CHSS Distinguished Alumni - Higher Education

CHSS Distinguished Alumni 


David A. Farris

MBA '07, PhD Education '16

Dr. David Farris is currently serving as George Mason University’s executive director of Safety and Emergency Management, where he is responsible for laboratory safety, environmental compliance, occupational safety, fire safety, and emergency management.  
 
Since joining Mason in 2004, Farris has served on or led a variety of university governance projects, developed university wide compliance programs, participated in and managed diverse teams, and held officer positions in state and national professional organizations. Prior to working at Mason, Farris was employed with Clean Harbors Environmental Services with responsibilities in management, business development, environmental compliance, and emergency response services.  
 
Farris graduated from Texas A&M University with a bachelor’s degree in biology, earned a master’s degree in business administration from Mason’s School of Business in 2007, and earned a PhD from Mason’s Higher Education Program within the College of Humanities and Social Sciences in 2016. Farris’s research and teaching interests focus on organizational behavior, university governance, and organizational citizenship behavior.  
 
He is the author of Understanding University Committees: How to Manage and Participate Constructively in Institutional Governance. In his free time he enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife and two daughters, playing guitar, and traveling.