Mason Now: Power the Possible

The Costello College of Business at George Mason University announced a significant increase in scholarship money awarded to students—$1.3 million for the 2024-2025 academic year—$500,000 of which went to named scholarships. Over the past five years, both the total amount of scholarship funding and the number of students who have received Costello scholarships have more than doubled.

In a first for any university in the United States, visually impaired baseball players are getting a chance to step up to the plate at George Mason University. Led by a volunteer coach and University Life’s Mason Recreation and Disability Services offices, Mason’s Beep baseball initiative is gaining momentum after a successful community learn-to-play clinic last fall.

McKay is now the president of Jim McKay Chevrolet, a sponsor for many student activities and sports at George Mason, and Intercollegiate Athletics has been at the heart of her personal connection with the university. Since the mid-1990s, she’s been an avid Patriots fan, attending many men's and women's basketball games, including the ones out of town, often with her daughters and now her grandchildren.

As Virginia faces growing shortages in the health care workforce, the Claude Moore Foundation and George Mason University have formed a groundbreaking partnership to seek solutions and build a flexible, inclusive, and data-driven workforce pipeline. The effort is one designed not just to meet current needs but to shape a stronger, more equitable future for health care in the commonwealth.

The George Mason University Debate Team has stood for more than five decades as one of the nation’s premier teams and is consistently ranked among the top five programs in the country. This intercollegiate team’s legacy of excellence is built on academic rigor, accessibility, and community. It is a program that transforms students—regardless of their starting point—into confident, critical thinkers prepared to lead. 

George Mason University has announced a generous multi-year commitment from Schwab Advisor Services in partnership with the Charles Schwab Foundation to grow and strengthen George Mason’s Financial Planning and Wealth Management Program (FPWM) and to position it to meet the region’s strong demand for certified financial planners.

As of July 15, 2025, the School of Computing in George Mason's College Engineering and Computing is officially renamed the Long Nguyen and Kimmy Duong School of Computing. The school has been renamed to recognize the $20 million gift from the Kimmy Duong Foundation. The financial gift will provide scholarships to undergraduate students enrolled in degree programs offered in the school.

The George Mason assistant vice president and director of Intercollegiate Athletics recently unveiled his vision with an ambitious five-year strategic plan called “Patriots United. Together We Thrive.” The plan aims to enhance student-athlete experiences, strengthen resources, raise competitiveness, curate storytelling and engagement opportunities, and cultivate a championship culture.

Each year, Mason Nation unites for 24 hours to support the mission and vision of George Mason University. Mason Vision Day 2025 encouraged donors to support what means the most to them. They came forward in record numbers—with record-breaking results.

Long before there was a Center for the Arts, a group of community members worked diligently to help make the arts an integral part of George Mason University’s burgeoning campus life. George Mason donors play a vital role in both sustaining the arts and helping ensure its accessibility to all. They serve as advocates, championing creativity and cultural expression in ways that strengthen communities, widen perspectives, and inspire future generations. Here we highlight a few of the donors playing a role in the Mason Arts priorities in the Mason Now: Power the Possible campaign.