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 George Mason's Office of University Branding).
Congratulations to Cher Weixia Chen, associate professor in the School of Integrative Studies, on receiving the Human Rights in Higher Education Award from the University and College Consortium for Human Rights Education. The award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to human rights education, holds special significance to Chen because it was inspired by a nomination from a former Master of Arts Interdisciplinary Studies student.
Congratulations to Robert D. DeCaroli, professor of art history and director of the master’s of arts program in art history, on his new book, Buddhism and the Senses: A Guide to the Good and the Bad. The book, which stemmed from the art exhibition, Encountering the Buddha: Art and Practice Across Asia, co-curated by DeCaroli at the National Museum of Asian Art of the Smithsonian Institution, presents 10 eminent scholars’ insights into Buddhism’s fascinating relation with the five senses.
Congratulations to Erin Eife, assistant professor of criminology, law, and society, who received $16,200 from The Miriam Hospital on a sub-award from the National Institutes of Health for the project “Surveillance as a Social Determinant of Health: Understanding the Impact of Pending Charges on Health Outcomes.” Under the advisement of Evan Lowder, associate professor of criminology, law, and society, and Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein, associate professor at Duke University, Eife aims to produce knowledge about the relationship between pending charges, one’s likelihood to feel anxious, and one’s likelihood to use illicit substances.
Congratulations to Fanni Farago, sociology PhD candidate, on receiving the University Libraries 2024 Graduate Research Fellowship for the project “In Flux: How Career Services Professionals Adapt to Changes in U.S. Higher Education and Serve Immigrant-Origin Students.” The study, which documents the challenges and opportunities career services professionals face in scaling and improving the impact of their work at public institutions, will raise awareness of the complex nature of career services work and inform institutional decision-making around career services resources and accessibility for immigrant-origin students.
Congratulations to Rick Heffner, assistant professor in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, for winning the American Graphic Design Award for both the Baldwin100 poster and the Nothing Personal exhibition. Only 10% of more than 8,000 entries were selected for this trade award for American Graphic Designers. Read more about Heffner and the Baldwin100 artwork.
A shout out to Julie Owen, associate professor of leadership and integrative studies in the School of Integrative Studies, along with partners from the Office of Community Engagement and Civic Learning, who received a $10,000 Allstate Foundation College Service Grant for the “Bright Minds Outreach Program,” to empower youth to serve and improve communities.
The Social Justice Committee of George Mason University’s Bonner Leaders Program has been working to develop a student-initiated, sustainable, ethical, bi-weekly, youth education program with a local Title 1 elementary school. The program aims to address the limited time and resources teachers have to focus on important aspects of learning that are not addressed in standardized testing, such as well-being and environmental education. To address the gap, the Bright Minds Outreach program provides a sample curriculum for elementary-aged students called “Grow with Kindness.” The curriculum blends elementary-level science and nature learning with lessons about kindness, self-care, and well-being. The grant will enhance access to the program in an effort to launch this fall.
A shout out to David Weisburd, distinguished professor in criminology, law, and society and Executive Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy, who received a $49,652 grant from the William T. Grant Foundation for the study on the “Safer Stronger Together Initiative: An evaluation of the impact of a place-based social intervention on youth and their families.” Weisburd will evaluate baseline behaviors and attitudes of clients to increase understanding of the recently launched Safer Stronger Together (SST) Initiative, a program that seeks to reduce racial and economic inequalities among young people and their families. The SST Initiative is a collaboration between three Maryland agencies: The Department of Juvenile Services, representing Maryland’s statewide juvenile justice system; the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, representing Maryland’s prisons, jails, adult probation, and parole; and the Department of Human Services, representing the state’s child welfare, foster care, and public benefits system.
December 10, 2024