College of Humanities and Social Sciences

During her final semester at George Mason University, Sophia Colby put her environmental policy training into action. Colby traveled to Capitol Hill as part of the Rachel Carson Council’s National Environmental Advocacy Day, where she met with federal lawmakers to discuss climate legislation and community resilience.

As a freshman, George Mason University Honors College student Marley Oare chose the Global Affairs Program because she pictured herself working for the CIA or the United Nations. That quickly changed when she took a natural science course in her first semester.

George Mason University global affairs major Noella Mongony has received second prize in the Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics essay contest, the Elie Wiesel Foundation has announced.

George Mason University senior Silas Fransen plans to pursue a career as a museum curator. And thanks to the university’s Office of Student Creative Activities and Research (OSCAR), the art history major already has one exhibit to his name. 

George Mason alumna Ashley Fortner, BS Integrative Studies ’17, is the caretaker of the new baby elephant Linh Mai at the National Zoo.

George Mason University professor and poet Vivek Narayanan and alumna Jessica Anthony, MFA Creative Writing ’04, have been named 2026 Guggenheim Fellows. 

This year, Graduate Student Life and Graduate and Professional Student Association (GAPSA) created a brand new award to recognize the individuals, offices, and organizations across the university who work tirelessly to advance graduate student success and well-being at George Mason University. The purpose of the Graduate Student Champion Awards is to celebrate the champions who support the success and well-being of graduate and professional students at George Mason and to cultivate and elevate a university-wide culture of graduate student support and success.to cultivate and elevate a university-wide culture of graduate student support and success.

Clinical Assistant Professor Danielle Dufresne is the associate center director at George Mason University's Center for Community Mental Health (CCMH) and April Employee of the Month. A member of George Mason’s Psychology Department since 2019, Dufresne is responsible for training new clinicians and overseeing every psychological/behavioral/cognitive assessment at the Fairfax-based center.

Department of English Professor Emeritus Don Gallehr, the first George Mason University professor to teach more than 50 years at the university, died on March 7 at his home in Warrenton, Virginia. He was 84.

Near the Italian town of Bormio, visitors can ride a mountain cable car to take in a breathtaking panorama from a café perched near the peak. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Special Agent Mohamed Hassan, BA Religious Studies ’20, who was a field liaison officer during the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Games, recounts taking a break from supporting Team USA to sip a cappuccino alongside Olympians: “Everyone was really interested in what everyone's there to do…. Everyone's motivating one another.”