Throughout the month of February, the African and African American Studies program, which is celebrating 35 years as a program, is hosting various events—starting with a kickoff celebration on February 6—to honor the legacy of the program and recognize the contributions of our community.

As each semester begins, consider setting aside time to clean up your website. Remember, if something is on your site, it is visible to the public and Google. If the information is incorrect, people will see it, so make maintenance a habit and consider scheduling a day of beauty with the CHSSWeb team to discuss more comprehensive updates.

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.

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.

George Mason departments and programs can now register for the 29th Annual Health and Fitness Expo on March 19 at the Johnson Center. This event is free and open to students, faculty, staff and our Mason community!

University Studies is hiring George Mason University faculty and staff to teach UNIV 100: Introduction to George Mason in fall 2026. Learn more about this opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the lives of first-year students.

George Mason’s Leadership Legacy Program is accepting applications for the 2026–27 academic year for faculty and staff who are committed to further developing their leadership knowledge and strengths. Applications are due March 20.

CHSS Faculty Research Development Awards (FRDA) provide seed funding ($10,000–$15,000) for projects that position faculty to be more competitive when applying for external grant or fellowship funding. The project period is May 1, 2026–August 31, 2027. Complete applications must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. on February 13, using the Submittable (formerly WizeHive) platform.

The Institute for Immigration Research (IIR) welcomes proposals for a two-day working symposium dedicated to immigration, displacement, and belonging, with a particular focus on how arts, culture, and storytelling can be effectively used to build community, shift public attitudes, and inform immigration-related policy in the United States. Proposals are due February 12.

Faculty interested in pursuing a novel research project in conjunction with colleagues at one of the other 4-VA schools in Virginia are encouraged to respond to the annual 4-VA@Mason Collaborative Research Grant (CRG) call for proposals. Applications are due February 13.

Fall for the Book is excited to announce spring programming for 2026, including new podcasts and the lineup for the Mini Fest on February 19 in Fenwick Library.

The Salem witch trials have been a popular subject for literary re-creation since the early nineteenth century. Lockwood’s research project, Tituba Indian: The History of an American Cultural Figure, will further her work on a monograph of the same title, examining how Tituba—one of the first women accused of witchcraft during the Salem witch hunt—has been represented since the end of the Civil War, when she was first portrayed as biracial.

Research associate professor John Kotcher had served as the interim director of the Center for Climate Change Communication, a research center chartered by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, since June 2025 after the retirement of Ed Maibach, the center's founding director and Distinguished University Professor Emeritus.

Stimpfle devoted time and energies to breaching that curtain, re-establishing Russian-American connections, and reuniting Native relatives during the Cold War.

Azar shares actionable strategies on how to avoid becoming the “AI Police” and finding joy teaching in the age of AI.

Malinin, a part-time George Mason University student who is taking economics classes in an exploratory studies capacity, is featured in the magazine ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Kashdan discusses whether AI chatbot Purpose can differentiate self-help for therapy for users.

Lukacs draws parallels to current revolt in Iran to Hungarian uprising in the 1950s and analyzes how promised help from the United States did not come.

Mediaite recently highlighted a fact sheet from the Institute for Immigration Research on foreign-born players in the National Hockey League (NHL).