Faculty/Staff Newsletter

The 2024-25 Impact Report (formerly annual report) showcases a milestone year of transformation and innovation — from earning Virginia’s first-ever CEPH accreditation to expanding community health impact through research, education, and partnerships.

This year, there's a web-based version, too! 

Alicia Hong’s WECARE intervention will invigorate resilience in family caregivers of individuals with dementia.

Perry is the first public health professional and the first female member of the Academy of Sciences of Albania.

Congratulations to the School of Nursing on a successful charitable dinner for the Ferlazzo Emergency Shelter in Prince William County. SON faculty and staff exceeded its fundraising goal of more than $1,200 for the shelter.

Congratulations to college faculty on publishing 77 articles since July 1, 2025.  Have a look at the full list below. Also, view a diagram illustrating CPH authorship collaboration over the past two years here.

The Office of Research, Innovation and Economic Impact announced the release of the FY26 Grand Challenge Initiative Request for Proposals (RFP). 

As the university embarks on George Mason’s Grand Challenge Initiative (GCI) to drive solutions to help secure a peaceful, healthy, and prosperous future, we are inviting proposals for investments in talent, programs and projects, and infrastructure that will be leveraged for transformative impact on one or more of the GCI Grand Solutions and catalyze future funding and growth.  

This RFP is NOT your standard seed funding proposal. It is a solicitation for a catalytic and transformative approach to addressing one or more of the six GCI Grand Solutions. Proposals need to articulate a bold vision for scalable and sustained impact and outline a clear work plan for how the GCI investments will be used to actualize the bold vision. 

While you can find more information about this call from the RFP, including the link to the FAQs, we want to note some important dates and information.

All individuals currently allowed to submit proposals under Mason’s Principal Investigators Policy 4012 are eligible to apply.   

Proposal will be accepted after the new year and are due: Monday, February 2, 2026. Submission details will be available at a later date.

View FAQ document here.

View the RFP here.

GCI Proposal Related Events

Accelerating Research Translation: Seed Translational Research Projects. The Office of Research, Innovation and Economic Impact has a call for proposals for  Seed Translational Research Projects (STRP). These projects aim to turn research into real-world solutions that make a difference by applying and scaling research outcomes in practical ways. 

Both market-oriented (e.g., commercial products, social ventures) and non-market-oriented (e.g., community programs, high-impact partnerships) translation projects are encouraged. Awardees will receive up to $25,000 to support research translation activities ranging from testing and improving their solution with user feedback to developing and validating a plan to support scaled implementation of the solution to developing partnerships to securing funding to grow or sustain the venture or effort. 

Proposals are due November 17, 2025. Read the full call for STRP proposals here.

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Creating Impactful Research Connections through Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE).

GMU’s ISE, in collaboration with the Office of Community Engagement and Civic Learning (CECiL), is inviting faculty to submit proposals to participate in the Creating Impactful Research Connections through Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) program. The CIRCLE program is designed to support faculty seeking to scale up the impact of their research through community-engaged, experiential-learning curriculum.   

The goal of the CIRCLE program is to help faculty and student teams (1) develop a deep understanding of the value and use-contexts of their research beyond the academy, and (2) modify (or develop) an upper-level undergraduate and/or graduate course so that students can produce – through engagement with community-based partners – valuable information, useful data products, or other usable research-based outputs for those partners. Selected faculty will receive up to $25,000 in funding, training, and mentoring through the CIRCLE program. 

Proposals are due November 17, 2025. Read the full call for CIRCLE proposals here.

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The MacArthur Foundation is creating “AI Opportunity” program which will focus on the intersection of AI, the economy, and the workforce—with a focus on several areas: young people in Chicago; community-centered AI development and use; and nonprofit AI applications. MacFound will also contribute to Humanity AI, a broad philanthropic coalition committed to shaping a more human(e) future with AI.

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The 2026 George Mason Summer Team Impact Projects (STIP) call is out. The Office of Undergraduate Education is calling for STIP proposals for summer 2026. Several CPH faculty have had STIP projects in the past. They support multidisciplinary teams of undergraduate students, graduate students, as well as faculty and staff who explore a faculty-driven central theme research question, or community-identified problem. Student stipends, and modest faculty stipends can be included in the project budget. Submission deadline is November 21, 2025. Selected projects will begin at the end of May 2026.

Are you applying to NSF or NIH, or participating in an application?  There is a new Mandatory Research Security Training requirement for all key personnel. You can find this 60-minute training in Mason Leaps under Research Security Training (Condensed). Go ahead and complete it now! Don’t wait for your grant submission deadline.

Faculty APRs are due to your department chair or divisional dean on February 15, 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.  Please follow the links below to explore more about the faculty annual review process and procedures:

A University RPT session will be held on October 28, 11 am, on Zoom. The slides from the session will be posted online after the session. The link to join the meeting and the slides from last year can be found on the Office of the Provost website here (scroll down on the left-hand side to the bottom tile). This information is specific to our tenure-line faculty; the Provost’s Office holds a similar session in the spring for the instructional term faculty. This information session provides a high-level overview of the institutional process here at George Mason.

Join OLLI at the Fairfax Lord of Life Lutheran Church for free and open to the public music presentations. Address: 5114 Twinbrook Rd, Fairfax, 22032 Time: 9:30-10:55 am.

October 21: Dr. Anna Balakerskaia presents her marvelous piano students in beautiful solo piano and collaborative piano masterworks.

November 4: Alyssa Cabassa, violist, and Dr. GaYoung Lee, pianist, present a beautiful program of viola/piano masterworks.

Nominations are due November 2 for the Adjunct Teaching Excellence Award and the Online Teaching Excellence Award. 

Nominations are due February 9, 2026 for the Presidential Awards for Faculty Excellence. 

If you are interested in nominating a faculty member, please contact Cathy Tompkins.

Did you know that the Stearns Center has a series of podcasts, “Key Concepts in Teaching,” that was created, in part, to support Geoge Mason's adjunct faculty community? Learn more.

As part of George Mason’s NCFDD membership, you have access to tools that are specifically designed to help faculty create time, set priorities, and stay on track throughout the semester. One of the most-used resources is Every Semester Needs a Plan, a webinar that walks you through a step-by-step process for setting realistic goals and building a weekly workflow that works. You can also access tools like the 14-Day Writing Challenge, the on-demand webinar library, and a new series on securing alternative research funding.

November 6 | Time TBD

The CPH Marketing and Communication Office hosts this hands-on Media Training workshop for researchers. You will learn about developing key messages, the changing media landscape, engaging all media, addressing misinformation and disinformation, and social media tips for scientists and researchers. Look for more details and RSVP next week. 

November 10 | 11:30 am - 12:30 pm, including lunch | Multipurpose Room | RSVP

Join us for the college's new event: CPH Grand Rounds, where faculty and student teams report on timely topics in public health. The inaugural topic is "Polarization of Vaccine Policy and Consequences for Clinical Practice." There will not be an online option.

Speakers

November 14 | 12 - 12:30 pm | Zoom

More information about speakers to come. A calendar invite with a Zoom link is coming soon. This is the last one for the fall 2025 semester. Save the date for spring 2026 Lightning Talks: February 20 and April 10.

TODAY, October 20 | 11:30 am Speaker, 12:30 pm Lunch | PHC Multipurpose Room 

October 23 | 11 am - 2 pm | Merten Hall 1204 | Sign up Required

George Mason Creative Services Photography is holding a free open call photo session for faculty and staff. This photo session is your opportunity to obtain a professional George Mason head shot for use on George Mason-affiliated websites and publications. Priority is given to new hires and those who have not had a photo taken in the last 4 years. (Students are not eligible.)

November 17 |11:30 am | PHC Multipurpose Room | RSVP

Matthias Von Schwanenflüegel is a visiting HAP affiliate faculty member from Germany. Lunch to follow his talk.

HAP retains the lead, with Nutrition & Food Studies following closely behind. T Rebmann was top individual stepper again last week.

Reporting for Ocotber 13-19 is due today by 11:59 pm. All CPH employees can join in—this includes adjuncts, GRAs, and wage staff. Report your preceding week’s steps here.

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Questions or comments about the newsletter? Email mcunni7@gmu.edu.