Welcome to our monthly compilation of good news, gathered from the college's faculty and staff! Would you like to include your own news or a colleague's? Send us your details on the CHSS Brag Points form (which also collects information we can share with Mason's Office of University Branding).
Helon Habila, professor of creative writing in the English department (fiction), has been named "Curator in Residence" for the Berlin International Lit Fest, 2024. As he explains, "I was invited by the Berlin International Lit Fest to curate their 2024 festival. The title is "Curator in Residence," but it doesn't entail any "residence" in Berlin as such. I liaise with them by email and zoom." Festival Director Lavinia Frey said, “Helon Habila is an outstanding writer and connoisseur of international literature. His curiosity, dedication to literature, which he teaches as a Creative Writing professor, and his knowledge of the literary scenes will change the program and the way we work together.” Congratulations, Helon!
Beidi Dong, associate professor in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society, received $48,505 in ARIE funding for his research titled "Designing and Evaluating an Online Intervention to Combat Anti-Asian Racism: A Pilot Study." Beidi’s research aims to assess Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander (AAAPI) Mason students’ exposure to hate speech and behavior—focusing on race/ethnicity-based hate—and pilot an online intervention against anti-Asian hate speech and behavior using AI tools. Congratulations, Beidi!
Congratulations to Anthony Pfaff, non-resident distinguished senior research fellow, Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, on the publication of his book “Proxy War Ethics: The Norms of Partnering in Great Power Competition.” Pfaff’s new book provides a unique and timely examination of the norms of proxy warfare, re-examines the Just War Tradition in light of modern wars, and zooms in on existing ethical gaps and provides policy recommendations.
Last semester, Jeff Grim, assistant professor in the higher education program, and graduate students visited the U.S. Department of Education where they met with staff from the Undersecretary of Postsecondary’s Office, the president and staff from the national engagement team, research teams at the American Council on Education, and the policy team from NAFSA: Association of International Educators. The field trip was a capstone experience in the HE 711 Policy Studies in Higher Education graduate course. The goals of the trip were to expose students to policy makers in the Department of Education and major associations in DC that advocate for their members in the policy space to understand how policy is created, implemented, and advocated for. Students also got the opportunity to network with different staff that could provide opportunities. internships and careers.
A shout-out to human factors and applied cognition doctoral student Lydia Melles, who has been selected to participate in this year’s Human-Robot Interaction Pioneers program! The HRI Pioneers program is an initiative designed to support early-career researchers and professionals who are making significant contributions to the field of human-robot interaction. Through this program, participants receive recognition and mentorship to further advance their work in developing innovative and impactful interactions between humans and robots. Out of 25 students chosen worldwide, only 15 are from the U.S., and Lydia is proudly representing George Mason University among other notable institutions like MIT, Yale, Princeton, and Carnegie Mellon. Read more.
February 14, 2024