2026 Award Recipients
Celebrating our distinguished alumni, faculty, staff, and students
Each year the College of Humanities and Social Sciences celebrates individuals whose leadership, research, service, and contributions have made outstanding contributions to their industries, their communities, and to George Mason University.
These CHSS alumni, students, faculty, and staff showcase how the humanities and social sciences drive our community forward in advancing cutting-edge research, impactful service, and critical competencies for today's global and knowledge-based economy.
On November 7, 2026 we will celebrate the newest cohort of our college’s change makers—alumni driven to improve the world around them—at our annual Community and Catalysts event.
The college is proud to present our 2026 award recipients:
CHSS Alumni Service to George Mason
Eric Johnson
MA English '05
CHSS Alumni Service to Industry
Ali Reza Manouchehri
BA Philosophy '99
CHSS Alumni Service to Community
Jennifer Levasseur
PhD History '14
G.O.L.D. - Graduate of the Last Decade
Danielle Badra
MFA Creative Writing '17
G.O.L.D. - Graduate of the Last Decade
Alaina Ruffin
BA English '23
G.O.L.D. - Graduate of the Last Decade
Steven Zhou
PhD Psychology '24, CERG Computational Social Science '24
CHSS Distinguished Alumni - African and African American Studies
Jae-lynn Tavarez Brown
BA Anthropology '21, MA '25, CERG Conflict Analysis and Resolution ’25, African and African American Studies Minor
CHSS Distinguished Alumni - Communication
Mike Foss
BA Communication '11
CHSS Distinguished Alumni - Criminology, Law and Society
Stephen Bamford
BS Law Enforcement '86
CHSS Distinguished Alumni - Cultural Studies
Fan Yang
PhD Cultural Studies '11
CHSS Distinguished Alumni - Economics
Abby Hall
MA Economics '13, PhD '15
CHSS Distinguished Alumni - English
Jessica Anthony
MFA Creative Writing '04
CHSS Distinguished Alumni - Global Affairs
Euvin Kim
BA Global Affairs '17
CHSS Distinguished Alumni - Higher Education
Edwin Powell
BA Education ’97, DA '99
CHSS Distinguished Alumni - History and Art History
Jeffrey Kerr
BA History '84
CHSS Distinguished Alumni - Latin American Studies
Anne McCabe
BA Economics '06
CHSS Distinguished Alumni - MAIS
Kimiko Lighty
MAIS '10
CHSS Distinguished Alumni - Middle East and Islamic Studies '15
Jumana Kamal
MA Middle East and Islamic Studies '15
CHSS Distinguished Alumni - Modern and Classical Languages
Mia Zur
BA Foreign Languages '96
CHSS Distinguished Alumni - Philosophy
Jessica Sutterley
BA Philosophy '06
CHSS Distinguished Alumni - Psychology
Rebecca Ullrich
MA Psychology '15
CHSS Distinguished Alumni - Religious Studies
Mohamed Hassan
BA Religious Studies '06
CHSS Distinguished Alumni - Russian and Eurasian Studies
Carter Wilbur
BA Area Studies; International Studies '91
CHSS Distinguished Alumni - Sociology and Anthropology
Christie Nader
BA Sociology '93
CHSS Distinguished Alumni - School of Integrative Studies/Bachelor of Individualized Study
Annette Ott-Barnett
BIS '18
CHSS Distinguished Alumni - School of Integrative Studies/Bachelor of Individualized Study
Roy Barnett
BIS '18
CHSS Distinguished Alumni - Women and Gender Studies
Waleska Del Valle Solorzano
BA Philosophy '18, MA '21, CERG Women and Gender Studies '22
CHSS Distinguished Alumni - Staff
Eric Woodall
BA Speech Communication '95
CHSS Distinguished Alumni - Staff
Ann Ludwick
MPA '95, CERG Nonprofit Management '01, CERG Education '08, DA Education '11
CHSS Distinguished Alumni - Faculty
Young Jung
PhD Cultural Studies '14
CHSS Distinguished Alumni - Faculty
Jacquelyn Poapst
MA Communication '15, PhD '19
CHSS Alumni Chapter Scholar
Nathan Ferraro
BA Communication '27
CHSS Senior of the Year Award
Su Benli
BA Global Affairs '27