Leadership and Staff
The College of Humanities and Social Sciences’ administration, faculty, and staff are here to support you! Contact us if you have a question or idea.
Faculty and staff in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences Dean's Office manage a full range of organizational and administrative support for the Dean, as well as supporting various needs of faculty, staff, and students.
Jenna M McGwin
Director, Operations and Initiatives
Contact me about: CHSS Renewal, Promotion, Tenure processes; Interfolio casebooks; MOUs; letters of recommendation requiring Dean signature; if you are not sure who to contact in the Dean's Office
Judith A Herbert
Administrative Assistant
Contact me about: Scheduling requests for the Dean and senior staff team; reserving conference rooms on Horizon Hall 6th floor; sending records to archive storage/destruction of records
The Graduate Academic Affairs team serves CHSS students, faculty, and staff across the College with academic processes. The office supports inclusive excellence and innovation in graduate education and research, and addresses the academic and professional development needs of students in CHSS. We assist with graduate curriculum development and academic program reviews for CHSS faculty, develop college-level academic policies, and manage graduate student appeal and grievance processes. We also manage CHSS’s competitive awards for graduate students, process academic actions, support efforts by faculty and students to secure external funding, and facilitate professional development opportunities related to graduate education and mentoring.
Marguerite Rippy
Associate Dean for Graduate Affairs
Contact me about: Curriculum development and assessment; academic program review; graduate student funding
Susan A Turriziani
Associate Director for Graduate Academic Affairs
Contact me about: Questions or concerns regarding student academic processes, including thesis/dissertation defense and submission, graduation deadlines, and termination exception requests
Stephanie Hinnenkamp
Assistant Director of Graduate Enrollment
Contact me about: Admissions process and enrollment reports; gaining access to the graduate application system and the CHSS Bachelor’s Accelerated Masters pathway
Clara Robertello
Graduate Recruitment and Admissions Coordinator
Contact me about: Updating CHSS graduate webpages; general admissions information
Our team provides dean’s review and signatures for a number of university forms, as well as providing information and support to students, faculty, and staff about academic policies and procedures throughout the year. We also provide guidance to departments and programs on advising, enrollment, scheduling and curriculum.
Rachel E Lindsey
Assistant Director, Career Education, Career Services and CHSS Undergraduate Academic Affairs
CHSS Research works to facilitate the research, scholarship, and creative works of the college’s scholarly community. We help our community members develop strategies, resources, and connections to seek external funding to support their research and scholarly works. We coordinate internal funding opportunities, charter and coordinate college research centers, and connect our scholars with colleagues across the university to create community and support students.
Michele S. Schwietz
Associate Dean for Research
Contact me about: External funding and research development (pre-award); internal scholarly support; research centers and institutes; research policy, space and equipment; multidisciplinary opportunities
Janelle A Treon-Raikes
Program Assistant
Contact me about: Administrative support for the Associate Dean for Research, e.g. internal funding, research center charters, scheduling meetings, outreach and communication, and coordinating other research related items.
Rashmi Pershad
Associate Director of Pre-Award Research Administration
Contact me about: Submitting a research proposal; questions about funding opportunities; if you are new to grants and would like to learn more
Emily Kerr
Pre-Award Research Administrator
Contact me about: Your research proposal if I am the research administrator assigned to your project
Samantha Messina
Pre-Award Research Administrator
Contact me about: Your research proposal if I am the research administrator assigned to your project
The Faculty Affairs team is dedicated to helping all faculty in their growth as scholars, educators, and colleagues. The Dean’s Office offers a range of programs, services, and resources to help faculty find meaning and purpose in their professional lives by:
- Fostering a college culture that respects and values equitable workplaces for all faculty, across different types and ranks, to ensure faculty success.
- Promoting a collegial environment that recognizes and celebrates the achievements of our faculty and provides access to excellence in every aspect of their work.
- Providing mentorship, leadership development, and career exploration resources to nurture faculty throughout their professional journey.
- Assisting faculty and academic unit heads in supporting faculty development at every stage of their careers, thereby ensuring continued faculty success.
To support these goals, the CHSS Dean's Office provides various programs, awards, and resources facilitated by the Faculty Affairs team.
CHSS strongly encourages faculty to use the University's integrated research web-based system, RAMP, to disclose any conflicts of interest (COI) or conflicts of commitment (COC). Adhering to these policies is essential for ensuring compliance with federal laws and regulations. For more information, please refer to the resources below:
The College of Humanities and Social Sciences development and alumni relations team engages alumni and the broader community in the life of the college. We develop active volunteers, well-informed alumni, and committed donors. Our mission is to help the community make a meaningful contribution to the important work of the college and to ensure the college has the resources it needs to maximize its impact. We seek support for student scholarships, encourage interest in funding for faculty and research centers, and generate resources to sustain and expand the college's educational footprint.
Connect with a member of our team to learn more about how to get involved in supporting our college.
Eleanor Copeland Weis
Senior Director of Development
Instructor
Contact me about: Campaign strategy; principal and transformational gifts; planned giving; advancement training and coaching
Dawn Cassidy
Development Operations Manager
Contact me about: Foundation accounts dashboard; dean’s advisory board; data analytics
Alecia Bryan
Director of Advancement Communication
Contact me about: Advancement and strategic communications, philanthropic corporate and foundation grants for college faculty and centers; alumni profiles and impact stories
Suzanne K Terrillion
Director of Development
Instructor
Contact me about: Major gift identification, cultivation, and solicitation; planned giving
Shannon C. Donohue
Associate Director of Development
Contact me about: Major gift cultivation and stewardship; college priorities; college special projects
Heather E Moss
Associate Director of Events and Community Engagement
Contact me about: Advancement events; alumni engagement activities; donor cultivation and stewardship events
Director of Alumni and Community Engagement
Contact me about: Alumni and community engagement and awards; alumni chapter; student scholarships
Email: chssalum@gmu.edu
The College of Humanities and Social Sciences marketing and communications team produces and implements strategic communications and marketing for CHSS departments and programs to market their degrees to potential students, to raise awareness about CHSS faculty expertise and research, and to create and maintain the brand identity for the college. We promote our faculty research, achievements, and more by creating and sharing content via the college’s website, email and print communications, and social media.
Melanie O'Brien
Director of Communications
Contact Melanie (mobrie33@gmu.edu) about news to share with the CHSS community or Mason's central communications team, support for compliance with the university's editorial style guide, and CHSS publications.
Marissa Joyce
Social Media Manager
Contact Marissa (mjoyce6@gmu.edu) if you have post requests for CHSS's official social media handles or if you need assistance with social media, social media strategy, social media training, or content creation.
Jennifer McFarland
Marketing and Communications Assistant
Contact Jen (jpiston@gmu.edu) with marketing and communications questions.
Craig Zaccaro
Associate Director of IT and Application Development
Contact Craig (czaccaro@gmu.edu) about CHSSWeb support, training and questions; EnrollChat support and questions; guidance and consultation on web and software projects.
Haroon Kakar
Web Designer/Developer
Contact Haroon (hkakar5@gmu.edu) about CHSSWeb design and development.
CHSS Finance and HR is responsible for financial stewardship of college resources. Our office works closely with departmental office managers and program managers on all hiring and other employment transactions. In addition, we assist with processing financial transactions, financial reporting, monitoring unit budgets, and supporting sponsored projects.
Kimberly S Dight
Chief Business Officer
Contact me about: Financial policies; use of college financial resources
Janice M. Cohen
Director, Finance & Research Operations
Contact me about: Chart of accounts conversion; financial policies and procedures; externally sponsored award management and reporting
Jacelyn Tyson
Director, Human Resources
Contact me about: HR policies and planning; organizational development; employee relations
Joan Mlotkowski
Human Resources Coordinator
Contact me about: Faculty/staff contracts; additional assignment letters
Lalah R Masood
HR and Finance Analyst
Contact me about: EPAFs; hiring uploads; affiliate faculty processes; journal voucher processing
Anthony DeMaio
Post Award Research Administrator
Contact me about: Externally sponsored awards in AAAS, CLS, ENGH, HIST, SIS and SOAN
African and African American Studies
Communication
Criminology, Law and Society
Cultural Studies
Economics
English
Global Affairs
Higher Education
History and Art History
Interdisciplinary Studies
Latin American Studies
Middle East and Islamic Studies
Modern and Classical Languages
Philosophy
Psychology
Religious Studies
Russian and Eurasian Studies
School of Integrative Studies
Sociology and Anthropology
Women and Gender Studies