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In its first year, Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s Accelerated College and Employability Skills (ACCESS) Academy is already demonstrating strong indicators of demand, academic rigor, and early student achievement. Interest in the program has grown rapidly. For the 2026-27 admissions cycle, ACCESS received 387 applications from ninth graders, nearly double the 193 applications submitted the previous year.

Colleges and universities face significant demographic, financial, technological, and political changes that affect enrollment, tuition and financial aid, athletics programs, and career outcomes. The institutions that will succeed in the future are the ones today transforming their operational models and establishing robust alliances across sectors. 

Gabrielle Tayac, an associate professor in the Department of History and Art History in the College of Humanities of Social Sciences, has received a grant from NPS to lead Phase Two of Tribal Nations and the Revolutionary War, a community-driven research project that will examine the Revolutionary War and its aftermath from the perspectives of tribal nations.

With a new grant from Prince William County, Â鶹ÊÓƵ kinesiology professor Joel Martin is leading a comprehensive yearlong study to uncover whether the Fire and Rescue Department’s Work Performance Exam (WPE) truly mirrors the grueling realities of firefighting. By tracking everything from metabolic strain to air consumption, the project aims to refine the test and strengthen the scientific foundation behind firefighter readiness standards.

Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s leadership in advancing 21st-century education took another leap forward this month when several university researchers were named to a statewide project exploring the impact of generative artificial intelligence (AI) on teaching and learning in higher education classrooms.

Â鶹ÊÓƵ Korea's Industry–University Collaboration Foundation is taking its defense capabilities to the next level. They recently signed a memorandum of understanding with two major Korean players, the Association of the Republic of Korea Army and the Defense Information and Communication Association. Together, they'll work on developing advanced defense information and communications technology (ICT) and command, control, communications, computing, cyber, and intelligence (C5I) systems.

Connected DMV has announced that Â鶹ÊÓƵ, one of the nation’s most innovative and fastest-growing public research universities, will serve as the Lead Academic Partner for spaceNEXT, the inaugural global convening focused on the commercialization of space and a flagship program of Connected DMV’s Potomac Center for the New Space Economy. 

Social science researcher Iulia Fratlia and social work student Bryce Neuman will implement an action plan to increase walkability with funding from the Virginia Walkability Action Institute.

In partnership with Children’s National Hospital, Â鶹ÊÓƵ scientists have discovered a new way to detect early signs of kidney damage in childhood patients with Sickle Cell Disease. Atwo-year $200,000 grant from the Commonwealth Health Research Board will support this work.

George Â鶹ÊÓƵ  has partnered with the Fairfax County Health Department to provide current FCHD employees with the opportunity to complete public health certificates. Some employees are going a step further and earning their master’s degrees in public health fields.