Throughout the month of February, African and African American Studies is hosting events and activities to celebrate and honor the contributions of our Black ancestors, artists, scholars, leaders, innovators, and community members. Here's what's planned and how you can join.

Join Provost James ("Jim") Antony for an informal opportunity to connect over coffee and share your insights, questions, and ideas.

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.

Learn about fundraising at George Mason, CHSS priorities in the Mason Now campaign, and how to help your department, center, or program plan for conversations with donors.

On February 12, students will have the opportunity to speak with admissions officers, program faculty, and program staff about the benefits of pursuing a graduate certificate.

Fall for the Book Mini Fest, hosted by Watershed Lit, returns on February 20. See the complete line up of authors.

George Mason University’s Creative Writing Program joins Watershed Lit and Mason’s University Libraries in presenting the Spring 2025 Visiting Writers Series.

Mason Recreation is hosting CPR and lifeguard training courses this spring. View the full list of classes and learn how to register.

Faculty Research and Development Awards (FRDA), funded by CHSS, are short-term awards that are designed to help tenured and tenure-track faculty initiate new programs of research and scholarship or enhance existing ones. NEW in AY 2024-25, FRDA applications will be submitted online using Mason's new internal grants platform from WizeHive. Applications must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. on February 14.

We are pleased to announce that the Dean’s Office will offer an Introduction to Research Administration for faculty who are new to grants or are seeking a refresher about CHSS grant procedures. The session will take place via Zoom on February 11 at 11:30 a.m.

The next CHSS Pre-Award Lunch and Learn series webinar will take place on February 13 at 11 a.m. The webinar will focus on developing accurate budgets and writing strong budget justifications.

The Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad program funds fellowships through institutions of higher education to faculty members who propose to conduct research abroad in modern foreign languages and area studies to improve their skill in languages and their knowledge of the culture of the people of these countries. The deadline to apply for an FRA fellowship is March 10.

The Folger Institute, a center for advanced research in the early modern humanities at the Folger Shakespeare Library, will offer several spring and summer programs. Application deadline is March 3.

The National Humanities Alliance (NHA) and the Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA) will host their annual meetings and advocacy day in Washington, D.C., in March. Registration is required.

The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) recently launched a new website for the China Studies Digital Archives Mapping Project, which offers a free guide to open databases for China studies research.

Lisa Patel, Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, suggests what the sensitive population should do if they are experiencing poor air quality from wildfire smoke.

Kashdan, Department of Psychology, talks about friendship and curiosity in “Redefining Friendship and True Curiosity (Mixed With A Lot of Laughter).”

According to Tyler Cowen, Department of Economics and Mercatus Center, young Americans find the Chinese internet hip and intriguing.

The book, The Roman Salute: Cinema, History, Ideology, by Martin M. Winkler, Department of Modern and Classical Languages, is cited.

Michael Clemens, Department of Economics, is quoted about unauthorized workers as a critical ingredient in production.