Term Faculty Affairs Newsletter

August 2024

The Term Faculty Affairs Committee within CHSS Assembly is pleased to release the second annual term faculty affairs newsletter to feature all of the accomplishments of our term faculty members across the college. Our committee is tasked with "representing term faculty on the development, coordination, implementation, and advocacy, of all matters affecting term faculty including, but not limited to, workload, compensation and benefits, contracts, professional development, university and departmental culture, and promotion consistent with current university guidelines and practices." As part of our advocacy for term faculty, we feel it is critical to feature their contributions through teaching, research, and professional organizations. Over the course of this past year, we fully approved the guidelines for term faculty promotion and continued conversations about workload among college constituents. We also served as advocates for term faculty to representatives on the Provost Search Committee and began conversations about term faculty research with CHSS research centers.  We look forward to featuring the work of our colleagues and advocating for change in semesters to come. Please look out for the next call for submissions in the Spring. 

In Community,

The Term Affairs Faculty Affairs Committee 2023-2024

Humberto González Chávez, Assistant Professor of Italian 

Michael Hurley, Associate Professor of Psychology

Virginia Hoy, Senior Instructor of English and Individualized Studies

David Powers Corwin, Assistant Professor of Integrative Studies 

Mohammad Ramadan Salama, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs 

Blake Silver, Associate Professor of Sociology 

 

Teaching Awards and Recognitions

Many of our term faculty are recognized at the university level and through their professional organizations for their teaching efforts. Also, even though term faculty are not required to take on formal mentoring, many take the time to work with students through teaching assistantships, research projects, conference presentations, creative projects, and many others

Thriving Together Series

Thriving Together Series

By Al Fuertes, Ph.D., Professor, School of Integrative Studies, and Senior Scholar, Center for the Advancement of Well-Being. “Without forgiveness, there is no future.”- Archbishop Desmond Tutu. We often discuss forgiveness in the context of personal relationships, yet sometimes overlook its broader implications for well-being. The choice to forgive has great power to strengthen well-being – for those who forgive, those who are forgiven, and society as a whole. Here’s how practicing forgiveness can have a profound positive impact on individuals and communities.

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Afra Ahmad honored with distinguished alumni faculty award

Afra Ahmad honored with distinguished alumni faculty award

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences is proud to honor Afra Ahmad BA Psychology '08, MA '12, PhD '16, with the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award Faculty. Ahmad is currently the director of the online master of professional studies in applied industrial and organizational psychology.

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Prof. Rachel Lewis honored with Presidential Award for Faculty Excellence in Teaching!

Prof. Rachel Lewis honored with Presidential Award for Faculty Excellence in Teaching!

The Women and Gender Studies program is thrilled to announce that Professor Rachel Lewis has been honored with the Presidential Award for Faculty Excellence in Teaching!!! The prestigious award is a recognition of Dr. Lewis' inspiring and outstanding teaching record over several years within the program and the university.  Many congratulations, Rachel, for this well-deserved honor, and thank you for your exceptional contributions to WGST and to our students!

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Mason Korea Global Affairs Professor Appointed to Key Role in Presidential Advisory Council

Mason Korea Global Affairs Professor Appointed to Key Role in Presidential Advisory Council

Dr. Jihye Lim, an assistant professor of global affairs at Mason Korea, has recently been appointed as a standing commissioner for the international cooperation subcommittee of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council (PUAC).

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Mason’s Forensics team takes second place at National competition

Mason’s Forensics team takes second place at National competition

Mason’s Forensics Team was recently awarded second place in the nation at the American Forensics Association National Speech Tournament (AFA-NST) with several students receiving individual honors. Mason’s Forensics Team has been the most successful team in the university’s history, continuously ranking in the national top 35 schools every year since 1975, the top five schools each year since 2007.

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Teachers need teachers

Composition faculty created Teachers Need Teachers to exchange teaching resources, ideas, and feedback. In so doing, they put Mason students first.

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Research and Professional Organization Recognition

Term faculty engage in research and professional development both at the university level, but also through national and international organizations. While some term faculty's roles are research focused, many term faculty are engaging in this work outside of their contracts and we hope that this section demonstrates the level of engagement that many of our term faculty have within their disciplines.

Mason Korea and Scalia Law Host Conference on K-Pop and Law

Mason Korea and Scalia Law Host Conference on K-Pop and Law

In a dynamic collaboration with Mason Scalia Law School’s Center for Intellectual Property x Innovation Policy and the Music Ecosystems Institute, Mason Korea hosted an international conference titled "The Role of Law and Policy in the Rise of K-Pop and Other Asian Music Genres." 

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Luce/ACLS Early Career Fellows in China Studies

Luce/ACLS Early Career Fellows in China Studies

The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is pleased to announce the 2023 Luce/ACLS Early Career Fellowships in China Studies, including George Mason University's Professor Matthew West.

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Term Faculty Research Activity 2023-2024

Term Faculty Research Activity 2023-2024

Congratulations to our term faculty who submitted their research accomplishments to be featured in this newsletter.

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Term Faculty Promotion

Term faculty promotion is critically important as we continue to recognize "high competence" and "genuine excellence" in their appointments throughout their careers. In addition to their work assignments, these faculty were also putting together dossiers for promotion and we celebrate their successful cases for promotion. 

Term Faculty Promotions 2023-2024

Term Faculty Promotions 2023-2024

Congratulations to all term faculty who earned promotion during this last year's cycle!

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Term Faculty Study Leave Recipients

Congratulations to our term faculty colleagues who earned study leave in this year's cycle. According to the Faculty Handbook these study leaves are to "to support professional development initiatives designed to advance scholarly research, teaching, and/or creative activity, including the development of innovative teaching approaches and methods." Please consider applying in next year's cycle here

Term Faculty Study Leave Recipients 2023-2024

Term Faculty Study Leave Recipients 2023-2024

Congratulations to our term faculty who earned study leave during this cycle!

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