Faculty/Staff Newsletter

Analysis by Hansoo Ko and Gilbert Gimm offers insight into how policymakers can increase access to needed health care resources.

As an American Academy of Forensic Science Fellow, Katherine Scafide joins an elite group of only eight other current nurses granted this honor, which recognizes her outstanding contributions to forensic nursing.

March is National Nutrition Month and National Social Work Month!

Visit our National Social Work Month webpage to learn how our Department of Social Work is celebrating and how you can participate, and follow @mason_socw on Instagram.

Visit our National Nutrition Month webpage to see how our Department of Nutrition and Food Studies is celebrating this month and follow @gmunutritionandfoodstudies on Instagram.

All faculty are encouraged to complete this 20-minute survey.

The COACHE Faculty Satisfaction Survey is part of the George Mason COACHE Faculty Engagement Initiative. The survey is confidential, faculty-specific and designed to assess the work factors that matter most to instructional/research faculty (e.g., tenure and promotion, collaboration and mentoring, resources and support, shared governance, appreciation and recognition, retention and negotiation, collegiality). Learn more.

You should have received an email from the Dean late last week reminding you to complete the survey. The Dean intends to utilize the survey results to guide our College strategies going forward. She is committed to working with our academic leaders to support opportunities identified through the survey results to enhance the faculty’s work experience within CPH. As we work to strengthen the faculty experience at George Mason, we need this level of specificity regarding faculty issues. Your participation is appreciated.

The link to the survey is in your inbox in an email from the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education, coachefaculty@abtsurvey.com, sent around February 6. We are asking all CPH faculty to complete the survey by March 31.

If you do not have a link to the COACHE survey in your email, reach out to Cathy Tompkins, ctompkin@gmu.edu.

The request for proposals for George Mason’s 17th Annual Innovations in Teaching & Learning conference is now live! While this year’s theme is Teaching for the Future: AI, Analog and Beyond, submissions are encouraged on all aspects of teaching, learning and curriculum development. The conference will have virtual sessions on September 25, and in-person sessions on September 26. The deadline for submission is March 17 at 11:59 pm. Learn more about the conference and proposal submissions.

The University Adjunct Faculty Committee and the Provost’s Office seek adjunct faculty input to assess progress, determine how effectively current needs are being met, and uncover any new challenges that have emerged. In 2015, a prior version of this survey helped identify key needs and concerns. The survey takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. The link below takes you to a single sign-on login page, however, all responses will remain confidential. 

Supervisor evaluations for your direct reports are due by March 24. The College is requesting 100% participation from all supervisors during this phase to ensure a comprehensive and meaningful evaluation process.

Visit the Performance Evaluation Annual Guidance website to learn more about the process.

March 3 | 12 - 1:30 pm | Zoom | RSVP

Join CPH Canvas Faculty mentor Lila Fleming, GCH instructor Kristen Vlaun, and CPH Instructional Designers Terri Ann and Barbara for an engaging workshop on Canvas' gradebook. They will review its features and important differences from Blackboard’s gradebook. You’ll also receive personalized assistance with reviewing your own gradebook configuration. RSVP to submit questions in advance.

Congratulations to Jenna Krall and MB Mitcham, both in GCH, who received a pilot grant from the REACH Center for their project “Housing insecurity, climate risks, and health: A coalition for climate resiliency.” This project is a collaboration with Professor Henneman in Volgenau and Professor Ortiz in COS. Another congratulations to Jenna Krall for her new Arlington County EPA award with Professors Ortiz and Kinter in COS and Professor Maibach in CHSS. The project is entitled "Arlington County - ENERGY-HEALTH-EQUITY Project – EJG2G."

Gates Foundation Grand Challenges Applications are open for five Grand Challenges RFPs. Learn more.

Trailblazer Award for New and Early Stage Investigators (R21 Clinical Trial Optional). NIH/NIBIB/NEI/NIA PA-25-169. A Trailblazer project may be exploratory, developmental, proof of concept, or high risk-high impact, and may be technology design-directed, discovery-driven, or hypothesis-driven. Applicants must propose research approaches for which there are minimal or no preliminary data. Learn more.

Multimodal Artificial Intelligence to Accelerate HIV Clinical Care R0. (NIMH/NIDA) RFA-MH-26-105. Seeks to leverage cutting-edge advances in multimodal AI to accelerate HIV diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. Deadline March 27.

Notice of Special Interest Major Opportunities for Research in Epidemiology of Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease-Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) and Cognitive Resilience: The following areas are some of those of particular interest to NIA: Enabling precision medicine for AD/ADRD through deep phenotyping; Exploring trends in the risk of AD/ADRD and their explanation via risk and protective factors in multiple populations in the United States and globally; Collecting and sequencing DNA samples from well-characterized cases and controls; and Harmonizing complex data sets relevant to AD/ADRD. Learn more.

New Investigator Gateway Awards for Collaborative T1D Research (R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (NIDDK/OD). Supports a robust pipeline of innovative projects and talented new investigators in T1D research. The Gateway program provides an opportunity for new PD/PIs to pursue their studies within the intellectual environment of a select number of large, ongoing collaborative research programs.

Multidisciplinary Studies of HIV/AIDS and Aging (R01/R21 Clinical Trial Optional) (NIH). PAR-25-354 (R01) PAR-25-355 (R21). Applications at the intersection of HIV and aging research that aim to meet the following objectives: 1) Improve the understanding of biological, clinical, and socio-behavioral aspects of aging through the lens of HIV infection and its treatment; and 2) Improve approaches for testing, preventing, and treating HIV infection, and managing HIV-related comorbidities, co-infections, and complications in different populations and cultural settings by applying current aging science approaches.

Think you know a graduating student with a great story to share? Share with your students! The College seeks a student to be a guest speaker at the College Degree Celebration on May 17. Students who want to apply must submit a written script of the graduation speech they plan to give by March 13 at 5 pm to cph@gmu.edu. Include name, G#, program, and graduation term (spring or summer) with submission.

The competition is based on the content and the quality of the speech, and students should consider the following when preparing their submission:  

Learn more here. Contact the Office of Student Affairs (cph@gmu.edu) with questions.

Note: due to space limitations, not all events and reminders are listed every week. If you see an event you want to attend, please put it on your calendar.

March 25 | 11:30 am | Mutitpurpose Room | RSVP here
Followed by lunch

Tuesdays | 12 pm | Peterson 2407

Yoga is now occurring in Peterson Hall room 2407 (right across the hall from the old room). All are welcome.

March 4 | 11 AM-2 PM | Merten Hall 1202 | RSVP required

Creative Services Photography will be holding a free photo session for new faculty, staff, and administrators to obtain a professional George Mason headshot for use on Mason-affiliated websites and publications.

The Employee Health & Well-Being team within Risk, Safety, & Resilience is hosting:

Spring Into Well-Being: Shingles, Tdap, and Pneumonia Vaccine Clinic
March 6 - 10 am -2 pm | Population Health Center | Sign Up

Complementary Blood Pressure Checks
March 12 | 10:30 am - 12:30 pm | Population Health Center | Sign Up

HAP is in the lead, with Nutrition and Food Studies close behind. Shanti Chang had the most steps for an individual this past week. Report February 24 - March 2 steps by midnight today, March 3.

If you need help with letter writing or anything else that may be standing in the way of nominating your colleagues, reach out to Cathy Tompkins (ctompkin@gmu.edu). 

Note these are the correct nomination packet links. Some previous newsletters have been incorrect.

College Faculty Teaching Awards

College Faculty Research Awards

April 4 | 9 am - 3:30 pm | Potomac Science Center | Registration (free)

This 2nd annual Northern Virginia Public Health Conference will bring together health care professionals, public health leaders, and community partners for a day of collaboration and innovation.

PUBLICHEALTH.GMU.EDU

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

View the newsletter archives here.