MetroStar co-founder and chief executive officer Ali Manouchehri, BA Philosophy ’99, is the featured speaker at George Mason University’s Winter Commencement on December 18.

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences mourns the passings of Yaqub Mirza and Abdulaziz Sachedina, contributors to the AbuSulayman Center for Global Islamic Studies.

We've updated the CHSS Brag Points form to include space for faculty and staff to share story ideas. Let us know what's happening in your department and what moments or milestones deserve a spotlight. We welcome news about research, high-impact classroom initiatives, student and faculty achievements, career-readiness opportunities, Grand Challenge Initiative-related activities, and more! We'd love to hear from every department and program.

The CHSS Staff and A/P Faculty Advisory Council welcomes its newest member, Abed Ebady, and welcomes back three returning representatives, after the recent 2025 elections.

Adjunct faculty are encouraged to participate in the Adjunct Faculty Success Workshop scheduled for January 10 (online only). Sessions are focused on teaching, student success, and relevant policies and resources. Feedback is always positive, and it’s a terrific way to stay current with teaching and learning best practices. Registration is required.

University Libraries’ Open Educational Resources (OER) Infoguide has been updated with new tools and resources to help faculty identify, adopt, and create affordable and accessible course materials.

Faculty are invited to participate in the Virginia AI Symposium on January 20, a statewide event offering high-level insights and practical guidance on teaching and learning in the age of generative AI. The symposium is co-organized by UVA, George Mason’s Stearns Center, JMU, and SCHEV, and registration is available through the event website.

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.

Stillhouse Press serves as a real-world laboratory that allows students to apply, in immediate practical terms, the skills and concepts they're learning in the classroom. Read what former and current students who have worked with the press have to say about how their work at Stillhouse has sharpened their skills and prepared them for their careers.

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. The application portal will open in January 2026. Complete applications must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. on February 13, 2026, using the Submittable platform.

Every year Congress provides funding through the annual Appropriations Bill. Congressional earmarks are provisions in spending bills directing federal funds to specific projects for a particular congressional district, locality or state. The projects should address a community's need and must include letters of support from the community demonstrating the need, engagement and support.

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has published a notice on their website that anticipates a late spring application deadline for their fellowship programs: NEH Fellowships and NEH Fellowship for Advanced Social Science Research on Japan.

There are several NIH changes coming in 2026 including adoption of the Common Forms for all Biosketches and Current and Pending (Other) Support, new Research Security Training requirements (available in Mason LEAPS), and the removal of requirements for Letters of Intent (LOIs) and requirements for $500k or more in direct costs on unsolicited applications.

As we approach the end of 2025, the CHSS Pre-Award team would like to thank the faculty, students, and staff who have partnered with the CHSS Pre-Award team with proposal submissions.

The Research Affiliate Program at the Center for Advancement of Well-Being (CWB) offers a collaborative community for George Mason University faculty, research staff, and graduate students to share new knowledge and opportunities relating to well-being research. Fostering this network of scholars enables CWB to better advance, support, and celebrate interdisciplinary well-being research across the university.

An event hosted by the Law and Economics Center at the Scalia Law School explored George Mason’s complicated legacies.

The Office of Student Creative Activities and Research (OSCAR) Celebration of Student Scholarship and Impact recently recognized work from CHSS undergraduate students. They presented videos describing their research and creative projects from our Undergraduate Research Scholars Program and courses throughout the university.

George Mason University's Debate Team recently won the prestigious West Point Sword at the United States Military Academy’s 60th annual National Debate Tournament in West Point, New York. 

As George Mason University's Bachelor of Individualized Study (BIS) program celebrates its 50th anniversary, non-traditional, adult learners continue to gear degrees toward their interests while juggling busy lives.

For her capstone project, global affairs major Tereana Battle, who is graduating this week, created an anti-bullying workshop for middle school students across Loudoun County.

At 26, Max Dacey enrolled at George Mason University with a singular goal: to earn his degree quickly and better support his family. What Dacey, who will graduate this winter with his bachelor's degree in communication, found in classes and rugby coaching was something more.

Welcome to our monthly compilation of good news, gathered from the college's faculty and staff!

Professor offers solutions for traffic congestion in Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, which was recently ranked in the top 10 for worst traffic congestion in the country.

van der Wees, adjunct faculty, discusses Taiwan's history as an independent country.

Research from Professor Todd Kashdan, who is also the founder of the Well-Being Laboratory; graduate student Patrick McKnight; psychology major Kerry Kelso; and Logan Craig, director of research operations at The Well-Being Lab; is cited in Forbes article on team communication.

Gilman discusses how immigration policies could affect science and innovation pipeline coming into the United States.

Distinguished university professor and executive director of the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy quoted in article on Massachusetts State Police Academy's use of paramilitary structure.