions and thoughts on episodes. Help us be part of this great conversation about the realities of interprofessional health. Your content may be shared on social media, our website, and beyond! Email Michelle Thompson (mthomp7@gmu.edu) if you want to be part of the action. Have students who also love watching The Pitt? Let us know! The Pitt returns on January 9, 2026.

Faculty APRs are due to your department chair or divisional dean on Monday, February 16, 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. 

Learn more about the faculty annual review process and procedures here.

The default letter grade scheme in Canvas may not match your syllabus’ grade scheme. Before submitting final grades, double check your Canvas Grade Scheme to ensure students receive the correct grade. When ready, you can submit final grades from Canvas to Patriotweb.

The Course Evaluations link in Canvas must be manually enabled in each of your sections. To enable Course Evaluations:

December 16 | 4 - 6 pm | The HUB, Corner Pocket | RSVP

Come celebrate the end of the semester and the holiday season in your tackiest holiday sweater with fellow CPH faculty and staff at The HUB Corner Pocket Game Room. We'll have private access to billiards, table tennis, arcade games, VR games, video games, board games and more!  Food, beer and wine will be provided! RSVP now.

January 15 | 11:30 am followed by lunch | PHC Multipurpose Room | RSVP here

Kick off the spring 2026 semester with the State of the College Address from Dean Melissa Perry. Join your fellow faculty and staff for lunch in the Peterson Lobby afterward.

December 10 | 10:30 am - 12 pm | Zoom

Join the CPH Faculty Council for final Faculty Meeting of the semester. The Zoom link is in the calendar invitation that was sent to all faculty.

December 11 | 9:30 am–3:45 pm | Mason Square | Register

Join the Department of Health Administration and Policy for a one-day symposium featuring experts from George Mason University, the German Embassy, the University of Bremen, and more.

Learn about innovative solutions to strengthen the long-term care workforce through policy, training, technology, and global collaboration.

Now through December 15

Support students facing food insecurity this holiday season by donating non-perishable food and hygiene items to marked drop-off boxes in all CPH department suites or by contributing online. Someone from the HAP department will stop by every Friday to pick up items.

MOST NEEDED ITEMS
Food: Pasta, rice, canned tuna/chicken, soups, mac & cheese, vegetables, snacks, peanut butter, cereal, instant oatmeal, vegetarian/vegan options. 
Hygiene: Body wash, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, lotion, toothpaste, period products, razors, laundry detergent, paper towels, toilet paper.

December 17 | 4 pm | EagleBank Area

Hopefully, this event is already on your calendar! Celebrate our winter graduates at the CPH Winter Graduation Degree Celebration with CEC.

Volunteers are still needed! Volunteers will be asked to arrive about 1 hour before the event. If you are able to help, fill out this form and OSA will be in touch.

February 9, 2026 | Rebecca Winthrop, Senior Fellow and Co-Director, Center for Universal Education, The Brookings Institution and lead of the Brookings Global Task Force on AI in Education

 March 16, 2026 | Claudio Battiloro, Harvard University Biostatistics

PUBLICHEALTH.GMU.EDU

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