By Michael Eberhart, Staff Writer
Three new members join the Mason Board of Visitors
The George Mason Board of Visitors added three new members over the summer:
- Horace Blackman graduated from Mason in 1993 before receiving his MBA from the University of Virginia. He is now Senior Vice President at Leidos’ Health Group and was recognized by FedHealthIT Magazine earlier this year for his work with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
- Anjan Chimaladinne earned his second master’s degree from Mason in 2010. He is Vice President of Operations at Anshul LLC and has served on Governor McAuliffe’s Information Technology Advisory Council.
- Nancy Gibson Prowitt is President and COO of Alcalde & Fay, a D.C. lobbying firm. She has previous experience as Regional Communications Manager for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and recently served as President of the Arlington Women’s Civic Alliance.
New chair and Eminent Scholar joins Department of Bioengineering
The Department of Bioengineering welcomed its new chair and Eminent Scholar, Michael Buschmann, who started on August 1st. An internationally-respected researcher in the field of tissue regeneration, Buschmann established a multi-disciplinary research program at Montreal’s Ecole Polytechnique. His team was responsible for creating new implants and diagnostic instruments used to repair cartilage in damaged knee joints. More recently, he helped create a new class of drugs to treat kidney disease using RNA-delivered nanoparticles. Buschmann’s new lab and research team at Mason will be housed at the Science and Technology Campus.
School of Music gifted $1 million to fund new scholarships
The School of Music received a $1 million donation to fund scholarships for incoming students from longtime Mason supporter, Sidney Dewberry. The gift will fund five years of scholarships for undergraduate and graduate recipients beginning in the fall of 2018. Mr. Dewberry is a founding member of the Volgenau School’s Civil Engineering Institute and previously served as Rector on the Board of Visitors and chaired the Board of Trustees. Students who receive the new scholarships will be known as “Linda Apple Monson Scholars,” named after the director of Mason’s School of Music.
Construction updates:
New Peterson Family Health Sciences Hall opens for CHSS
The College of Health and Human Services will be moving into the newly opened Peterson Family Health Sciences Hall this semester. The five story, 165,000 square-foot building on Patriot Circle and Aquia Creek Lane is the largest facility on Mason’s Fairfax campus. It will house a health clinic, nutrition kitchen, retail space, classrooms and offices for six different academic departments. Former parking Lot H has been removed to provide green space and an amphitheater for the new structure. Faculty and staff will be moving in over the fall, and classes will begin for students in the new building starting in the spring semester.
New sticker required for handicapped parking spaces on campus
Mason students and employees will now be required to display a disabled parking sticker issued by Parking Services when using handicapped spaces on university property. Vehicles will also need to display a valid parking permit and a handicapped license plate or placard issued by the DMV.
