December 2004

• EACH YEAR THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION PRESENTS AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS to students, faculty, and alumni at its Celebration of Distinction. You are encouraged to nominate fellow alumni for the Alumnus of the Year and/or Alumni Service Award. The Alumnus of the Year award is given annually to recognize distinguished alumni achievements that have served to bring honor to George Mason University. The Alumni Service award is given to an alumnus/alumna of George Mason University in recognition of his/her continuous and exceptional service to the university and the community at large. For more information about the various awards visit our website.
  --> Read about the awards...



• "AN EVENING WITH RAPPAHANNOCK CELLARS" will be this year's theme at the first-ever Friday night event for Homecoming 2005. Join other Mason alumni as Rappahannock Cellars offers a tasting and a brief history of this Virginia winery. The event will be held as part of homecoming weekend on Friday, February 18 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. on the Fairfax Campus. All alumni and guests are welcome to attend . The event is $20 per person; advance RSVP is required to the Office of Alumni Affairs (703-993-8696 or alumni@gmu.edu) by Monday, February 14. The evening promises to be entertaining, educational, and tasty! Space is limited so RSVP today!
  --> Learn more about Rappahannock Cellars...



• THE CENTER FOR GLOBAL EDUCATION offers an exciting week-long historical and cultural tour of one of southern Italy's most fascinating regions, Sicily, with an optional four-day extension to the beautiful capital, Rome. This tour will start in the bustling port city of Palermo. The application deadline is December 20. Visit the link below for more information.
  --> Learn more about this trip...
• THE COLLEGE OF VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS (CVPA) has formed one of the Alumni Association's newest chapters! Board members have been actively building the chapter since April 2004, sending surveys and e-mails to former students. This was no easy task-even though it is one of the smallest and most specialized colleges on campus, CVPA currently has more than 1,800 alumni. With much positive response and a unanimously approved vote at an Alumni Association Board meeting, the chapter officially came into existence in September.
  --> Visit the CVPA web site...



• THE BLACK ALUMNI CHAPTER (BAC) invites fellow alumni to their holiday mixer on Friday, December 17, 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Mason's Prince William campus, Occoquan Building, Room 110L. BAC dues-paying members can attend for free and all other alumni will be charged a $5.00 donation to the BAC Book Award. RSVPs can be e-mailed to programs_events@gmublackalumni.com.
  --> Visit the Black Alumni Chapter's web site...



• WASHINGTON WIZARDS TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE from the Alumni Association, which has a limited number of tickets for sale for the February 11, 2005, 7:00 p.m. game against the L.A. Clippers at the MCI Center. The tickets are being sold for the discount price of $35.00 and are lower level seats! Contact Andy Ackley for yours today at aackley@gmu.edu or (703)993-8739.



• THIS YEAR, MASON'S HOMECOMING GROWS to a weekend filled with exciting events. In addition to the traditional Saturday activities, which include the homecoming block party, Patriot's basketball, and fireworks, a wine tasting event on Friday evening with Rappahannock Cellars has been added. Mark your calendar and visit the Homecoming web site for more information.
  --> Visit the Homecoming web site...

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UNIVERSITY NEWS

• IN A HUMAN RESOURCES "LET'S TALK" SESSION on the Fairfax campus, Thomas Hennessey, University Chief of Staff, provided an overview of what goes on at the Virginia General Assembly's legislative short session, which convenes Jan. 12, 2005. He also discussed the university's legislative priorities and talked about his role vis-à-vis the legislature and other universities in the commonwealth.
  --> Read more...



• THREE NEW DEGREE PROGRAMS were approved by George Mason’s Board of Visitors at its meeting yesterday. The programs are: MA in Teaching in Education; MA in Systems Engineering Management; and BS in Applied Computer Science.

--> Read more...
• GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY WAS HONORED WITH TWO AWARDS at the eighth annual Northern Virginia Leadership Gala last month. Hortensia Cadenas received the Northrop Grumman Educational Leadership Award, and the Capitol Wireless Integrated Network (CapWIN) was given the Walton and Adams, P.C., Bridge the Potomac Award.
  --> Read more...



• CALLING THEMSELVES SMC-STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS, a group of five students placed first in the School of Management's Case Competition. The competition is part of the school's capstone course, SOM 498, which examines business strategy and allows students to use the principles they have been learning at Mason.
  --> Read more...
• GEORGE MASON'S HIGHER EDUCATION PROGRAM has received a grant from the Educational Partnerships Program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State, to begin a partnership with the University of Montenegro in Montenegro, a small country in southeastern Europe.
  --> Read more...
• CREATIVITY IS IN THE AIR AT MASON this semester as several student playwrights scramble to write scenes, develop characters, and push their plots forward, all in the name of sweet competition. This month and last, about 20 students from Mason and Fairfax County secondary schools have been working on plays to submit to the Theater of the First Amendment (TFA) First Light Festival Competition for Student Playwrights.
  --> Read more...
  --> More about Theater of the First Amendment...
• MORE INFORMATION ABOUT UPCOMING EVENTS can be found on the "Today @ Mason" web site.
  --> Visit http://today.gmu.edu
  --> Visit the Alumni Association Activity site.

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PATRIOT SPORTS

• JUNIOR GUARD LAMAR BUTLER scored a game-high 19 points and junior forward Jai Lewis added 12 points and a game-best eight rebounds for Mason as No. 11 Michigan State escaped with a 66-60 victory in the consolation game of the BB&T Classic at the MCI Center.
  --> Learn more...
• WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL TEAMMATES JESICA UMANSKY AND JUNIOR NATALIA POROSA have had some tremendous volleyball performances against Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) opponents this season and in the process, they earned the respect of the opposing coaches. That respect showed when the All-CAA awards were handed out.
  --> Read more...



• MASON SENT EIGHT WRESTLERS to the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Wrestling Invitational on December 4-5, which was held at the Cashman Center in Las Vegas. Mason competed with 47 other teams, finishing the two-day event tied for 27th overall with 18 points. Michigan won the meet with 148 points, while Nebraska (139.5) placed second and Hofstra (108.5) finished in third place.
  --> Read more...



• SENIOR GOALKEEPER JOHN O'HARA will represent George Mason at the Major League Soccer (MLS) Player Combine on January 8-11 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. O'Hara is one of 66 players that was chosen to compete for the attention of MLS coaches and general managers in hopes of being selected in the MLS SuperDraft on January 14 in Baltimore.
  --> Read more...



• THE PATRIOT CLUB will offer three bus trips this season to watch men's basketball games on the road. The ticket price always includes a meal and beverages on the bus as well as entry to the game. All trips depart from the Patriot Center on the Fairfax campus. Click the link below for more information.
  --> Patriot Club Bus Trips...
• Stay up-to-date with Mason Athletics news by clicking on http://www.gomason.com.

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To learn how to support George Mason University, visit the "Campaign for George Mason University" web site.

--> Click on http://www.gmu.edu/events/campaign

Update your online record ANYTIME, visit the MASONline Alumni Directory.

--> Click on http://alumni.gmu.edu

For lots more from George Mason University, visit the University web site.

--> Click on http://www.gmu.edu

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