CHSS recently launched a new site dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at the college level. The site includes resources for faculty, staff, and students; the college inclusive excellence plan; and will continue to grow as our DEI and inclusive excellence work continues.

We have made several changes to the award application to make it more functional. There are now landing pages for the different types of awards. The navigation reflects the award type you are viewing. And the award show pages focus on the current year and provide navigation to prior years.

The dean's office welcomes Kenny Santos to the HR and finance team, where he will be working as a post-award research administrator.

Amaka Okechukwu, assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, has received a grant from the highly selective National Endowment for the Humanities 2022 Summer Stipend program.

The Spring 2022 NSF Virtual Grants Conference is to be held during the week of June 6 - 10, 2022. Registration opens on Wednesday, May 11 at 12 p.m. EST.

The 2022 Anti-Racism & Inclusive Excellence Seed Funding is seeking proposals. This funding will support research, scholarship, and creative activities addressing the myriad issues on the theme of anti-racism and inclusive excellence. Proposals are due at 11:59 pm on June 30, 2022. 

George Mason's 2022 Faculty and Staff Experience Survey, administered by Gallup, is now underway and closes on May 9. This survey is your opportunity to share your feedback with Mason's leadership. Please take a few minutes and respond. (Image by Thomas Lefebrve on Unsplash.)

May 2 through May 16 is open enrollment season: the time each spring where you can make changes related to your health plan and re-enroll in a Flexible Spending Account for the new year. Learn what's new for 2022!

The May 2022 Diversity, Education, and Inclusion calendar is now available on the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management website. The calendar includes information on the holidays recognized during the month; please review it while making plans that include our colleagues.

In a Washington Post article about a Texas Court of Criminal Appeals decision questioning the capital murder conviction of Melissa Lucio, criminology professor Alison Redlich comments on questions regarding Lucio's confession to the crime.

In a Bloomberg opinion article also published in the Washington Post, economics professor Tyler Cowen questions the link between growth in clean energy production and limitation of carbon emissions.

Psychology professor Todd Kashdan is noted in a Harvard Business Review article for the development of the skillset known as psychological flexibility, which is described as turning difficult emotions into greater focus and dedication.