George Mason University’s Board of Visitors (BOV) on Thursday, Feb. 27, introduced three new board members, discussed the university’s response to the recent executive orders, approved an antisemitism resolution, and provided an update on several key initiatives and future planning efforts.

The university will lean on its longstanding core values while monitoring and reacting to ongoing executive orders handed down by the White House, George Mason President Gregory Washington said.

The BOV had requested that Washington address the executive orders and the effect they are having, or could have, on the university. So far, university leaders have identified about 25 executive orders that could impact George Mason.

Washington and his leadership team have developed the George Mason Resilience Plan. The plan calls for the university to be prepared for constant change and to reprioritize as necessary, clearly articulate the common good of existing practices and programs, and to form and strengthen partnerships with industry, government and other institutions of higher education.

“First and foremost is to stay true to our core values and our North Star,” Washington said. “There are seven core values that define our institution: Our students come first. Innovation is tradition. We are careful stewards. We thrive together. Diversity is our strength. We honor freedom of thought and expression. And we act with integrity. 

“At any time when I am challenged and this institution is challenged as an entity, you refer back to those values so that you can get grounded in terms of how you should respond.”

Washington said that during the past year-and-a-half the university has extensively reviewed its systems, and an initial review of its policies and practices, the university affirms its commitment to meet all federal mandates as articulated in federal law, as well as recent executive orders and federal agency directives.

So far, the executive orders have resulted in 14 research projects out of the university’s 700 active awards being paused or ended.

“We are really trying to position ourselves for the long game,” Washington said. “We are putting in systems, mechanisms, and infrastructure to deal with the next executive order, not the current one that’s in front of us. So putting in place systems like we’ve  done with research and a number of other areas does not shield us from the effect of the executive order. But what it does do is that it helps us manage and mitigate it.”

As he does at each BOV meeting, Washington shared the progress on the presidential performance metrics, goals set for him by the board. He said that George Mason is meeting or exceeding 12 of the 14 performance metrics in the six priority areas. As part of that overview, he pointed out that the university has almost reached the halfway point of the billion-dollar goal in the Mason Now: Power the Possible comprehensive campaign, ahead of schedule, with a total of $497 million as of Feb. 17, further indication of community interest in fueling the university’s success. 

“Mason has raised over $100 million five times in its existence as a university,” Washington said. “Four of them have occurred over the last five years.”

Washington also shared findings from the university-wide Grand Challenges Committee, a group working to pinpoint the research areas in which George Mason has significant expertise and that align with global grand challenges that are likely to attract external research funding in the coming years.

“The kinds of things that will be funded are the problems that are most critical to advancing our society and most critical to our way of life,” Washington said. “We need to have our faculty aligned and positioned toward those grand challenges because that’s where the opportunity space will be.”

The committee identified six focus areas:

• Advancing 21st-Century Education for All​
• Building a Climate-Resilient Society
• Driving Responsible Digital Innovation and Sustainable Cyberinfrastructure​
• Improving Human Health, Well-Being, and Preparedness​
• Pioneering Space Exploration, Research, and Collaboration for Humanity​
• Strengthening Peace, Trust, and Engagement in Democracy​ 

“These are not just challenges that we think will be prominent in the world coming ahead of us,” Washington said. “These are challenges that are in alignment with Mason's strengths and are in alignment with our current aspirations. So these are areas [where] we know we can make an impact.”

Washington noted that the Life Sciences and Engineering Building, which will celebrate its grand opening on the Science and Technology Campus on March 27, and the Fuse building at Mason Square will be two of the university’s anchors for addressing the grand challenges.

“We are making an investment at a time when others will probably be retrenching to reposition our institution to be successful on the back end,” Washington said. “This is not new for us. We made strategic investments during COVID that positioned our institution to be stronger on the back end of COVID than it was going into it.”

Washington also provided a preview of his Mason 2050 plan that will be discussed in greater detail at the next full board meeting on May 1. The plan includes several major construction, expansion, and renovation projects for all three Virginia campuses, including a vision for the development of the western part of the Fairfax Campus, commonly referred to as West Campus. The Mason 2050 plan would utilize and build on the university’s strong partnerships with industry, government, and the philanthropy community.

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Last week, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin appointed three new members to the university’s Board of Visitors, two of whom are George Mason alumni. The new members are:

• Charles J. Cooper of Bonita Springs, Florida. He is a founding member and the chairman of Cooper & Kirk, PLLC and served as assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel under President Ronald Reagan.
• William D. Hansen, BS Economics ’87, of McLean. He is president and CEO of Building Hope, a nonprofit serving charter schools. He served as deputy secretary of education under President George W. Bush and is vice president of the Virginia State Board of Education.
• Maureen Ohlhausen, JD ’91, of Annandale. She is a partner at Wilson Sonsini and served as Federal Trade Commission (FTC) commissioner under President Barack Obama and as acting FTC chairman under President Donald Trump. She is a former adjunct professor in the Antonin Scalia Law School.

Cooper and Ohlhausen attended the BOV meeting.

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The BOV approved an antisemitism resolution with four key directives for the university. The revised resolution says the university will produce a fact sheet about antisemitism and align its antisemitism stance with other nondiscriminatory language, ensure that antisemitism is part of employee onboarding and annual training, not sponsor or endorse known antisemitic activities, and state that its policy is to prohibit discrimination based on Jewish ancestry or Israeli national origin and that allegations of such discrimination will be acted on within established disciplinary processes. 

The vote followed a robust discussion that included input from Faculty Senate President Solon Simmons on behalf of faculty on both sides of the issue as well as questions from trustees and nonvoting student body representatives.  The resolution is available in the board book posted at bov.gmu.edu.

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Marvin Lewis, assistant vice president for Athletics, presented the new athletics strategic plan to the BOV development committee, including his goal of raising $35 million to elevate the program and modernize facilities to enhance recruiting and help ensure sustained athletics success.

“Sixteen- and 18-year-old kids shop with their eyes,” Lewis said during his presentation. “So if you don't have facilities, support services, the resources to attract 16- to 18-year-old kids, it’s going to be a challenge. We are asking for support so that we can take our program from being good to great.” 

The project areas include developing a sports performance ecosystem and a Patriots Pathway Program to prepare student-athletes for successful lives and careers.

This past fall, George Mason athletes collectively achieved a 3.32 GPA, with 78 Provost scholars, a distinction for student-athletes with a 3.75 GPA or higher.

Lewis was joined at the presentation by men’s basketball player Darius Maddox, a senior majoring in integrative studies with a concentration in social justice and human rights. Maddox is the team’s leading scorer. 

“I've grown in so many ways as Mason has prepared me for life after college,” Maddox told the board. “This happened through the many experiences I had, professional relationships, mentors and leaders who have all poured into me and my experience.” 

George Mason has enjoyed success in several sports since joining the Atlantic 10 Conference in 2013, including the women’s indoor track and field team claiming the A-10 championship March 1. The men’s and women’s basketball teams are each in 2nd place in the A-10. The women’s team begins A-10 championship play at 5 p.m. Friday, March 7. The men’s team beat LaSalle Wednesday at EagleBank Arena, finishing 9-0 in conference play at home, and has clinched its first A-10 Tournament double bye in school history. 

George Mason is one of only two A-10 Conference members that has not reached at least one NCAA men’s basketball tournament since 2013. 

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Other items:

• The university has launched AI² Nexus, a new model for advancing responsible artificial intelligence across university operations, learning and research, as previously reported.
• The BOV approved a 2.5% increase in room and board for the 2025-26 academic year to help the university meet rising expenses. The increase will cost most students about $350. The 2.5% figure includes a 1.5% increase for housing and a 4% increase for dining meal plans. The 4% increase is slightly below the food Consumer Price Index.
• Andre Marshall, vice president for Research, Innovation, and Economic Impact, reported that the university again has achieved the Carnegie Classification of “very high research activity,” commonly referred to as “R1.” Less than 4% of U.S. universities earn that designation. Marshall also noted that research expenditures are up 8.9% from this time last year.
• Washington said that George Mason plans to opt in to the House v. NCAA settlement that entails compensating student-athletes.  This will result in the NCAA withholding about $400,000 per year from the university in revenue distributions for the next 10 years. Opting in will help the university recruit and retain athletic and coaching talent, be competitive nationally, and provide a compliant manner in which to deliver name, image, and likeness (NIL) benefits to George Mason student-athletes.
• The university closed the MS degree program in marketing.

The full BOV meeting recording and transcript is available at bov.gmu.edu/live/.