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Global summit looks at the future of education

Katarina Benson — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 16:17:45 +0000

Global summit looks at the future of education Katarina Benson Fri, 07/25/2025 - 12:17

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Alpaslan Özerdem, dean of �鶹��Ƶ’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, recently participated in discussions at the 2025 Global Higher Education Symposium, held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on July 18.

Özerdem was invited in his capacity as the chair of the United Nations Academic Impact Hub for Sustainable Development Goal 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions—a leadership role held by the Carter School through 2027. At the invitation-only symposium, thought leaders were discussing UNESCO’s Reimagining our futures together: A new social contract for education report, which asks three guiding questions to help envision education beyond 2050: What should we continue doing? What should we abandon? And, what needs to be creatively invented afresh?

A high-level dialogue focused on rethinking the purpose and design of higher education in light of rapid global change, Özerdem emphasized that in an era marked by political volatility and deepening societal divisions, higher education institutions must rise to the challenge of becoming credible and reliable partners to the public.

Dean Özerdem with colleagues at UN Sustainable Development Goal Hub meeting. Photo provided

“As universities, we hold a distinct and urgent responsibility—not only to foster democratic values but also to help rebuild public trust by championing truth, transparency, and the integrity of knowledge,” he said.

The symposium highlighted the potential of universities to play a far more prominent role in shaping the future. As articulated in the group’s consensus statement, “Higher education institutions can demonstrate responsible leadership that anticipates and addresses long-term individual and collective readiness for economic, environmental, and social challenges—including climate resilience, peacebuilding, and community impact.”

The SDG16 Hub is a global initiative that brings together universities, scholars, and students to advance more peaceful, just, and inclusive societies. Under the Carter School’s leadership, the hub collaborates with three vice chairs—the University of Oxford (UK), University for Peace (Costa Rica), and Narxoz University (Kazakhstan).

George �鶹��Ƶ’s engagement in this high-level platform further cements its reputation as a thought leader in peace and conflict resolution, while opening exciting new pathways for research collaboration, student engagement, and global visibility. As the first school in the United States serving as a hub chair, the Carter School represents the George �鶹��Ƶ community on the world stage and contributes to shaping the next social contract for education—one that places peace, justice, and human dignity at its core.

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Hina Kazmi: Meet the Schar School Alum Who Is Launching ‘Intro to Space Policy’

Andrew J Schappert — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 15:55:13 +0000

Hina Kazmi: Meet the Schar School Alum Who Is Launching ‘Intro to Space Policy’ Andrew J Schappert Thu, 07/17/2025 - 11:55

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Hina Kazmi: ‘We’re expanding our access to space, and it has become critical infrastructure—but what does that mean policywise?’ Photo provided

Hina Kazmi, after seeing Voyager 1’s images of Saturn: ‘I knew I was going into aerospace.’

When you ask Hina Kazmi if she would ever like to live in a colony on the moon, her answer is quick and enthusiastic.

“Oh, I would absolutely do that,” she said. “Do they need a tester for the first flight to Mars? I would do that too.”

It’s not a farfetched question to ask Kazmi. The Schar School of Policy and Government at �鶹��Ƶ adjunct professor is set to teach a new course, Introduction to Space Policy, beginning in August with the start of the 2025 fall semester. It’s one of the rare courses in the country that will bring the growing fields related to space exploration—and exploitation—into the classroom.

The course is designed to support a broad range of public policy interests, Kazmi said. Those interested in international and national security, engineering, business, public administration, and other topics will find the course useful in their academic pursuits and future careers.

“When you think of space,” she said, “you think of commercial startups and Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk launching their rockets. That’s the fun stuff. But beyond that excitement there are huge national, international, and commercial aspects to this industry.”

As more of the business of space falls into in private hands, there comes a need for clear, informed, and educated thinking on public policy, she said.

“In the past, [space activity] was government controlled, but now it’s commercially available for navigation, weather prediction, communications. We’re expanding our access to space, and it has become critical infrastructure—but what does that mean policywise?”

As an example of the field’s growth, the tiny island of Bahrain, where the Pakistan native spent her middle school years, has a space agency. “Every country now sees this as important,” she said.

Kazmi, an engineer by training who at one point was leading programs for NASA, developed a fascination for space in 1980, when the interstellar craft Voyager 1 sent its first images of Saturn back to Earth from some 800 million miles away. The astronomical event made an impression on the young scholar.

“I knew I was going into aerospace,” she said.

Kazmi earned her undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering, with a minor in mathematics, in 1993 from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona.

She also holds a master of business administration degree. After rising through the ranks in technical and management roles at major private and public aerospace leaders, she began teaching at George �鶹��Ƶ, revitalizing a dormant course in managing government contracting.

Realizing her future was in academia, she earned a master of public policy degree from the Schar School in 2008, followed by a PhD in public policy in 2016. She received the Joseph A. Fisher Award for best PhD dissertation.

“I really believe Gen Z, who is in college now, and Gen Alpha behind them will be the space generations,” she said. “Space tourism, living in space, working in space, moon colonies—all of that is happening. We’re in the very, very early stages of it.”

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George �鶹��Ƶ educators improve middle school mathematics education with data-driven decisions

Sarah Holland — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 20:50:36 +0000

George �鶹��Ƶ educators improve middle school mathematics education with data-driven decisions Sarah Holland Fri, 07/11/2025 - 16:50

Education is an ever-evolving field. With each new cohort of students, teachers must adapt to different learning preferences and needs. And at �鶹��Ƶ, researchers are developing tools and techniques to support K-12 educators and improve student outcomes.

Associate Professor Courtney Baker, MEd Curriculum and Instruction ’08, PhD in Education with a mathematics education leadership concentration ’14, specializes in mathematics education and teacher development. Her current research, initially supported by a seed grant from the College of Education and Human Development, focuses on mathematics specialists in K-12 schools and how they can best support student learning.

“It’s hard to study what’s happening with math specialists because it’s a complex phenomenon,” Baker said. Not only do their roles vary greatly from school to school, person to person; they interact with and influence both teachers and students in unique ways. “You have to understand the ecosystem.”

For the past three years, Baker has worked with Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) in Maryland to study the role of math specialists in middle school mathematics education. With four middle schools, FCPS offers a rich and diverse context for research, with math specialists bringing a wide range of experiences and fulfilling varied roles across the district.

Varier (top center) and Baker (top right) present their most recent findings to FCPS. Photo provided.

There’s history there, too. Deb Crawford, MEd Education Leadership ’92, and PhD in Education with a mathematics education leadership concentration ’15, secondary mathematics coordinator for FCPS, was in the same PhD cohort as Baker and has worked with George �鶹��Ƶ researchers on numerous other projects.

“When we first discussed the project in June 2022, our math scores weren’t where we wanted them to be,” said Crawford. “We saw this as an opportunity for growth.”

To conduct the study, Crawford and Baker recruited Divya Varier, George �鶹��Ƶ associate professor of educational psychology and research methodology, and Johnna Bolyard, PhD Education ’06, associate director of the School of Education at West Virginia University. Varier is a mixed method researcher, using both qualitative and quantitative data to evaluate how educational programs work. Bolyard served as a consultant and collaborator on the project.

For this project, they utilized surveys and interviews with teachers, math specialists, and administrators in Frederick County’s four middle schools, as well as conducted frequent data reviews to discuss their findings.

“We want to be as close to the study context as possible,” said Varier. “In research practice partnerships, that's the expectation.”

“They are very embedded in the culture of the school division,” said Crawford.

In large systems like a school district, or even a school itself , multiple factors contribute to student outcomes. Understanding context, then, is necessary in order to shape the course of the research. After an investigative first year speaking with leadership, administrators, and teachers, the team decided to narrow their research to the assessment methods used to track student comprehension and progress through the curriculum: from exit tickets to quick in-the-moment knowledge checks that provide teachers with a better sense day-to-day, minute-to-minute of how students are learning.

And because of their findings, FCPS is making changes. They committed resources to hiring dedicated math specialists for each school after the data showed improvement in student outcomes as a result. Additionally, some assessment tools have been discontinued after the results showed that the tools were not providing teachers or students with what they needed. And the data compiled throughout this project has been used to update the schools’ Comprehensive School Improvement Plans.

Baker (left) and Crawford pose with their Program That Works plaque. Photo provided.

"All of this goes toward helping students have rich, relevant, and rigorous mathematics experiences to help prepare them for the future,” said Baker.

As a testament to their dedicated and sustained work, the program was named a 2025 “Program That Works” by the Virginia Mathematics and Science Coalition. Their work is an example of how George �鶹��Ƶ is transforming education to break barriers and to create inclusive and accessible learning opportunities for the workforce of the future, empowering communities worldwide.

“Ultimately, I want members of the school community to recognize their own agency and feel empowered to contribute to research-based, data-informed decisions,” said Baker. “My hope is that they see their ability to help shift the status quo in meaningful and positive ways.”

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George �鶹��Ƶ provides soft interview room to support survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence

Lauren Reuscher — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 17:55:26 +0000

George �鶹��Ƶ provides soft interview room to support survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence Lauren Reuscher Wed, 07/09/2025 - 13:55

The �鶹��Ƶ Police Department recently installed a soft interview room on campus to support survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. With support from Project Beloved: The Molly Jane Mission, a nonprofit organization, the soft interview room provides a critical component of trauma informed care to the campus community.

Unlike a typical police interview room, a soft interview room incorporates gentle lighting, comfortable furniture, and calming decor to help interviewees feel safe and at ease.

Soft interview room. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

“This room will allow us to better understand and recognize the signs of trauma and how that may show up in individuals,” said Chelsey Ellard, director of threat assessment and intelligence analysis with �鶹��Ƶ Police. “Soft interview rooms really do make a difference for these types of investigations and can give officers a better opportunity to find justice.”

Trauma informed care is an approach used across a range of settings, including health care, social services, law enforcement, and education. The soft interview room will provide a more comfortable setting for interviewees to recall and share traumatic experiences.

The George �鶹��Ƶ Police Department was in the early stages of planning to implement a soft interview room when Ellard came upon the opportunity to collaborate with Project Beloved. Ellard learned about the nonprofit while attending training with the Virginia Sexual Assault Kit Initiative of the Virginia Office of the Attorney General. Project Beloved partners with law enforcement agencies across the United States to install soft interview rooms.

Ellard immediately reached out to Project Beloved. The project was approved and placed on a one-year waiting list. The organization designed and provided everything in the space at no cost to the university, and this June, the soft interview room on George �鶹��Ƶ’s campus was completed.

Small touches in the design of the space are meant to remind survivors of their worth. Each room includes a mirror next to a small canvas sign, which says "You Are Beloved." The message encourages survivors to remember those words as they look at their reflections.

The soft interview room at �鶹��Ƶ is the 134th room to be installed by Project Beloved. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Project Beloved was founded by Tracy Matheson, a former Fairfax County Public Schools teacher, after her daughter, Molly Jane, was a victim of sexual assault and homicide at age 22. The mission of Project Beloved is to educate, advocate, and collaborate to change the conversation about sexual assault and empower survivors to find their voices.

The new soft interview room at George �鶹��Ƶ will help the campus police do that.

”Officers stay connected with victims throughout the investigation and court process,” said Ellard. “The soft interview room will allow officers and victims to immediately develop that bond and allow victims to feel empowered to find their voice.”

Project Beloved has also installed a soft interview room at Virginia Military Institute—the only other institution of higher education to offer one in Virginia—and at 10 law enforcement agencies throughout the commonwealth.

Overall, �鶹��Ƶ is the 134th room to be installed by the organization.

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George �鶹��Ƶ faculty member helps NASA astrobiology task force shape future goals

Colleen Rich — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 15:40:55 +0000

George �鶹��Ƶ faculty member helps NASA astrobiology task force shape future goals Colleen Rich Wed, 07/02/2025 - 11:40

�鶹��Ƶ researcher Anamaria Berea was selected to serve on NASA's Decadal Astrobiology Research and Exploration Strategy (DARES) Task Force 1.

Anamaria Berea. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

This group of experts was charged with shaping the future of NASA’s astrobiology research over the following decade. As one of only 13 scientists chosen from across the United States, Berea contributed to identifying key research priorities, synthesizing community input, and guiding the development of NASA’s long-term strategy for exploring the origins, evolution, and distribution of life in the universe.

With an interdisciplinary background as a computational data scientist and artificial intelligence researcher, Berea, who is an associate professor in the Department of Computational and Data Sciences, brings a unique perspective to the task force. Most recently, she led the ASPIRE ONE Lunar Record project, a digital time capsule that preserves Earth’s cultural and scientific heritage and offers future lunar visitors a glimpse of life on Earth in the early 2020s. In March, the payload made a successful moon landing, a historic milestone for NASA’s Artemis program.

The astrobiology task force worked through more than 120 community-submitted papers to recommend nine major themes for the project. These themes, which range from detecting life on other planets to workforce and career development in astrobiology, were discussed and shared with the public at a two-day workshop in May. Phase two of the initiative will invite another task force to take these themes and compose a formalized strategy to support and advance the evolving needs of the field.

“We have rovers on Mars. We had probes on Venus to sample its atmosphere. But in the next era of space, it looks like there will be a focus on human spaceflight. And if we have humans in space, then how will this change the landscape for astrobiology research?” Berea said.

Astrobiology research has the potential to tackle some of the most profound cosmological questions humanity faces. It deeply explores the origins of life, suggesting that discovering even simple microbial life on nearby planets like Mars would fundamentally change our understanding of how life began on Earth.

These big questions capture significant attention from both the scientific community and the general public, highlighting the broad impact and importance of astrobiology research.

Read about the ASPIRE ONE Lunar Record project

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Anamaria Berea joined the Access to Excellence podcast to discuss her research on Mars settlements and Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon.

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Student-led Chesapeake Bay project showcases George �鶹��Ƶ’s commitment to environmental stewardship

Colleen Rich — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 19:32:22 +0000

Student-led Chesapeake Bay project showcases George �鶹��Ƶ’s commitment to environmental stewardship Colleen Rich Wed, 06/25/2025 - 15:32

Innovation and environmental stewardship are alive and well in �鶹��Ƶ classrooms, where students are translating ecological science into hands-on projects.

Vulcan Materials was on site to help with the concrete pouring. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

In spring 2025, students in EVPP 480 Sustainability in Action gave a crucial boost to Chesapeake Bay oysters by constructing oyster reef balls where the bivalves can attach, grow, and develop into natural reef structures. The course is co-taught by Department of Environmental Science and Policy professors and George �鶹��Ƶ alumni Dann Sklarew, PhD Environmental Science and Public Policy ’00, and Jennifer Sklarew, PhD Public Policy ’15.

Unlike species that rely on habitats created by others, oysters are the habitat. As a keystone species in the bay, their growth forms the foundation of reef structures that support a wide array of marine life.

“Oysters are critical to water filtration, carbon sequestration, and nutrient cycling,” said environmental science major Camille Larkin, who graduated with her bachelor’s degree in May. “Unfortunately, their populations have declined due to habitat degradation, disease, and overfishing.”

Larkin and classmates Noah Beck, BA Environmental and Sustainability Studies ’25; Erin Dougherty, BA Environmental and Sustainability Studies ’25; and Alex Peterson, BA Environmental Science ’25, worked together to develop the Chesapeake Bay Oyster Restoration Education Project, an interdisciplinary effort focused on habitat creation, environmental education, and community engagement.

The reef balls will take a year to cure before being place in the Chesapeake Bay. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

With support from the Patriot Green Fund, they partnered with Coastal Conservation Association Maryland (CCA) and its flagship initiative the Living Reef Action Campaign (LRAC) to host a two-day event on George �鶹��Ƶ’s Science and Technology Campus that brought together nearly 25 volunteers. Using molds provided by CCA, volunteers assembled the molds and assisted in the concrete pouring effort, courtesy of Vulcan Materials, to build 20 artificial reef structures, called oyster reef balls. The reef balls are approximately three feet high and weigh about 250 lbs. each.

“This project started with four students who asked, ‘Why stop at improving our campus when we could make a difference across the entire Chesapeake Bay?’” said Dann Sklarew. “The [reef balls] were designed with rough surfaces to enhance the attachment of oysters and other stationary estuarine organisms, creating habitats for fish, shellfish, and even dolphins that pass through the bay.”

Helping the volunteers was LRAC representative and George �鶹��Ƶ alum Jesse Howe, MEd Elementary Education ’15, assistant director of CCA. Howe has been conducting these reef-building workshops throughout the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area for several years as part of his CCA advocacy work.

Jesse Howe. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Howe said he was happy to hear from the students when they reached out to him about reef project. “I’ve always felt a strong connection with George �鶹��Ƶ and was excited to be back on campus,” he said.

After graduating from George �鶹��Ƶ, Howe taught in Latin America for nearly a decade before turning to conservation work. “This organization just really aligned with my personal values,” he said of CCA. And those teaching skills serve him well as he talks students of all ages through the steps of building the reef balls.

“It’s important work,” Howe said. “These volunteers are helping to create an ecosystem and support life in a spot of the Chesapeake Bay that has been devoid of that life for many decades.”

After the concrete structures cure for more than a year, they will be deployed at sites across the lower Potomac River and middle Chesapeake Bay and are expected to bolster oyster populations and habitat to support diverse marine life.

To extend the project’s reach, miniature versions of the reefs will be displayed on campus, alongside educational materials about oyster ecology and conservation in the Chesapeake Bay.

“We believe giving the George �鶹��Ƶ community a hands-on role in this project builds awareness and fosters a sense of personal connection to local environmental challenges,” said Dougherty.

By combining cutting-edge scientific research with community-driven action, George �鶹��Ƶ faculty and students are advancing reef science while realizing tangible restoration results.

Additional reporting by Colleen Kearney Rich.

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Groundbreaking mobile app captures and documents bruises to help survivors of interpersonal violence

mthomp7 — Thu, 05 Jun 2025 16:47:09 +0000

Groundbreaking mobile app captures and documents bruises to help survivors of interpersonal violence mthomp7 Thu, 06/05/2025 - 12:47

Anonymous donor commits additional $5.3 million to advance research

An interdisciplinary �鶹��Ƶ research team is breaking new ground in using artificial intelligence to support victims of interpersonal violence. Led by Kat Scafide and Janusz Wojtusiak of the College of Public Health and David Lattanzi of the College of Engineering and Computing, the Evidence-based AI Software for Injury Detection (EAS-ID) project has successfully completed Phase 1: development of a working prototype of a mobile app designed to accurately capture and document bruises.

The tool has the potential to transform how clinicians and frontline professionals identify, record, and communicate evidence of injury, particularly in cases of interpersonal violence.

The EAS-ID (Evidence-based AI Software for Injury Detection) project has successfully completed Phase 1: development of a working prototype of a mobile app designed to accurately capture and document bruises. An anonymous donor recently committed an additional $5.3 million to advance the technology. Photo by Mary Cunningham/College of Public Health

The EAS-ID app acts as a digital guidance system—similar to mobile check-deposit apps that help users capture clear, usable images. When a clinician uses the tablet-based tool, the app detects the presence of a bruise and provides real-time guidance to ensure the image meets clinical and legal standards. A rectangle tracks the injury area, much like facial recognition technology, ensuring the final image captures exactly what’s needed to document the bruise effectively.

The research team announced $4.85 million in initial funding from the same anonymous donor in March 2024.

“Initially, we were laser-focused on detection—how to identify whether a bruise was present,” said Scafide, a forensic nurse. “But Phase 1 taught us that detection is only a small part of the clinical and legal challenge. The real complexity lies in documentation.”

That documentation must be both clinically sound and legally reliable. Forensic nurses—the app’s initial target users—often assess injuries while juggling multiple tasks: shining a light, holding a camera, completing paperwork. The EAS-ID tool reduces that burden by enabling simultaneous photo capture and structured documentation.

The app’s workflow is tailored to the real-world conditions of forensic nursing. It walks users through a standardized documentation process built directly into the interface, making it possible to create accurate, consistent records that can hold up in court—even years later.

“The documentation that nurses create is reviewed by many others in the criminal justice system,” noted Lattanzi, a civil engineer. “It must be reliable—not a liability.”

To ensure the app meets forensic standards, the team conducted extensive focus groups with practicing forensic nurses. These sessions were crucial to understanding not just what needed to be documented, but how clinicians make decisions in real time under pressure. Their insights helped shape the app into a useful tool with intuitive guide rails and legal relevance.

Based on Phase 1 progress, the team is preparing to broaden its focus to include a wider range of users. “We’re exploring how to adapt the app for clinicians—and even nonclinicians—who don’t have a forensic background but still need to document injuries,” said Scafide.

Wojtusiak, a machine learning expert, added: “Think of it like TurboTax. You don’t need to be a CPA to file your taxes. We want to make it possible for someone who sees fewer IPV cases—or who isn’t an expert in injury documentation—to still collect reliable evidence.”

Behind the app, a powerful AI engine is being trained to distinguish bruises from other skin discolorations and guide users through appropriate documentation steps. To train the AI, the team is building a massive, diverse dataset. So far, they’ve partnered with Inova Health System and Adventist Healthcare Shady Grove Medical Center to collect tens of thousands of images across different skin tones, body types, and medical conditions.

“Deep learning requires scale—and the team has set a goal of collecting one million images,” said Wojtusiak.

This summer, the team will launch a crowdsourcing initiative to expand the dataset beyond clinical settings. “All of our current data was collected in labs, under controlled conditions,” explained Scafide. “But real-world data is messier. We need to understand what the photos and data will look like when collected by the public, outside of protocols.”

The app’s architecture was designed with that in mind. Using machine learning, the app evolves over time—each new image improves its performance. This allows for continual refinement, even after the app is deployed.

The project has moved at an unusually fast pace for an academic endeavor, thanks in part to the support of students and research assistants whose contributions have accelerated development while gaining invaluable experience. Continued progress has been made possible by a second round of funding from the same anonymous donor.

With a patent pending on the app’s innovative integration of image capture and health assessment data, the EAS-ID team is now preparing to scale development, deepen partnerships, and explore commercialization pathways.

“Our goal is to get this technology into the hands of people who need it—quickly,” said Scafide. “The faster we can deploy, the faster we can support the professionals working to protect and care for victims.”

“Think of it like TurboTax. You don’t need to be a CPA to file your taxes. We want to make it possible for someone who sees fewer IPV cases—or who isn’t an expert in injury documentation—to still collect reliable evidence.”

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Explore George �鶹��Ƶ’s Grand Challenge Initiative addressing the greatest threats to humanity’s ability to live a peaceful, healthy, prosperous, and just existence.

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Katherine Scafide, PhD, RN, FAAN

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George �鶹��Ƶ launches Grand Challenge Initiative to secure sustainable, prosperous future

Katarina Benson — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 18:45:23 +0000

George �鶹��Ƶ launches Grand Challenge Initiative to secure sustainable, prosperous future Katarina Benson Wed, 06/04/2025 - 14:45

�鶹��Ƶ has launched its Grand Challenge Initiative (GCI), a comprehensive research framework backed by an initial five-year, $15 million investment. The initiative will align university resources, faculty expertise, and educational programs around six interconnected solution areas addressing what George �鶹��Ƶ President Gregory Washington describes as “humanity’s ultimate grand challenge”—securing a peaceful, healthy, and prosperous future.

“Our world is at a crossroads,” he said. “It is time to either brace for global decline and a future that none of us want, or seize control of our destiny and work to reverse course. It will take all of us working together on all these solutions at once to alter the trajectory of our future.”

The initiative, developed through a faculty-driven task force led by Andre Marshall, vice president for research, innovation, and economic impact, focuses on six grand solutions:

Advancing 21st-century education for all
Building a climate-resilient society
Driving responsible digital innovation and sustainable infrastructure
Improving human health, well-being, and preparedness
Pioneering space exploration, research, and collaboration
Strengthening peace, trust, and engagement in democracy

In the latest episode of the Access to Excellence podcast, Marshall discusses this new initiative and how it will shape the future of our university.

“George �鶹��Ƶ is driven by discovery,” said Marshall. “This means unleashing our bold ideas from their theoretical and laboratory boundaries, thoughtfully cultivating them as they take shape, and fearlessly deploying them as innovations that will transform our lives.”

GCI will enhance educational opportunities, increase faculty talent and expertise, align current research projects, seed new proposals, and build essential infrastructure across George �鶹��Ƶ’s campuses. Working in conjunction with the university’s billion-dollar �鶹��Ƶ Now: Power the Possible campaign, the initiative seeks partnerships with government, industry, and nongovernmental organizations.

Several pioneering projects already are underway, including:

A $5 million U.S. Department of Education grant to expand the number of counselors serving high-need schools
A $1 million Google-funded cybersecurity clinic partnership with Howard University
A $6 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to help local communities become climate-resilient
A $1.78 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to improve maternal and child health through a study on environmental impacts and health outcomes
The Landolt NASA Space Mission is George �鶹��Ƶ’s first space mission and will place an artificial “star” in orbit to enhance telescope calibration
The Carter School was named a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 Hub Chair, one of only two U.S. universities selected for peace and conflict resolution

As the most innovative public university in Virginia according to U.S. News & World Report rankings for two consecutive years, George �鶹��Ƶ continues to expand its research footprint and economic impact across the commonwealth.

A media tool kit for the George �鶹��Ƶ community is currently being developed. This will include graphics, Powerpoint slides, and email signatures, and it will be made available on the GCI website.

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George �鶹��Ƶ awarded $5 million from U.S. Department of Education to increase school counselors in high-need schools

Katarina Benson — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 16:03:50 +0000

George �鶹��Ƶ awarded $5 million from U.S. Department of Education to increase school counselors in high-need schools Katarina Benson Wed, 06/04/2025 - 12:03

A faculty team from several programs within the School of Education at �鶹��Ƶ has been awarded a U.S. Department of Education grant to train mental health services providers in Manassas City Public Schools. The grant is part of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to expand student access to mental health services in high-need K-12 public schools.

The training initiative supported by this award, “School Based Mental Health Alliance,” is centered on a partnership that includes George �鶹��Ƶ, Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA), and the Manassas City Public Schools district. Funding under this award will approach $5 million ($4,976,702) over five years.

Principal investigator Sam Steen, a professor in George �鶹��Ƶ’s Counseling Program, is leading a multidisciplinary team that includes co-principal investigators Erik Hines, also a professor in the Counseling Program, and Elizabeth Levine Brown, an associate professor affiliated with both the Elementary Education and the Educational Psychology Programs. Other members of the team include faculty members Diane Reese and Victoria Stone of the Counseling Program; Khaseem Davis of Georgetown University; Mia Hines, interim executive director of George �鶹��Ƶ’s Early Identification Program; Richmond Hill, provost at NOVA’s Woodbridge Campus; Duhita Mahatmya, University of Iowa; and representatives from the Manassas City Public Schools district.

The significant resources provided under this grant will directly benefit Manassas City Public Schools by increasing the number of school counselors who possess expanded clinical training.

Many school districts across the country are facing an increased need for student mental health services in the aftermath of the disruption caused by the pandemic. At the same time, school districts are struggling to find trained mental health professionals to deliver these services, Steen said.

“It used to be that school counselors went into school settings and used their clinical training to help students with things like course selection, academic enhancement, college and career readiness, and development of their social emotional learning skills. That is no longer enough,” said Steen. “School counselors today are handling a much wider variety of issues that are showing up in our schools and communities daily.”

Brown pointed out that while many programs focus on those individuals entering the school counseling profession, this award provides opportunities for continued learning for in-service counselors already working in the school system.

“There has been a workforce shortage of high-quality school counselors that enter the schools and stay in schools because of the caseload increases we have seen,” Brown said. “This grant is unique in that it addresses the training of both pre-service and in-service counselors, and it is that element of the award that will help build systemic capacity in school-based mental health services.”

George �鶹��Ƶ’s graduate certificate program in counseling will provide retraining for approximately 21 counselors now employed in the Manassas City Public Schools division. Upon completing the certificate, these in-service counselors will have broader clinical training that will enable them to deliver high-quality mental health services to students and make them eligible for licensure in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

“Our hope is that eventually these students will work in high-need school districts, such as Manassas City Schools or other schools throughout the Commonwealth,” said Brown.

In other partnership activities, faculty are working closely with NOVA representatives in developing an accelerated degree pathway for eligible students, which would allow them to matriculate into a bachelor’s and then a master’s program in counseling at George �鶹��Ƶ.

Hines said that to assist with sustainability of this project, George �鶹��Ƶ must create multiple pathways to the counseling profession, such as developing a bachelor’s to accelerated master’s degree program. “We include NOVA and George �鶹��Ƶ’s EIP students so they can start as early as their junior year in advancing through the School Counseling Program.”

This project will train about 60 mental health service providers. Approximately 30 pre-service counselors and 30 in-service counselors currently working in Manassas City Public Schools will receive certification required for full Virginia licensure. Students (pre-service counselors) recruited to participate in this training initiative will complete their required practicum and internship onsite at one of Manassas City’s nine public schools.

Participants will receive some financial and professional incentives from the funds provided under the grant. Upon completion of program requirements, individuals may receive a signing bonus or retention payment if they commit to work in a Manassas City public school or another high-need school in Virginia.

Should counseling positions within the Manassas City school district fill to capacity, the research team is confident that graduates will be able to find similar positions at one of the 20 Region IV school divisions that partner with George �鶹��Ƶ through the Educational Research Alliance of Northern Virginia, a research-practice partnership forum.

Through the resources provided under this grant, Steen believes this work with help close the gap in student access to comprehensive mental health services delivered by school counselors in the Manassas City Public Schools.

Topics

Research

K-12 Partnerships

GCI-Grand Challenge Initiative

Podcast: A Future We Want: One Grand Challenge. Six Grand Solutions

Sarah Holland — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 17:33:12 +0000

Podcast: A Future We Want: One Grand Challenge. Six Grand Solutions Sarah Holland Tue, 06/03/2025 - 13:33

Our world is at a crossroads. Meeting this moment requires unprecedented action to create the future we want for our planet. As one of the top-tier research universities in the country, George �鶹��Ƶ has announced an important new direction for research at our university: The Grand Challenge Initiative.

Drawing on our roots as the university that overcame adversity to become the nation’s youngest-ever R1 institution—and one whose sponsored research funding has grown 64 percent since 2020—the Grand Challenge Initiative is George �鶹��Ƶ’s university-wide strategy to sharpen our focus on humanity’s most pressing issues while maximizing our competitiveness for external research funding.

For this episode of Access to Excellence, Andre Marshall, vice president for research, innovation, and economic impact at George �鶹��Ƶ, joins President Gregory Washington to discuss this new initiative and how it will shape the future of our university.

Read the transcript

Intro (00:04):
Trailblazers in research; innovators in technology; and those who simply have a good story: all make up the fabric that is �鶹��Ƶ. We're taking on the grand challenges that face our students, graduates; inand higher education is our mission and our passion. Hosted by �鶹��Ƶ President Gregory Washington, this is the Access to Excellence podcast.

President Gregory Washington (00:27):
Our world is at a crossroads. It is time either to brace ourselves for an era of global decline and a future that none of us would choose for ourselves, or it's time to seize back control of our destiny and work together to reverse course. Meeting this moment requires unprecedented action to create the future we want for our planet. As one of the top tier research universities in the country, George �鶹��Ƶ has announced an important and bold new direction for our university and for research. Drawing on our roots as a university that overcame adversity to become the youngest R1 institution and one who sponsors research funding has grown significantly more than 64% since 2020, we are launching a university-wide strategy to sharpen our focus on humanity's most pressing issues while maximizing our competitiveness for a dwindling external research funding opportunities. We call it our Grand Challenge Initiative.

President Gregory Washington (01:29):
It will take all of us working together across schools, colleges, and disciplines at �鶹��Ƶ, in partnership with research partners in our region and throughout the world to determine the course for our collective future. So today we're gonna talk about it. We're gonna dive into this with Andre Marshall, vice President for research innovation and economic impact. In his role as the university senior research officer Andre, who joined George �鶹��Ƶ in 2021, provides overall leadership for the portfolio of research innovation and economic development activities. Prior to George �鶹��Ƶ, Andre served in leadership positions at the National Science Foundation and at the University of Maryland College Park. He is the recipient of the NSF Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering (PECASE), which is one of the most prestigious awards a young faculty member can achieve. And he's also the recipient of the Philip Thomas Medal of Excellence. And his research has been supported by national and international funding. Andre, thanks for joining us today.

Andre Marshall (02:36):
Thank you for having me. I can't tell you how excited I am to be here.

President Gregory Washington (02:40):
Outstanding. Well, look, I talked about the grand challenge issue, but you know, we often get the question, what is a grand challenge? So, given that this is a big part of your portfolio going forward, I'm asking you what's a grand challenge?

Andre Marshall (02:55):
Alright, well we spent really a lot of time thinking about this and for �鶹��Ƶ, from our perspective, the Grand Challenge Initiative, it's all about the future. And specifically as we thought about kind of what that means to operationalize this, we developed four criteria for what a grand challenge is. So a grand challenge is large and enduring. And what we mean by that is we are not trying to solve the little problems. As you say, we are focused on the big rocks and we're not looking for quick fixes. Alright? We want to have a solution that lasts.

President Gregory Washington (03:37):
Give me an example. Not one of our solutions, but give me a specific example of a grand challenge.

Andre Marshall (03:43):
A grand challenge that comes to mind would be a cure for sickle cell, for example.

President Gregory Washington (03:50):
Okay.

Andre Marshall (03:50):
You know, that challenge impacts people globally. There's a lot of suffering associated with that. It, it changes people's lives. And so if you can address those kinds of issues, you can really make a difference. And guess what? It's big. And if you solve it, you've solved it. And that's what I mean by, you know, doing something that is big and enduring. You know, also a grand challenge is complex and it requires people from not just across the, the university, but it requires external partners. So what we mean by, you know, this kind of complex, interdisciplinary, and external partner criterion is that you can't do it alone, right? You need people, the problem is bigger than just you. Alright, so we got grand challenges that are big and they endure and they require multiple partners.

Andre Marshall (04:58):
Um, and now let's talk about this third criterion. And this is focused on �鶹��Ƶ. Look, we need to focus on challenges that we can really do something about and that aligns with our strengths, our assets, and our core values. So we want things that mean something to �鶹��Ƶ in terms of our values and our expertise and strengths. And then finally, this fourth criterion is that we want to move the needle and to make a difference. So we don't want our, our our activities to just be a drop in the bucket. The things that we work on, they're going to really make a change. They're not just going to be additive. And so we have to be careful about the problems that we choose and the challenges that we choose so that they're aligned with our strengths and that we can really do something.

President Gregory Washington (05:57):
So we have world class faculty focused on a whole host of issues, right? From poverty to health, to engineering and science. How would you recommend we focus our effort? I know you, you had a committee, this committee has met for a significant period of time, some of our best and brightest faculty, and you all tackled this issue. So talk a little bit about deploying our resources and focus.

Andre Marshall (06:24):
I appreciate that question and I appreciate the intentionality of this question. We really need to deploy our resources. We need to deploy our entire research enterprise for action and for impact, especially considering all the headwinds that we have right now. We've got, uh, resource limitations in terms of research. We have increased competition for talent and resources, and we have changing priorities in the research landscape to, to be frank. And so we have to be intentional about how we're gonna deploy our resources and our research enterprise. Well, our faculty, they're committed to making a difference. So we, we need to honor that they are committed to having an impact and changing the world. So, you know, that's our foundation. That we want to do something, that the faculty care about, that they're good at that is really gonna make a difference. So we put together, uh, as you mentioned this committee, we talked about so many different possibilities of what we could do. There were 84 different ideas that came up.

President Gregory Washington (07:42):
So there, so there was a big focusing effort that happened to get it down to six.

Andre Marshall (07:47):
To get it down to six. There were 84 different ideas. And those were sourced not just from the faculty, their networks, the external community. We revisited those criteria that I mentioned. We kind of synthesized those 84 into groups. And then we did what's called the SOAR analysis, where we looked at strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and the kinds of results that we wanted in order to get things down a little further. And when we put everything together, we came up with some thrust areas. Alright? These thrust areas, they reflected our values, they reflected our strengths, they reflected things that the faculty and the researchers and our students could get excited about. They were things that could make a difference. And I'm not gonna tell you the six right now.

President Gregory Washington (08:43):
Yeah, yeah. We, we, I'm--

Andre Marshall (08:44):
Not, I'm not, I'm gonna tell you why I'm not gonna tell you.

President Gregory Washington (08:46):
No, no, no. We'll get in there. We'll get into that later.

Andre Marshall (08:48):
No, but I, I just wanna say this: a big piece of it was the money. Alright? So I want you, you asked about resources. And so during this whole conversation, I got a lot of pressure. It's like we're doing, we're doing all this work, we're being thoughtful, but are we gonna have the resources to actually do something? And I'm so proud to say that in addition to having the ideas, this effort in order to really deploy it, as you mentioned, has some resources behind it that are significant. And the fact that there's some resources that back up these ideas makes all the difference.

President Gregory Washington (09:30):
So speaking of resources, there's a lot of uncertainty right now with federal funding for research that all universities are experiencing, right? We've seen caps on overhead. Uh, we've seen reductions and grants for a whole myriad of reasons. It's started with a DEI framework, but it's gone way beyond that. I think a lot of people, so--

Andre Marshall (09:52):
You're talking about why I get up at two in the morning.

President Gregory Washington (09:54):
<laugh>. Exactly. So, so I think a lot of people would be wondering why double down and make an investment in the research space right now, given all of the uncertainty.

Andre Marshall (10:05):
So President Washington, we really have you to thank for that. So I'm following your lead. I can remember, you know, more than a year ago now, you actually introducing the idea that federal funding, federal resources are gonna decline. And we need to be ready for that. We need to be thinking about what are the most important problems for us to focus our efforts on. And so, �鶹��Ƶ, as we often are, we are ahead of the, the curve on this one. We're organized, we have some focus areas, we have some resources behind this. And even in this declining landscape, we've got a long-term plan. You mentioned the stresses that are on our research enterprise right now. The budget cuts, the DEI concerns, the politics. Research is about so much more than that. Research is about discovery. It's about new knowledge, and ultimately it's about societal benefit and making the world a better place. And so we're not gonna focus on these distractions. We have to be aware of them, but we're not gonna focus on that. We're focused on the long game here. And this Grand Challenge Initiative gives us something to look forward to. It's a bright spot. It helps focus us from the distractions. We are leading on this because we're not so focused on some of these distractions, and it gives us an opportunity to set ourselves apart.

President Gregory Washington (11:45):
Well, I think that's the key issue. At a time when people are, for lack of a better way of putting this retrenching, we are going to be investing.

Andre Marshall (11:56):
That's right.

President Gregory Washington (11:56):
It follows the, the Warren Buffet adage. Warren Buffet says, look, when <laugh>, when others are greedy, be afraid. And when others are afraid, be greedy. Right? And so that is the framework, that is the, the rationale for making these investments and making them now. So access to research, whether it's support for faculty or hands-on experiences for our students, is a huge driver at George �鶹��Ƶ. How could faculty get involved in the initiative?

Andre Marshall (12:28):
I'm gonna say our faculty are already involved in the initiative. When the committee was formed, we looked at broad representation from the faculty. We looked at senior faculty from across the academic units. I talked to deans about the faculty that would be good for this. We even had deans on the committee. We had junior faculty on the committee as well. So their voices have already been heard in shaping the very beginning of this. And we are just at the very beginning, there's gonna be so much more that comes out of this initiative. It it, it really does frame what our research is gonna look like strategically for the next five to 10 years here at �鶹��Ƶ. And as the effort grows, we'll engage a broader community of faculty. In fact, we're very intentional about that. We've already identified champions, grand challenge champions, that are going out throughout the university and helping people to understand more about the solution areas and the opportunities for investment and connecting.

Andre Marshall (13:50):
We're looking for faculty that can start thinking about integrating their research into these thrust areas. So they're already out there, right? And while we are doing the outreach, faculty can already be thinking, you know what? There's this grand challenge area here. I know I'm doing something in this area or adjacent to it. How can I use this Grand Challenge Initiative to amplify that? There was this wonderful Dear Patriots letter that went out at the end of April. So the students and the faculty and everyone knows about that, can start thinking about integrating some of this grand challenge activity into their curriculum, into their classes. And what I love about this is, at its core Grand Challenge Initiative is a research effort. And as we mature as a research intensive university, we should be thinking more about really nucleating our activities around research. So having these classroom activities that are kind of, uh, built around or inspired by some major research things is super exciting. They can start thinking about the facilities and infrastructure that they might need in order to really move the needle in some of these spaces. And our solution areas are broad. And so thinking about how they might collaborate across disciplines and who their peers will be or, or could be in these solution areas will be great. And in the future, in the fall, we're gonna have, you know, some structured events and activities that can really help our faculty and student community get more engaged.

President Gregory Washington (15:39):
Okay. Well let's talk about these six areas. So there are six areas of investment that in, in my opinion, are areas of grand challenge need in the country, right? Actually globally. And these are areas where we have key significant expertise, right? We have both. So one: advancing 21st century education for all. Two: building a climate resilient society. Three: driving responsible digital innovation and sustainable infrastructure. Four: improving human health, wellbeing and preparedness. Five: preparing for space exploration, research and collaboration. And six: strengthening peace, trust and engagement in democracy. Those are the six grand challenge areas. I think they're outstanding. Let's talk through a couple of them and highlight some of the big areas that we believe we have expertise and we will touch society in these general areas. So first, let's talk about advancing 21st century education for all. Can you talk a little bit about how the committee came to that conclusion of, of a grand challenge?

Andre Marshall (17:06):
�鶹��Ƶ is big. We have over 40,000 students. And so one of the biggest advantages, some of the biggest benefits that we offer is education, workforce development to our to our region and to the country. We know how to do that at scale. And that accessing 21st century education for all is about transforming education, breaking barriers to drive inclusivity and access and creating the workforce of the future. So, okay, we do things at scale. We care about education, we care about access, and we care about the future. And things are changing so rapidly in the technology space. And that's where I want to kind of talk a little bit about intersectionality. And so we've got this wonderful new initiative in AI, right? And we are looking at the future and how some of these technologies, whether it's AI or whether it's quantum, is gonna change the workforce of the future. And are there going to be opportunities for everyone in this rapidly changing landscape? And so we can bring our scale, we can bring our, our commitment to access and our research know-how in these emerging areas like quantum, like AI, like others, all together in order to do something that's relevant and impactful, like 21st century education for all,

President Gregory Washington (18:48):
There is a digital divide in the country. And we have experts that are focused in that space right? Where bridging the gap with students who have access to technology and connectivity and those who don't, teacher shortages, right? There are teacher shortages all over the country. We're one of the largest producers of educators in this region, not just in our state. A third of all the teachers in Northern Virginia are �鶹��Ƶ educated and 50% of all the leadership, right? But then there are issues like curriculum relevance, student mental health, assessment and standardization. These are all areas that I feel that our faculty are well positioned to actually tackle. And I think we're gonna have great outcomes relative to this.

Andre Marshall (19:34):
I I can give you one, one example, you know? Uh, in the research space, we just had Professor Kaya, who's an elementary education professor. She is working on this digital divide, just like you mentioned, just received a million dollars from NSF to cultivate AI literacy through inclusive linguistics and integrated elementary curriculum and educational robotics.

President Gregory Washington (20:03):
Oh, that's amazing.

Andre Marshall (20:04):
Yeah. So, so we're doing it.

President Gregory Washington (20:06):
So another one of these areas is this whole area of building a climate resilient society. And then this is an area where we actually have a significant number of outstanding scholars. And so let me highlight what I see in this area, and then you can talk specifically about what the committee, uh, dealt with in terms of their focused efforts. When we talk about climate resilience, we are talking about climate resilient energy systems, right? And that means strengthening the systems to respond and recover to climate related disasters, uh, you know, more effectively and quickly. Right? You know, we can argue about what's causing the climate change, which is what we tend to be doing in this country now. Or we could really be focused on what do we do when 40 major storms hit our country in a year causing widespread destruction and loss of life.

President Gregory Washington (20:57):
Uh, how do we rebuild systems that are resilient to what's coming of the fact that our climate has changed, you know, for lack of a better way of putting it, people will argue over whether climate change is caused by man or is caused by nature. But what they're not arguing over <laugh> is the fact that our climate is changing, right? You know, people see the, the storms, they see the wildfires, they're experiencing this. It is so prevalent and so frequent that you actually can't deny that aspect. And so, uh, building systems that are resilient to these climate change, that's, that's one area where we know we have expertise and where we have strength. And then there's issues of community preparedness that's ensuring that vulnerable communities have the resources, knowledge and support to adapt to the actual changing climate, right? And so I see a whole host of areas plus others, right, where we actually have significant expertise. Talk a little bit about the committee and what the committee thoughts were as it relates to these issues.

Andre Marshall (22:01):
So we knew that we have, and we know that we have strength in those areas. And the committee spent quite a bit of time discussing our strengths in these areas and how to pull them together into a narrative that we could put forward, but we were worried about putting it forward. Because of the word climate.

President Gregory Washington (22:24):
Interesting.

Andre Marshall (22:25):
And we spent quite a bit of time talking about this. And in the end, we know that this is an important solution to the problem of and challenge of creating the future we want, and it's aligned with our values and our strengths and we move forward with it. I'd like to pull some of the things together that you mentioned in terms of how big this could be and how much �鶹��Ƶ could do in this area.

President Gregory Washington (22:59):
Okay.

Andre Marshall (22:59):
You talked about infrastructure resilience, you talked about community resilience. We have an amazing team of climate forecasters who are experts in computational fluid dynamics also. And you can pull all of that together.

President Gregory Washington (23:17):
Right? And, and, and not to mention the climate communications folks.

Andre Marshall (23:21):
Ah, it's an excellent point.

President Gregory Washington (23:22):
Who, when you talk about engaging communities, right? When we talk about this whole aspect of community preparedness, ensuring that vulnerable communities have the resources, knowledge, and support to adapt, right? That's all about how you get information to people and how you do it in a high quality and accessible fashion, right? Let me talk a little bit about probably the <laugh>, the one that's probably most controversial, right? And that is grand challenges, uh, relative to what we're doing in the area of peace, trust and engagement in democracy. Peace, trust and engagement in democracy. Because in my opinion, the political climate in the country is really changing our ability to be successful in many of the other areas, right? Because the political climate is affecting our funding, and that funding affects how we tackle all of the other grand challenges. So we gotta deal with it. We gotta talk about it, right? And so, so what kind of challenges are we talking about here? The erosion of trust. There's clearly declining public trust in democratic institutions. We actually have the faculty here who could study, who can analyze that. And that's declining trust in democratic institutions. There's declining trust in the media. Uh, the <laugh> declining trust in higher education...

Andre Marshall (24:44):
<laugh>

President Gregory Washington (24:45):
Where, where, where we sit. And so we have faculty who are working in that space. We have people that are working in this general area of disinformation and misinformation, right? Uh, we have faculty who are studying that. And the whole idea of the spread of false or misleading information, and that's amplified right now by social media and, and bringing in and, uh, those aspects of social media and understanding and helping people to understand what kind of tools and systems we need to have in place to thwart that and to ensure that the public is actually getting accurate and actionable information.

Andre Marshall (25:21):
Yeah. These are great points. And again, our strengths and our values are aligned with this. And we have international clout in this space.

Andre Marshall (25:32):
We just received or we were just designated as the UN Hub for Sustainable Development Goal 16, which focuses on peace, trust and strong institutions. So we have an international position here that we can build on for moving the needle in that space. And that is through our Carter School of Peace and Conflict Resolution. But we'll draw on all of the centers and academic units to, to fields of study to support this. One thing that comes to mind is some of the nice work that Max Albanese, uh, does in the area of election security. So I wanna make this point, whether we're talking about these areas like strengthening peace, trust, and engagement in democracy, or building a climate resilient society. Many of the activities that we've been talking about, they're what you need to build an ecosystem, okay? When you're talking about these areas, we can't think of 'em like, oh, we have just a few strong faculty, or we've got some great infrastructure. We are looking at building ecosystems around these communities of experts and partners and networks and infrastructure and projects and programs that span research and education all in this thrust area. Because when you have that network and that infrastructure and the talent all there activated, that's when you can move the needle in a space. And that's what we're trying to buy.

President Gregory Washington (27:13):
This is, this is good. There's so many areas in this space where we have really strong expertise, voter suppression, electoral integrity, we got experts there. We got folk who are focused in dealing with this issue of political polarization. Even, uh, when it comes to technology and surveillance. So if you think about that, you know, these are, you got these digital tools and they can empower citizens, right? But they, they also raise concerns about privacy, about surveillance, and about algorithmic bias in these systems, right? And, you know, we have this whole AI initiative with this AI group that's really strong. But the reality is that group has a focus in, uh, for lack of a better way of putting this, AI and integrity, right?

Andre Marshall (27:59):
Yes.

President Gregory Washington (28:00):
AI and ethics.

Andre Marshall (28:00):
Yes.

President Gregory Washington (28:02):
That's where this technology piece intersects with the political realm and having folk looking at the ethical questions and the ethics of AI and focused in that area, I think we run the possibility of being able to change, uh, outcomes, uh, relative to that space.

Andre Marshall (28:21):
Yeah.

President Gregory Washington (28:21):
And then finally looking at authoritarianism and democratic backsliding, right? We have expertise in that space. And so the reality is that some countries elected leaders are weakening democratic checks and balances. They're restricting freedom of the press and they're eroding judicial independence. Being able to look at that and look into the effect that that will have on societies in general, even on our own, is critical as we, as we move forward. And so I think these are the right six areas. I know we didn't have time to get into all six of them, but you all chose an outstanding set. We haven't even began to talk about some of the more fun ones like space exploration, right? You know? Well, so why is that important? Because if we screw this thing up on this planet, we need to find another one to go to. <Laugh>. Right. But all kidding, all kidding aside, these are the right areas for focus. I think that we're, we're gonna do really, really well with these, and I look forward to the great outcomes that our faculty will achieve in the space.

Andre Marshall (29:34):
So thanks, uh, for saying that President Washington, I'm really excited about where we're gonna go and I'm most excited about having a plan and a good plan that we all can get behind and row in the same direction and focus on the future and not be worried about all of the things that we can't do anything about right now.

President Gregory Washington (30:01):
So before we close, talk about your next steps. We have this entity in place now. It's been approved, we've allocated some resources to it. And so what are some of the next steps as you roll this out?

Andre Marshall (30:16):
So there are really three things that I'd like everybody to think about as we move forward. We're raising awareness, we're driving engagement, and we're making investments. Those are the three things that we're doing. So the email that you sent out at the end of April really kicked off the Grand Challenge Initiative. And people are already contacting me about how can they get involved, what can I do right now to begin to work on this, to be a part of the solution? I'll give you an example. Young man contacted me who's president of AIAA: the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics. And he says, I can't tell you how excited I am. I think he saw that space

President Gregory Washington (31:05):
<laugh>. He did.

Andre Marshall (31:06):
He saw that space solution, you know?

President Gregory Washington (31:08):
Yeah. He saw that one in, he, he just couldn't, uh, resist. We got it.

Andre Marshall (31:14):
<laugh>. So, but, but here's a point. This, to be candid, is exactly what I was hoping for, right? When people see research opportunities and opportunities for investment, oftentimes there's this very narrow view like, oh, okay, there's gonna be a seed funding opportunity. I'm gonna write a proposal and I'm gonna get, you know, a little bit of support to catalyze a research area. And we're gonna do that. Okay? But we have our entire community now. We have a student organization that's connected to a national network that's thinking about our grand challenge solution area in space. Could they do a student competition? Could they host a national or international student competition at �鶹��Ƶ? Might they want to write a proposal for that? Again, there are ecosystems that I'm talking about.

President Gregory Washington (32:13):
So step one is awareness. What's the next step?

Andre Marshall (32:15):
Driving engagement. We have champions in each one of these thrust areas that are developing briefs that kind of serve as our roadmap or our foundation of what each challenge is about. And those champions are writing those up and then they're gonna visit local academic units. They're going to convene their networks and partners and stakeholders with our help. There'll be large meetings in the fall where we get everyone together and our external networks and really help people understand what's possible with this grand challenge opportunity. And to make sure that people are imagining what can happen. And the thing that I didn't mention that I need to in the, uh, raising awareness space and driving engagement space is at the end of this month, we're sending out a request for information--an RFI--and it's just like an idea solicitation. We just want people to just write us and tell us what they're thinking about, what they think they could do, alright, in the grand challenge.

President Gregory Washington (33:24):
That's a good step.

Andre Marshall (33:25):
We'll collect all these ideas and that's gonna help us with these events early in the fall to organize people because we'll already know what they're thinking and we can build on their thoughts and add our own. And we'll be able to have relevant conversations in the fall based on all these ideas.

President Gregory Washington (33:47):
And what's the, last, the last step,

Andre Marshall (33:49):
That's the money piece: making investments. We have an investment committee. That's looking at putting together a solicitation of sorts that our community and stakeholders can apply to for funding. And that's gonna be informed by the RFI. It's gonna be informed by our community on exactly what these investments may look like. We're thinking that the investments might be really high level at the institutional level. They could be at the team level or even at the individual level working that out.

President Gregory Washington (34:26):
Well that's great. Well, look, this is big and I want to thank you and all of the research faculty, staff, and students who are working so hard already on these bold solutions. Every day we read new awards, new outcomes, new discoveries, and they're outstanding. And I know George �鶹��Ƶ research is a major reason why students come to the university. Every year we get more and more applications because we are creating the access, the affordability, the flexibility, and the opportunity for people to achieve great things by solving problems like the ones we've outlined today. And that leads to a successful career and a successful life. So I am just ecstatic about where we're going with this, and I look forward to great things that come.

Andre Marshall (35:16):
Thanks so much, President Washington. I really appreciate the time, uh, that you spent the visibility that you're giving this important initiative, and I'm happy to be connected to it. Thank you.

President Gregory Washington (35:26):
Outstanding. I am George �鶹��Ƶ, president Gregory Washington. Thanks for listening. And tune in next time for more conversations that show why we are all together different.

Outro (35:42):
If you like what you heard on this podcast, go to podcast.gmu.edu. For more of Gregory Washington's conversations with the thought leaders, experts, and educators who take on the grand challenges facing our students, graduates and higher education. That's podcast.gmu.edu.

We are looking at building ecosystems around these communities of experts and partners and networks and infrastructure and projects and programs that span research and education all in this thrust area. Because when you have that network and that infrastructure and the talent all there activated, that's when you can move the needle in a space. — Andre Marshall

Be a part of the solution with our Grand Challenge Initiative

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