Faculty/Staff Newsletter

Denise Hines is a professor in the Department of Social Work and is an internationally recognized expert in the field of interpersonal violence (IPV), particularly in the areas of underrecognized and marginalized victims, such as men and sexual minorities. Her pioneering interdisciplinary research spans more than 20 years, shaping the discourse about IPV and impacting public policy, prevention, and intervention programs.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released its new report, Launching Lifelong Health by Improving Health Care for Children, Youth, and Families, on September 19, 2024. Alison Evans Cuellar, professor of Health Administration and Policy, served on the study panel that produced the report.

Tuesday, October 15, 2024 | 11:30 am – 12:30 pm* | Multipurpose Room*
Lunch will be served in the lobby following the event

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

Nadia Fawaz is a presidential innovation fellow and a senior technical advisor in responsible artificial intelligence (AI) and equitable data who advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

She led the development of the CDC’s Generative AI (GenAI) guidance, supported initiatives to pilot and deploy CDC’s GenAI capabilities, and led efforts on health equity data recommendations. Prior to joining the government, she was a senior staff applied scientist at Pinterest, where she founded and led the Inclusive AI team, building technology such as the Skin Tone Ranges, Hair Pattern Search, and Body Type Technology.

She received her Ph.D. and her Diplome d’Ingenieur (M.Sc.) in Electrical Engineering from Telecom ParisTech and EURECOM, France. An engineering leader with expertise in AI, ML, and data privacy, she is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).

Find her full bio here. 

*Corrected time and location

Tuesday, October 8, 2024 | 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm | Virtual
Zoom registration is required. 

Don’t miss out on one of George Mason’s most popular Faculty Success Workshops: Navigating Politics in Academia.

Academic institutions and local academic units can be quite political, and it is not unusual for early career faculty members to land amid conflicts they don’t know how to navigate. Recognizing that it's not easy to extricate yourself from political conflicts without offending potentially powerful senior colleagues, you are invited to a discussion about navigating academic politics with experienced George Mason professors who will share their experiences and perspectives on how to manage this side of academic life. 

Check out the Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning’s general teaching resources page. It is a great place to explore ways to enhance your courses and approaches to teaching our George Mason students. Check out these quick guides and more:

All faculty and staff are encouraged to take a few minutes to complete the Fall 2024 Pulse Survey. A pulse survey is a short, targeted questionnaire designed to quickly gauge the sentiments, experiences, strengths and challenges of working as faculty and staff in the College.

Your feedback is essential in helping us understand what’s working well and where improvements can be made. By sharing your insights, you contribute to creating an environment for everyone that is inclusive and provides opportunities for increased well-being. Your voice matters—please make it count! The data from the Pulse Survey will help us prepare for the second CPH Climate Survey coming your way in November. Please let me know if you have any questions. 

Click below to take the 3-minute CPH Pulse Survey! Please complete it by Monday, October 14. 

(Note: Students have an opportunity to complete the Pulse Survey under a different survey link. This link will be distributed in the CPH student newsletters and announcements.)

Faculty Annual Performance Reviews for all full-time tenure-line and term instructional and clinical faculty are due to your chair/director on Monday, October 7 and will cover the period from August 1, 2023 - July 31, 2024. Annual performance review materials are located on our website under Office of Faculty Affairs – Performance and Development. I am happy to send you the resources, so just let me know – ctompkin@gmu.edu.

Study leave applications for both term instructional faculty and tenured faculty for the 2025-2026 academic year will be due on Monday, October 28, 2024. Please stay tuned for updated information about these programs on the CPH website. Click here for more information about study leave for tenured faculty and here for study leave for term instructional faculty.

Many students will use Canvas for the first time at George Mason. Add-ins like Honorlock, Harmonize, VoiceThread, Perusall, and Kaltura may also be new. Create ungraded practice assignments to help students get familiar with these platforms. Seek help from ITS (703-993-8870, support@gmu.edu) if needed. For more on creating ungraded assignments, contact CPH Instructional Designers at HLTHLRN@gmu.edu. 

Orient your students by posting these tutorial links in your course:

October 10, 2024 | 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm | Zoom

We’ve been sharing formation on new federal research security requirements for universities as part of our meetings with CPH departments. 

Here is another opportunity to learn more about the full range of new requirements:

Rebecca Keiser, Chief of Research Security Strategy and Policy at NSF, will be hosting a lunch and learn webinar exclusively for faculty at George Mason, UVA, Virginia Tech, and ODU.  

Connect to the webinar here.

The deadline to complete IT Security Awareness Training is Thursday, October 31, for all employees, including contractors, affiliates, and student wage workers. The training has been assigned to all George Mason employees in their MasonLEAPS accounts and may include mandatory role-based training for those in specialized roles. Users who fail to complete the training by October 31 will be required to do so during the semi-annual password reset process.

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

Members of staff council will be visiting as many staff and administrative faculty offices as possible over the next two weeks with a goody bag and information about the process of ratifying our bylaws and the call for nominations to serve on staff council. Please look for a special treat!

Stay tuned for our fall event coming in November – we will include more information in a future CPH newsletter.

If you have any questions or want to learn more about staff council, contact Allie (Allison) McKay at amckay4@gmu.edu.

October 7, 2024 | 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm | JC Barnes & Noble Bookstore
October 8, 2024 | 9:00 am - 2:00 pm | JC Barnes & Noble Bookstore

Winter graduation takes place on December 19, 2024, at Eagle Bank Arena.

If you need to rent regalia please email Blaine Cytryn at bcytryn@bncollege.com. The deadline to let him know that you will be needing rental regalia is the November 25.

The University will be paying for any faculty volunteering to marshal at graduation but any orders placed after that will be subject to an additional rush charge that the school does not cover.

The bookstore will also be hosting an in-store event on October 7 and 8 where any faculty interested in ordering a custom set of regalia for purchase may do so at a 10% discount.

October 11 - 13, 2024 | Horizon Hall

Patriot Hacks 2024: GMU's 6th Annual Hackathon

A hackathon is an “invention marathon” where anyone interested in technology attends to learn, build, and share their creations over the weekend. Join us in a unique and relaxing environment that will provide FREE FOOD, FUN, and SWAG!

October 16, 2024 | 12:15 pm - 1:15 pm | Multipurpose Room

Amplifying the Voices of Justice-Involved Women: Implications for Social Work Practice: A Panel Presentation

RSVP coming soon

October 22, 2024 | 10:15 am - 11:00 am | Multipurpose Room & Zoom

Provost Antony is visiting CPH on Tuesday, October 22. There will be a Meet and Greet with Faculty and Staff in-person and virtually.

Please contact Ashley Grammick at agrammic@gmu.edu with questions.

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

October 4 Lightning Talk Presentations:

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 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.

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 unit race is close between OSA and HAP, while Michelle Williams is the top stepper of last week!

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 by noon on the Monday after each Monday-through-Sunday challenge week.

Report September 23 - 29 steps by 12:00 pm TODAY, September 30.
Bookmark this link to report your steps and get stepping!

Every Tuesday | 12:00 pm | Peterson 2800  

CPH yoga is back on Tuesdays! You are welcome to stay for as much or as little of the class as you are able and we hope to see many of you there! 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.