WHAT BEGAN AS A TWO-DAY LITERARY EVENT IN 1999, organized by George Mason University and the City of Fairfax, has expanded into a community-based, region-wide festival bringing together people of all ages - more than 8,000 in 2005 - and the festival grows on, thanks to generous partnerships and sustained community interest. This year’s "Fall for the Book" festival runs from Sep. 27 through Oct. 5. --> Event details...

"MASON SPEAKERS," THE UNIVERSITY'S COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAM provides speakers, free of charge, to community groups throughout the year. Alumni are invited, not only to register to be a speaker, but to take full advantage of the program by inviting speakers to address groups to which they belong. With topics ranging from World War II, exercise/nutrition, current events, film, physics and even cannibalism, Mason Speakers provides experts on countless fascinating subjects. --> Read more...

A TEAM OF RESEARCHERS IN THE COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES has been awarded one of six grants given by the Alzheimer's and Related Diseases Research Award Fund for 2006-07. Jeanne Sorrell, professor of nursing, and Catherine Tompkins, assistant professor of social work and director of the Bachelor of Social Work Program, will study "Ethics of Respect for Spirituality in Persons Living with Alzheimer’s Disease." --> Read more...

SALES THIS YEAR AT THE GEORGE MASON BOOKSTORE are up significantly, thanks to the men's basketball team's run to the NCAA Final Four in March, prompting management to add new lines of clothing and gifts. Since May, clothing sales have climbed 95 percent ahead of last year during the same period, and bookstore gift sales have increased 74 percent. --> Read more...

PICTURE A MISSIONARY who can’t ride a bike befriending a young woman afraid to go more than 1,000 steps beyond her home, and you have “Owensville,” the award-winning short film brainchild of a group of Mason filmmakers and creative types. As part of the 48-Hour Film Project, a traveling organization that visits more than 30 cities across the country, a group of 15 friends and co-workers – eight of whom are Mason alumni, faculty, staff and students – teamed up for the second year in a row to take on the challenge of making a four- to seven-minute-long film in just one weekend. --> Read more...

WITH AN OBSERVATORY TOWER THAT REACHES TO THE SKY and opens to the stars, the new research building on Mason's Fairfax Campus in many ways represents the future direction of George Mason University: onward and upward. Research I is the first of its kind at Mason. It is a facility designed almost exclusively to support the institution's growing need for research space. --> Read more...

WITH PROGRAMS LIKE SAFE ZONE AND ACTIVITIES SUCH AS PRIDE WEEK, the George Mason community has witnessed the university make great strides over the years in welcoming and respecting students of diverse sexual orientations and genders. Mason was recently recognized by Campus PrideNet as one of the 100 best campuses for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students and is included in “The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students,” the first comprehensive campus guide to highlight the most LGBT-friendly campuses in the U.S. --> Read more...

MASON SENIOR TOM KOUCHERAVY swam a strong race to finish eighth in the 1,500-meter freestyle race at the 2006 ConocoPhillips Swimming National Championships at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatic Center in Irvine, Calif. Koucheravy made the finals after swimming one of the best races in his career as he shaved 21 seconds off of his personal best time to place third with a time of 15:17.09. --> Read more...

ACCORDING TO THE JULY ISSUE OF WASHINGTONIAN MAGAZINE, George Mason basketball head Coach Jim Larranaga is a local hero, and the Patriots are one of the top sports teams in the Washington, D.C., area. In its annual "best/worst" edition, the magazine lists both the men's basketball team and Larranaga on their best lists. The regional magazine selected Washington, D.C., mayor Anthony Williams as the top local hero, followed by Washington Redskins head coach and Hall-of-Famer Joe Gibbs and Larranaga. --> Read more...

THE COLONIAL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (CAA) NAMED Mason senior Marc Kellman the CAA Male Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive year, and freshman Murielle Ahoure CAA Rookie of the Year for Track and Field. Kellman concluded his career at George Mason by advancing to the finals of the triple jump at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on June 10 and placing fifth with a leap of 15.97 meters. --> Read more...

FORMER GEORGE MASON STANDOUT JAI LEWIS has agreed to a professional basketball contract and will play for Bosna of the Adriatic Basketball Association. He will be playing in the league's top division and as a forward on the league's most dominant team. Bosna is based in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Lewis is expected to have a significant role with the team when the season starts on September 30. --> Read more...

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