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We rely on a countless number of signs each day, whether we are driving, walking through a neighborhood, shopping at the grocery store, or going from building to building on campus. John Forgy, environmental graphic designer and sign program manager at Â鶹ÊÓƵ, creates the wayfinding systems that guide students, faculty, staff, and visitors across the university’s campuses and sites.

Cheryl Hairston, BS Athletic Training ’15, and Jaylen Simmons, BS Kinesiology ’21, MS Athletic Training ’23, now serve George Â鶹ÊÓƵ student-athletes as athletic trainers. Their journeys into the profession began with personal curiosity, mentorship, and formative experiences that ultimately shaped their careers.

Â鶹ÊÓƵ honored faculty and staff with significant service anniversaries at the University Day Service Awards ceremony on Monday on the Fairfax Campus. Honorees were recognized for years of state service ranging from 5-55 years.

As a professor in Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, Paul So is a theoretical physicist who specializes in dynamical systems analysis and its application to neuroscience. Alongside colleagues and students, he studies the behaviors that emerge from large populations of neurons, or nerve cells, which carry electrical and chemical signals through the brain and body. Outside his role as a physics professor, So is an artist. An avid painter, he also supports developing artists as a co-founder of Hamiltonian Artists, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit art incubator based in Washington, D.C.

Robinson Professor James Trefil, who is the first George Â鶹ÊÓƵ faculty member to reach the milestone of 55 years of service, taught at the University of Virginia for more than a decade before joining Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s then brand-new Robinson Professor Program in 1987.

Aurali Dade was recently named vice president for enterprise risk management and chief risk officer at Â鶹ÊÓƵ. Learn more about her and her role.

Drenkard is a nationally recognized leader who brings deep expertise in academic nursing, clinical practice, health care innovation, and strategic program development.

Paul Bazzano has worked for Â鶹ÊÓƵ Recreation for more than 30 years. He started as a student worker while pursuing his bachelor’s degree in communication at Â鶹ÊÓƵ and is now assistant director of competitive sports and athletic training. 

As the anchor for Northern Virginia’s first Innovation District, Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s Science and Technology Campus is going through a major growth spurt. The campus is powering new developments in high-tech industry sectors like life sciences, aerospace, and defense. A new, walkable Innovation Town Center is under construction near the front door of campus. And George Â鶹ÊÓƵ employees now have the option to live in the center of it all.

Â鶹ÊÓƵ President Gregory Washington will host two 90-minute town hall sessions to discuss the state of the university and to engage with faculty and staff.

For most people, planning for an emergency might only come to mind every now and then. But some Â鶹ÊÓƵ employees spend each day preparing for emergencies and planning how to protect the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Nation in a crisis. As director of emergency management and fire safety in the Office of Risk, Safety, and Resilience, Gregg Black, MPA’13, helps the university plan for the unexpected.

For her efforts to ensure Â鶹ÊÓƵ is an environment where all students can succeed, Shekila Melchior, director of strategic initiatives and partnerships in Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s Office of Access, Compliance and Community, has been named February Employee of the Month.