CHSS Digest

March 5, 2026

CHSS Digest March 5, 2026

Welcome to the College of Humanities and Social Sciences bi-weekly newsletter!

For the most up-to-date information, visit the CHSS website.

Have news to share? Send us your news via the submission form.

The next issue of CHSS Digest will be published on March 19. View the full CHSS Digest schedule

Announcements & Resources
Celebrate our graduates with a message of congratulations!

Celebrate our graduates with a message of congratulations!

Sign up to record a brief video message of congratulations for our 2026 grads! Messages will be featured in the CHSS degree celebration's pre-ceremony slideshow. It's a fun and meaningful way for faculty, academic advisors, students, and alumni to cheer on our students and let them know how proud we are of all they've accomplished. Multilingual messages are welcome to showcase the many languages that make up our community.

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Applications wanted for 2026 Dean's Challenge Award

Applications wanted for 2026 Dean's Challenge Award

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences seeks applications for the Graduate Dean’s Challenge Scholarships for 2026. The recipients of this award receive a stipend, funded by generous donations from friends of the college, to help with their educational expenses.

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Save the date for CHSS Undergraduate Research Symposium

Save the date for CHSS Undergraduate Research Symposium

The 16th annual College of Humanities and Social Sciences Undergraduate Research Symposium will be held on the bottom floor of Horizon Hall on April 23.

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Registration open for Mason AI Day

Registration open for Mason AI Day

Save the date for Mason AI Day on April 29 at 9 a.m. in Fuse at Mason Square. This all-day event will bring together researchers pursuing foundational questions in AI, faculty integrating these tools into teaching and scholarship, policymakers wrestling with governance, students navigating a shifting landscape, and practitioners deploying systems in the field.

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Open Enrollment Benefits Fair on March 19

Open Enrollment Benefits Fair on March 19

The Open Enrollment Benefits Fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on March 19 at the George Mason Health and Fitness Expo. Vendors include Anthem, Aetna, Delta Dental, Kaiser, Liberty Dental, Inspira, 529, Virginia Credit Union, VRS, Voya, Fidelity, and TIAA.

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ASPIRE workshops help create strong, connected, and resilient communities

ASPIRE workshops help create strong, connected, and resilient communities

Designed and facilitated by the Office of Access, Compliance, and Community, ASPIRE is a series of workshops that help faculty and staff engage with one another as a community. The program focuses on communication, dialogue skills, and community-building practices to support student success, employee effectiveness, and institutional values.

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Remind your students about George Mason University Foundation scholarships

Remind your students about George Mason University Foundation scholarships

Please let your students know that George Mason University Foundation scholarships are available and are open to all continuing undergraduates, admitted transfers, and graduate students.

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Research, Scholarship & Creative Activity
Changes to pre-award research security compliance process

Changes to pre-award research security compliance process

OSP has recently made some updates to the internal requirements for research security, including Malign Foreign Talent Program certification for all federal research proposals and research security training in MasonLeaps.

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CHSS international travel supplement

CHSS international travel supplement

CHSS recognizes the value of faculty participation at prestigious international conferences and has established a fund to help defray a portion of the travel costs for international overseas conference participation.

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ACE 2026 Virginia Network Annual Conference

ACE 2026 Virginia Network Annual Conference

The American Council on Education (ACE) Women’s Virginia Network will be holding its 2026 Annual Conference, “Navigating Rough Waters,” on June 5 at Fuse at Mason Square in Arlington. The ACE Virginia Network is seeking proposals for the 2026 Annual Conference that will engage women leaders in higher education and help build their networks in times of uncertainty, challenge, and change.

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Student-led study explores perspectives and needs of local dual language immersion programs

Student-led study explores perspectives and needs of local dual language immersion programs

Building on relationships through community-based service-learning, the Department of Modern and Classical Languages has built a partnership with Fairfax County Public Schools to bolster the growth of literacy in Spanish and Korean.

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English professor co-leads statewide study on ethical use of AI in higher education

English professor co-leads statewide study on ethical use of AI in higher education

Amanda Bryan is serving as the co-lead of the “Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Teaching and Learning" initiative, a cross-disciplinary, cross-institutional project aiming to promote ethical integration of AI into educational settings. 

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George Mason collaborating with National Park Service to examine Revolutionary War from tribal nations' perspective

George Mason collaborating with National Park Service to examine Revolutionary War from tribal nations' perspective

Department of History and Art History Associate Professor Gabrielle Tayac hopes the project coinciding with America's 250th anniversary will serve as a teaching opportunity for the wider public.

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Symposium showcases region's Black history

Symposium showcases region's Black history

George Mason's Center for Mason Legacies hosted its fourth Black Lives Next Door symposium on February 10 with the African and African American Studies Program as a celebration of Black History Month.

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Bram Weinstein brings ESPN and NFL broadcasting experience to sports media classroom

Bram Weinstein brings ESPN and NFL broadcasting experience to sports media classroom

Bram Weinstein, the radio voice of the Washington Commanders NFL football team, is teaching the spring semester sports media course, Sports Writing and Reporting, in the Department of Communication.

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Faculty, Staff, Student & Alumni Recognition
NHC summer residency awards

NHC summer residency awards

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences would like to congratulate Tamara Harvey and Jacqueline M. Burek from the Department of English for being selected for the 2026 National Humanities Center four-week summer residency program this June at the National Humanities Center in Durham, North Carolina.

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Events

CHSS Graduate Admissions Application Webinar

Clock Icon for Thursday, March  5, 2026  7:00 PM to  8:00 PM ESTThursday, March 5, 2026 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM EST

Map Icon for Online LocationOnline Location

Join our virtual information session on March 5 to discover how a a master's degree from George Mason University's College of Humanities and Social Sciences can unlock your potential!

Details

Women in the Workplace

A Women's History Month Panel

Clock Icon for Tuesday, March 17, 2026  2:00 PM to  4:00 PM EDTTuesday, March 17, 2026 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM EDT

Map Icon for Johnson Center, EJohnson Center, E

Join us in celebrating Women's History Month, and hear from an array of women professionals at our 2026 Women in the Workplace Panel!

Details

Democracy & Civic Life (part of AI & The Humanities, a workshop series)

Clock Icon for Thursday, March 19, 2026 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM EDTThursday, March 19, 2026 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM EDT

Map Icon for Merten 1202 and zoomMerten 1202 and zoom

CHR and George Mason Libraries present “Open Access Publishing and the Humanities: Mapping the Terrain"

A Panel with OA Publishers

Clock Icon for Monday, March 23, 2026 12:00 PM to  1:30 PM EDTMonday, March 23, 2026 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM EDT

Map Icon for HYBRID- Horizon Hall 6325 and ZoomHYBRID- Horizon Hall 6325 and Zoom

Emerging Scholars Symposium

Clock Icon for March 25, 2026,  1:30 PM to March 26, 2026, 12:00 PM EDTMarch 25, 2026, 1:30 PM to March 26, 2026, 12:00 PM EDT

Map Icon for Johnson Center, FJohnson Center, F

The Emerging Scholars Symposium will feature doctoral and postdoctoral work that advances diverse perspectives and methods consistent with the Department of Sociology and Anthropology’s focus on public sociology.

Details
CHSS in the Media

Welcome to CHSS in the Media! Some articles may be behind a paywall. University Libraries provides direct access to current news sources. For more information, go to InfoGuides: Current News: Direct Subscriptions

Beidi Dong, Department of Criminology, Law and Society, quoted in Undark article about AI weapons detection

Research from Dong, published in the peer-reviewed Security Journal, warns about how valid firearms detection algorithms are in the "real world."

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RaShall Brackney, African African and American Studies Program, featured in Clarion Ledger as new Jackson (Miss.) chief of police

Brackney, a distinguished visiting professor of practice, has been named the chief of police for the Jackson Police Department in Jackson, Mississippi.

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CHSS academic advisors featured in Stearns Center podcast

Academic advisors unpack the realities of advising in the Keystone Concepts in Teaching podcast.

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Yehuda Lukacs, Global Affairs Program, writes an op-ed about Virginia’s The Plains in The Times of Israel

Upon the passing of Robert Duvall, Lukacs writes about his encounters with Duvall and his wife in The Plains.

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Comic Martin Phillips, BA History ’13, is profiled in a Fairfax County Times article

Phillips headlines Rt. 123 Comedy at The Vault at Capital One Hall.

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