diversity equity and inclusion DEI

School of Art Faculty Chawky Frenn presented 'We The People' series at the Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Conference

Pam Muirheid — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 20:29:49 +0000

School of Art Faculty Chawky Frenn presented 'We The People' series at the Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Conference Pam Muirheid Thu, 01/26/2023 - 15:29

In This Story

Chawky Frenn

Gregory Washington

School of Art Faculty Chawky Frenn participated in and presented a poster from his We The People series at the Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence (ARIE) Conference at George Mason University.

On such an important day, where we encourage our Mason School of Art community to get out and VOTE we are proud to highlight Mason School of Art Faculty Chawky Frenn who participated and presented a poster from his WE THE PEOPLE series at the Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence (ARIE) Conference at George Mason University.

Chawky Frenn, is a Lebanese-American painter, educator, author, and recipient of the 2017 Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Award inNew Delhi, India. Frenn fled his war-torn country and emigrated to the United States, a beacon for democracy and the pinnacle of human rights, in 1981.

According to Frenn, “Through years of living and observing American ideals and politics, I’ve learned that even in the Land of the Free human rights were always fought for, never given by the ruling powers.”

In a decade-long research and creative practice, Frenn produced We the People,a series of 107 mixed-media paintings on posters of the Constitution. Inspired by our times, this seriesis a platform to reflect on issues affecting all of us: national identity, the influence of money on policy and politics, perpetual wars, struggles of Native Americans, African Americans, women, veterans, LGBTQIA+ communities, prisoners, immigrants, and refugees for human rights.

We the People does not encompass a simple political motive but extends a social, civic, humanist, and even ethical agenda. The impact of money on democracy, liberty, and social justice and the struggles for human rights are at once timely and timeless, local and universal.

Frenn believes art is a powerful catalyst for change by presenting repressed perspectives on critical issues of our time. Social justice and human rights inspire his work, a voice for peace, hope, and tolerance.

View the full post here!

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School of Art

ARIE

diversity equity and inclusion DEI

Conference draws faculty, students to Mason Square to share a vision for an inclusive, anti-racist future

Colleen Rich — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 21:02:42 +0000

Conference draws faculty, students to Mason Square to share a vision for an inclusive, anti-racist future Colleen Rich Wed, 10/26/2022 - 17:02

George Mason University’s first Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence (ARIE) Conference celebrated both the impact of research and the shared goal of shaping a more equitable future.

The Research Panel: Conducting Research through and Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Lens. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

“There’s so much research happening today—and this is the beauty of this conference,” said keynote speaker Gail Christopher, executive director of the National Collaborative for Health Equity and a senior scholar in Mason’s Center for the Advancement of Well-Being. “We can do the research to change the narrative to drive new stories, to amplify those new stories, to demystify and refute the fallacies. Research is an important part of getting rid of antiquated beliefs.”

More than 400 people attended the Monday conference either at Mason Square or virtually. Sharnnia Artis, Mason’s vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion, marked the event as a milestone for one of Mason President Gregory Washington’s signature objectives. Artis, who facilitated the Mason groups that planned the conference, also served as emcee.

Washington launched ARIE within weeks of arriving at Mason in July 2020 to root out any biases in Mason practices and policies with the ambition that Mason would become a national exemplar for inclusive excellence. Mason is the seventh most diverse public university in the country—and the most diverse public university in Virginia— according to U.S. News & World Report.

Anne M. Kress, president of Northern Virginia Community College (left) with Mason's Sharnnia Artis. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

“There is a generation coming behind us—68 million people of the most diverse group of individuals that this country has ever had,” Washington said in opening the afternoon session of the conference. “They’re going to inherit the country, and they’re going to have to know how to deal with an environment that’s diverse. They need to be prepared to deal with one another.”

Washington later welcomed Northern Virginia Community College President Anne M. Kress and Virginia State University President Makola Abdullah for a presidential panel on advancing anti-racism and inclusive excellence in higher education.

The morning panel focused on conducting research through that lens. It featured three Mason professors and panelists from Harvard and Virginia Commonwealth University.

Charles Chavis, director of Mason’s John Mitchell Jr. Program for History, Justice and Race, noted that he had returned the previous day from a research trip with students to the Maryland Eastern Shore to work with descendants of racial violence. He talked about treating research subjects as collaborators and partners and empowering them to tell their own story.

Mason students shared their research during the poster session. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

“I see what we do as service first,” Chavis said. “And in that service our research needs and our research focus really is birthed out of the expressed needs of those we’re serving.”

During that morning panel, Jerome Offord Jr., Harvard associate university librarian for anti-racism, said he isn’t looking for allies in the cause. He’s looking for “co-conspirators.” That term caught on in the room came up throughout the day.

“This is not just a BIPOC issue,” Offord said. “This is an us issue. I need people who are going to take the risk professionally, personally, academically. People have to be willing to be in the front of the center conversation with me, not in a break room supporting me, not sending me emails saying ‘great job.’”

On an afternoon panel about translating research into action, Mason professor of integrative studies and history Wendi Manuel-Scott used the Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial as an example. The memorial, dedicated earlier this year, came about after five students set out to learn more about the people George Mason IV enslaved at Gunston Hall.

Manuel-Scott said that early in her teaching career she used to get “blank eyes” from students when she talked to them about civil rights actions.

Mason President Gregory Washington chats with students during the poster session. Photo by Stephanie Aaronson/Office of University Branding

“Today, I don’t get blank eyes,” she said. “Students are incredibly engaged and passionate and fearless. That is everything. Don’t lose that audacity, don’t lose that courageous spirit. Continue to ask those questions. Because the memorial that you see today would not exist if our students hadn’t been willing to ask the questions that they asked and challenge us as faculty members to step up.”

Student and faculty researchers across disciplines displayed about 40 posters highlighting research related to anti-racism and inclusive excellence.

Christopher noted that it takes more than passion to eradicate racism. It requires realistic strategy and creativity to assess the challenges, particularly in the age of disinformation.

“It’s a matter of grace and it’s a matter of love and understanding that we’re all on this journey, and we’re each at different places,” Christopher said. “There are extremes, and some people will stay at their extreme no matter what. But there is a wide swath in the middle, and our job is to mobilize that middle and to do so with great intention.”

Topics

Campus News

ARIE

President's Task Force on Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence

diversity equity and inclusion DEI

Student Research

Strategic Direction

Team of Mason researchers win NSF ADVANCE Catalyst grant for STEM programs

Colleen Rich — Mon, 29 Aug 2022 19:07:48 +0000

Team of Mason researchers win NSF ADVANCE Catalyst grant for STEM programs Colleen Rich Mon, 08/29/2022 - 15:07

A team of George Mason University employees dedicated to building and maintaining more diverse faculty and staff has secured a National Science Foundation (NSF) ADVANCE Catalyst grant for just under $300,000 to help them with the process.

From left, Mason faculty Tehama Lopez Bunyasi, Jaime Lester, Girum Urgessa, Milagros Rivera, and Leigh McCue Weil. Photo by Anthony Bahizi

Team members for this project include Milagros Rivera, director of faculty diversity, inclusion and well-being, Office of the Provost; Jaime R. Lester, associate dean of faculty affairs, strategic initiatives, College of Humanities and Social Sciences; Kim Eby, vice provost for faculty affairs and development, Office of the Provost; Girum Urgessa, associate professor of civil, environmental and infrastructure engineering, College of Engineering and Computing (CEC); Leigh McCue-Weil, associate professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, CEC; and Tehama M. López Bunyasi, associate professor in the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution.

“I called for a group of people from science, engineering, and social sciences to have discussions about how we could frame the potential grant,” said Rivera.

This diverse group of scholars conducts multidisciplinary research that helped secure the grant, which was submitted in June 2021. In February 2022, they were asked to respond to technical questions from reviewers before the official notification of award was received in May.

Illustration by Getty Images

The grant marks the first step of a long-term project. “This is try number three and five years in the making, so we’re pretty excited that we were finally able to secure the grant,” said Lester.

NSF has three types of grants: Catalyst, Adaptation, and Institutional Transformation. Catalyst, the smallest of the grants, funds university research that will lead to innovative ideas and bigger grants to implement the ideas.

The goal of this grant program is to advance representation of women in higher education science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs and careers. For more than two decades, the NSF has invested millions of dollars to support these catalyst-funded projects at more than 100 institutions of higher education and STEM-related nonprofit organizations.

“Winning this coveted grant signals to the nation that George Mason University is an R1 institution that is serious about dismantling barriers to greatness,” said López Bunyasi. “It’s committed to preparing its diverse student body for the immense challenges that lie ahead.”

The team's research will focus on increasing diversity among faculty within Mason’s STEM programs. This research will also contribute to work begun with President Gregory Washington’s Task Force on Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence initiative.

Currently, the faculty/staff demographics of Mason lag behind the diversity of the student body.

“Our numbers are low. Black faculty is not quite 6%, and Latinx faculty is not even 4%,” said Rivera. Approaching the lack of diversity among STEM faculty at a systemic level is how the catalyst-funded project plans to implement new equitable policies.

Although the grant is exclusively focused on faculty diversity, students will benefit in the long run. “Our students cannot be what they cannot see, and having more STEM faculty diversity will certainly be a motivating factor for them to pursue STEM fields, as well as for pursuing academic careers,” Urgessa said.

The team will focus on three general areas during their research: institutional culture, recruitment and hiring, and equity.

“Universities are ecosystems, you have different things supporting one another,” Rivera said. “When we improve institutional barriers that impede the recruitment and retention of diverse faculty, there are outcomes at the student level.”

The grant will reside in the Office of the Provost.

“Even though the grant is for STEM, the best practices really apply to the entire university. The result of having an ADVANCE grant is that it has a broader impact,” said Rivera.

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Office of the Provost

President's Task Force on Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence

diversity equity and inclusion DEI

Research

Mason Lighting the Way: Deion Maith

Colleen Rich — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 19:46:58 +0000

Mason Lighting the Way: Deion Maith Colleen Rich Wed, 01/12/2022 - 14:46

Mason Lighting the Way

Spotlights from the Task Force

More than 130 faculty, staff and students are working on George Mason University’s Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Task Force, which is taking a hard look at the current state of diversity and inclusivity efforts at the university and making recommendations for the future.

These individuals come from across our campuses and bring their different skill sets and expertise to this work. In this series, we will spotlight members of the task force and find out what drives them.

Mason graduate student Deion Maith. Photo provided

Deion Maith

Graduate student, Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Social Justice and Human Rights

Committee: Student Voice

George Mason University graduate student Deion Maith said he will never forget July 13, 2013, when he heard on the radio that George Zimmerman had been acquitted of killing Trayvon Martin.

“That sparked my fire,” said Maith, a native of Heathsville (in Virginia’s Northern Neck), “knowing that Trayvon could have been me or my younger brother.”

He began researching scholars like James Baldwin, Jane Elliott, and others who have contributed so much to the academic body of work on social justice and human rights.

When he had the opportunity to meet Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin’s mother, at the 2018 Sojourner Truth Lecture at Mason, Maith recounted his reaction to her son’s murder. She shook his hand firmly and told him: “Don’t ever lose that fire. You are our future and don’t let anyone ever tell you different.”

Maith joined Mason’s Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence (ARIE) Task Force because he thinks it’s important to share lived experiences with other students and faculty/staff.

“It’s an amazing opportunity to voice the concerns of students who look like me,” he said. “I’ve always been eager to have a seat at the table where conversation turns into action, and I’m hopeful that the task force can accomplish just that.”

Maith, who graduated from Mason with a bachelor’s in integrative studies in 2020, is former president and student advisor of Collegiate Black Men; former undersecretary for Contemporary Student Services, Student Government; and former secretary and student advisor for Mason’s Chapter of NAACP. He’s also been involved with the Black Student Alliance, the Black Male Success Initiative, and the School of Integrative Studies Peer Ambassadors.

“The main goal of the Student Voice Committee is to make sure we’re effectively receiving feedback from students and figuring out the best way to reach them,” said Maith. Committee members are meeting with registered student organizations and their members, and working with student-focused offices.

Maith said he’s been pleasantly surprised by the feedback the task force has received from the university community. “Although there has been some backlash, I believe there has been more positivity than anything,” Maith said.

Maith’s work with the task force motivated him to pursue a graduate assistant position in Mason’s Center for Culture, Equity, and Empowerment (formally ODIME), where T. Garey Davis, assistant director of coalition building and diversity education, has served as a mentor.

Maith said Davis is passionate about optimizing the student experience for everyone, but especially students who belong to historically marginalized groups, and together they have built a team to improve Black male success at Mason.

“Promoting social justice and human rights doesn’t exclude anyone,” he said. “It includes everyone no matter your race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, etc. But we must self-reflect and take accountability for the ways in which we benefit and contribute to systematic and institutional racism to move forward.”

Maith has accepted a role at Cooley LLP in Washington, D.C., a Fortune 500 global law firm. After he graduates this fall, he plans to pursue a law degree at Howard University.

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Students

Alumni

President's Task Force on Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence

School of Integrative Studies

Center for Culture Equity and Empowerment

diversity equity and inclusion DEI

College of Visual and Performing Arts