Gregory Washington

The Hylton Center Celebrates Successful 15th Anniversary Gala

Kirstin Franko — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 17:54:29 +0000

The Hylton Center Celebrates Successful 15th Anniversary Gala Kirstin Franko Wed, 04/30/2025 - 13:54

In This Story

The Hylton Performing Arts Center hosted its 15th Anniversary Gala on Saturday, April 26, celebrating 15 years of artistic excellence in Manassas and throughout the Northern Virginia region. The event welcomed 237 guests and raised $162,500 in support for the Hylton Center’s artistic programming, Veterans and the Arts Initiative, and Education Initiative.

Ten percent of net proceeds will also fund the Hylton Center’s Endowment, and funds raised through the Gala contribute to �鶹��Ƶ’s �鶹��Ƶ Now: Power the Possible, a university-wide comprehensive one-billion-dollar fundraising campaign.

Rick Davis, dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts and executive director of the Hylton Performing Arts Center; Sam Hill; Lillian Hill; Gala Honoree Marion Wall; Deborah Johnson, LaToya Asia Smith, Gala Honoree Dominion Energy; Jason Hickman, Presenting Sponsor Compton & Duling; Gregory Washington, president of �鶹��Ƶ. Photo by Sean Kelley.

The Hylton Center’s 15th Anniversary Gala festivities began at 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 26, with a cocktail reception in the Didlake Grand Foyer, featuring a French 75 signature cocktail crafted by MurLarkey Distilled Spirits. Guests then enjoyed an elegant dinner on Merchant Hall stage, which was catered by Susan Gage Caterers, before the evening’s program commenced.

Rick Davis, executive director of the Hylton Center and dean of �鶹��Ƶ’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA), opened the program with a dimming of the lights in memory of William Reeder, founding dean of CVPA, who passed away on April 12 and whose visionary leadership enabled the creation of the Hylton Performing Arts Center.

In a video presentation, Dean Davis and other important figures from the community looked back at the beginnings of the Hylton Center and toward its promising future. “As we celebrate 15 years at the Hylton Center, we envision continued growth in the quality, the quantity, and the impact of the arts that we create here, and the arts we present," Davis said. "Everything that we do at the Hylton Center is a testament to the vitality of having a world-class performing arts center right in your community.”

President of �鶹��Ƶ Gregory Washington speaks to the guests.
Photo by Sean Kelley.

George �鶹��Ƶ President Gregory Washington built on Davis’s remarks, “The Hylton Performing Arts Center is a crucial component of George �鶹��Ƶ’s broader role as a cultural hub for the region, a talent incubator for our students, and a gathering place for so many in our community. I’m proud to join in celebrating 15 impactful years of creativity and innovation in the arts, and express my deepest gratitude to the leaders, staff, and supporters who have brought us to this milestone anniversary.”

The honoree tribute was dedicated to Marion Wall and Dominion Energy, two longtime champions of the Hylton Performing Arts Center. Wall was celebrated as a steadfast supporter since the Hylton Center’s earliest days, who played a pivotal role in the planning, development, and ongoing success of the venue. Dominion Energy was recognized for making a profound impact on the cultural landscape of Northern Virginia, including investment in George �鶹��Ƶ’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, programs like the Veterans and the Arts Initiative, and other benefits to ensure accessible arts experiences for all.

The event also included a live auction of unique arts experiences, Raise Your Paddle fundraiser, and wine-and-whiskey pull in support of the Veterans and the Arts Initiative, which offers free workshops and concerts for local Veterans, Servicemembers, their families, and community members. These activities raised more than $27,000 for the Veterans and the Arts Initiative, continuing the celebration of its 10-year anniversary and its mission of creativity and service.

Champagne skirt performer recognizing Gala Presenting Sponsor Compton & Duling.
Photo by Sean Kelley.

The evening closed in a lively fashion with an after-party that featured a mix of George �鶹��Ƶ students and professional musicians in a 10-piece swing band from �鶹��Ƶ Music Productions, a swing dance experience led by dancers from Gottaswing, a champagne skirt performer from Carbone Entertainment, and a Blackberry Sage Smash cocktail crafted by MurLarkey Distilled Spirits.

The Hylton Center’s 15th Anniversary Gala was supported by many regional businesses and individual donors, including Presenting Sponsor Compton & Duling, L.C., Cocktail Reception Sponsor Appliance Connection, Live Auction Sponsor United Bank, Raise Your Paddle Sponsor Todos Supermarket, Wine Pull Sponsor Whitlock Wealth, and Wine Sponsor Thomas Sabal and Daniel Tucciarone. Other generous sponsors of this year’s event included: City of Manassas; Rick Davis and Julie Thompson; Didlake; Dominion Energy; ECU Communications; �鶹��Ƶ Foundation; Carolyn Hays and Jeff Burke; The Law Office of Sheyna Nicole Burt, PLC; Micron Technology; Potomac Health Foundation; Sentara Health; Stanley Martin; UVA Community Health; Wall Foundation; and Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley, & Walsh, P.C.

To view additional images from the event visit the 15th Anniversary photo gallery.

Niyati Dhokai, program director of the Veterans and the Arts Initiative confirming the impact of the program on the military-connected community. Photo by Sean Kelley.

Some of the notable guests in attendance included: Mayor of the City of Manassas Michelle Davis-Younger; Virginia State Senator Jeremy McPike and Sharon McPike; Virginia Delegates Briana Sewell, Ian Lovejoy, Josh Thomas, and Luke Torian; Manassas City Councilmembers Theresa Coates Ellis, Tom Osina, Ralph Smith, Ashely Hutson, and Mark Wolfe; Manassas City Manager and Hylton Center Executive Board Member, Steve Burke and Cary Burke; Prince William Board of County Supervisors Vice Chair Andrea Bailey and Reverend Cozy Bailey; Prince William Board of County Supervisors, Neabsco District Supervisor Victor Angry and Woodbridge District Supervisor Margaret Franklin; Managing Member of Compton & Duling, LC Jason Hickman; Vice President and Site Executive of Micron Technology Virginia Delbert Parks; President of Pitkin’s Home Center Sarah Pitkin; Vanderpool, Frostick & Nishanian, P.C. President V. Rick Nishanian and Nunik Nishanian; Todos Supermarkets Owner Carlos Castro; President and CEO of NOVEC, Kristen Senechal; President of Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center, Jeff Joyner; Senior Policy Advisory of Nelson Mulling and Hylton Center Executive Board Member Rod Hall and Lena Hall; Artistic Director of Manassas Ballet Theatre Amy Wolfe; Hylton Center Executive Board Chair Sheyna Burt; Hylton Center Executive Board Vice Chair Joyce Connery; Hylton Center Executive Board Member the Honorable Ann Wheeler and John Wheeler; and Hylton Center Executive Board Member Gayle Whitlock and Bennett Whitlock, and Hylton Center Executive Board Member Kris Nohe and Martin Nohe.

Interested in contributing to ensure the success of the next 15 years of the Hylton Center? Explore ways to give on the Hylton Center website.

Enjoy a video from the event, celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the Veterans and the Arts Initiative.

Topics

Hylton Performing Arts Center

Hylton Center

Rick Davis

Gregory Washington

veterans and the arts

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

�鶹��Ƶ Arts

�鶹��Ƶ Now: Power the Possible

Campus News

philanthropy

Washington Business Journal: "�鶹��Ƶ finally turns 50 — and hits a serious growth spurt"

Kristin Heydt — Tue, 31 May 2022 19:50:18 +0000

Washington Business Journal: "�鶹��Ƶ finally turns 50 — and hits a serious growth spurt" Kristin Heydt Tue, 05/31/2022 - 15:50

"Before �鶹��Ƶ started building new labs for engineering students in Manassas, before it coached and mentored more than 100 new startup companies in Fairfax, before it set up a campus in South Korea’s Songdo, or broke ground on a new space in Arlington to collaborate with the likes of Amazon.com Inc., it was just a single building.

One lone building in 1957. And 17 students enrolled through the University of Virginia.

Eventually, UVa. would procure 150 acres from the not-yet-incorporated town of Fairfax to spin off and plant GMU’s main hub there in 1959. Thirteen years later, the Fairfax university’s status reached the desk of former Virginia Gov. Linwood Holton, who signed legislation April 7, 1972, establishing �鶹��Ƶ as an independent public university.

Topics

�鶹��Ƶ in the Media

Gregory Washington

�鶹��Ƶ Enterprise Center

Economic Development

President Gregory Washington's Investiture Address

Melanie Balog — Thu, 21 Oct 2021 19:51:46 +0000

President Gregory Washington's Investiture Address Melanie Balog Thu, 10/21/2021 - 15:51

In This Story

Gregory Washington

Remarks as prepared for delivery

Rector Hazel, members of the Board of Visitors, fellow university presidents, �鶹��Ƶ students, staff, and faculty, honored guests, community members, and my family – thank you for your warm welcome.

I stand here on the shoulders of others who came before me, two of whom are represented here today. Thank you for honoring us with your presence Dr. Angel Cabrera, and Eric Merten, who is representing his late father, Dr. Alan Merten. And we owe a debt of gratitude to Anne Holton for her exemplary leadership as interim president.

It is one of the greatest honors of my life to be invested as the eighth president of �鶹��Ƶ. Even after I arrived in the summer of 2020, it has been a long walk to this day.

On February 24, 2020, when I accepted the offer of a lifetime to become President of �鶹��Ƶ, I did so in a world that no longer exists. On that day, the top story in The Washington Post was about the coronavirus – but it was in South Korea and Italy, far away from us. US unemployment was at 3.5 percent. And George Floyd was still alive.

By July 1, my first day in office, all that had changed. COVID-19 had driven us into lockdown, unemployment reached levels not seen since the Great Depression, and the recent murder of George Floyd forced the beginning of a fiery reckoning for racial injustices that communities of color have endured for centuries.

The very first question I received from a reporter was not about the pandemic, or our calamitous budget crisis. No, my first media question was whether I would change the name of �鶹��Ƶ. Welcome to the new job!

So, we had many more questions than answers:

Could we keep students on track for graduation and post-college success?

Could we hold them financially harmless while many of them experienced their own financial crises?

Could we pivot from a familiar, traditional approach to instruction, to an online or hybrid model, without sacrificing quality – and flip the entire university overnight?

There were no easy answers. To borrow from Winston Churchill, we were forced to choose the worst possible solutions … except for all the others.

And yet, we have shown that the answer to all those questions was YES.

Yes – we graduated our largest, most diverse class ever. We grew enrollment 2.1%. Our students performed. Please give them a round of applause.

Yes – we transformed the campus to accommodate either fully remote, in-person, or hybrid formats for more than 10,000 course sections. Research grew by 8%. Our faculty performed. Please give them a round of applause.

Yes – we went from a $109 million deficit to a modest fund balance at the end of FY 21. We gave faculty and staff an average 5% raise. And we did it all without raising undergraduate tuition.

Yes – our staff implemented best-in-class COVID protocols that included our own, faculty and staff-created, rapid-return, large-scale COVID testing system. We opened our Fairfax and Manassas campuses to host mass-vaccination centers, while deploying our College of Health and Human Services mobile clinics into vulnerable communities to offer vaccinations. Most of this was accomplished with �鶹��Ƶ staff and faculty volunteers.

We administered more than 110,000 vaccines to the public, and we took compassionate care of our students who were with us in quarantine and isolation. Our staff truly performed. Please give them a round of applause.

There’s an old saying in the South: “If you see a frog at the top of a flagpole, you know he didn’t get there by himself.”

I would be remiss if I did not thank our federal and state leaders, who offered bipartisan support to keep students in school, and faculty and staff in jobs, through emergency relief funding to support operations and offer financial aid.

Our alumni and supporters also deserve our gratitude for helping us to our 3^rd-best fundraising year on record. Our Board of Visitors and Board of Trustees helped lead us into the future.

Students, Virginia’s leaders care about you. Please give our alumni leaders, donors, and government leaders a round of applause.

And I, too, have had plenty of help. It started with the greatest example of hard work, tenacity, and steadfastness that I have ever experienced – in my mother. She had me at a very young age, but she continued to work hard raising us and making sure we had what we needed for success, sometimes working as many three jobs – and no less than two – even when she was in school.

That’s right, she went back to school, and she received her first degree in the same year I received my last! She is why I understand the full power of education.

And last but not least, I continue to have the best support system that anyone can have starting with my wife, Nicole. She has been at the core of every major decision that I have ever made. She has been a friend, a confidant, and my true partner.

The support I get from Nicole is bolstered by my sons, Joshua and Kaleb, my extended family, my church family, and my Pastor. They are all here today. I would not be here without all of you. THANK YOU!

As a community, we have made our way through the darkness and the uncertainty, and in doing so we discovered who we are and what we are capable of. We discovered that we are indeed Patriots in every positive sense of the word.

We understand better what it NOW means to be a Patriot. But this is not new for �鶹��Ƶ.

Of all the four-year institutions in our state, it was not expected that we would be in this position of strength. But in our relatively short lifespan, we became America’s youngest-ever R1 university. We currently manage the nation’s fastest-growing public research portfolio. We are Virginia’s largest public university, its most diverse, and its most innovative.

And we did all of this with none of the advantages offered to institutions of our size and stature.

We have never received as many state dollars per student as our older, smaller sister institutions. We have no medical school to accelerate our research portfolio. And we have no billion-dollar-plus endowment to draw from. Believe me, I’ve looked, and continue to look…

We are not here because we insisted on being HIGHLY SELECTIVE in who we enroll. We are here because we are HIGHLY INCLUSIVE.

We are here because we did things that no one thought we could do, but didn’t bother to tell us. So, we just did them.

And we are here because we dream big and ACT ON our dreams.

We are passionate.

Purpose-driven.

And drawn to causes larger than ourselves.

We are Patriots.

And now what lies ahead?

Virginia is not just the cradle of America’s democracy. It is the cradle of the nation’s higher education, as well. The Commonwealth has always been known for great higher education institutions. It started in 1683 with the founding of the College of William and Mary.

Dr. Katherine Rowe, President of William and Mary, is here with us today. Thank you for being here.

William and Mary formed the basis of higher education in this country, and out of that great institution came Old Dominion University, Christopher Newport University, and Richard Bland College.

The next great institution in the state was the University of Virginia. The original governing Board of Visitors included Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe.

Monroe was the sitting President of the United States at the time of its founding, and earlier presidents Jefferson and Madison were the first two rectors. Out of this great institution came the University of Mary Washington.

Dr. Troy Paino, President of Mary Washington, is here with us today. Thank you for being here.

Most recently, the other great university to spring from UVA was, of course, �鶹��Ƶ. Along the way, other great institutions were founded in Virginia, as well.

Why the history lesson? Because throughout our history great institutions have flourished because they were positioned for success by the right people at the right time and their curricula and offerings met critical needs for the state and nation.

I contend to you that NOW IS MASON’S TIME.

No other institution in our state is better positioned to address the three great challenges that lie before the nation:

The first great challenge is the transition to a fully multicultural America. And with that I mean, our nation will be without an ethnic majority by mid-century. �鶹��Ƶ already has no ethnic group comprising more than 50%.

Who will be better prepared to lead?

An institution with diversity integrated to its core?

Or one that predominantly serves one ethnic group?

One that already looks like America’s future?

Or one that looks more like its past?

It’s �鶹��Ƶ’s time.

The second great challenge is the massive economic transformation now underway. Technology brought on this sea change, and the pandemic has greatly accelerated it.

Automation and machine learning are now predicted to render drivers, bankers, accountants, paralegals, translators, even newspaper reporters and air traffic controllers – some 47% of the current US job market – vulnerable to extinction within 10 years.

On the other hand, healthcare workers, data analysts, software developers, and cybersecurity experts are going to be in high demand.

Today, for every 5 million unemployed people in the job market, there are 6 million unfilled jobs. And the situation is getting worse.

Virginia and the nation require institutions that can rapidly realign our emerging workforce with the evolving needs the economy.

�鶹��Ƶ is the most innovative institution in our state. In recent years, we have created more new academic programs, than all the other Virginia institutions combined. And we have the discipline to close programs when it is necessary to move on.

It’s �鶹��Ƶ’s time.

The final challenge we must prepare for is to tackle multiple simultaneous grand challenges, starting with the climate crisis and its relationship to all other threats.

Today’s students have a task before them that is as daunting as the challenges of another generation, a century ago. They endured the Great Depression, only to fight World War II, then Korea, then the Cold War. They won them all, and literally saved the world. For that, we call them The Greatest Generation.

Today’s college students are the NEXT Greatest Generation, because like their great-grandparents, they will confront interlocking existential threats. Only, this time they face:

The climate emergency.

Unprecedented public health challenges of a crowded planet.

The chaotically shifting economy.

Increasing wealth inequality.

And ongoing threats to democracy – not just globally, but here in the US.

�鶹��Ƶ is the nation’s Number 1 university under 50 years old and the country’s fastest growing public research university. Our youth and speed make us well-positioned to respond to the changing needs because we are still changing.

In the next 10 years more than 40% of our faculty and staff will be new, due to retirements and growth. We are primed to take on these challenges with new talent and seasoned faculty, alike. Its �鶹��Ƶ’s time.

Each of these challenges is daunting. But taken together, they can seem overwhelming. Thankfully, if all else fails, we have our students. �鶹��Ƶ has always prided itself on putting students first. And they have shown us what they are made of.

After all, most of our students hail from historically disenfranchised communities. Three in 10 are first generation. Thousands of them are past traditional college age.

They have a vision for a better life, for themselves, their families, and their communities. And they are not strangers to adversity, occasional rejection, and hard work.

Yes, more is already demanded of this generation than any before them, and they have no choice but to face these demands head on. And so, WE have no choice but to prepare them and those who follow for a task that is nothing short of saving the world. And this forms the basis of who we are becoming, and what we stand for.

The United Nations has summarized its vision for meeting our existential threats with 17 Sustainable Development Goals to assure our planet’s future. But no one is likely to remember all 17 goals, so it helps to render them into four core beliefs that I am basing my presidency on.

They sum up what WE stand for, and what we aim to champion, as we prepare our students to save the world.

First, we stand for a healthy planet.

�鶹��Ƶ has many unheralded qualities, not the least among them being our leadership in climate research and advocacy. From our Institute for a Sustainable Earth to the Center for Climate Change Communication and far too many other worthy endeavors to list by name, our scholars lead the way in developing new insights and translating them, both to our students and to the public at large.

We must also walk the talk, however, and we plan to do this with our campus master plan. The �鶹��Ƶ campuses of the future will be pacesetters of environmental sustainability, with a defined greenbelt running through Fairfax and best-in-class energy standards and practices to reduce our carbon footprint. And we will be carbon neutral by 2040.

A flagship project is about to rise in Arlington that will remake that campus into a place we will call �鶹��Ƶ Square, and bring scholars, students, and industry together. Digital innovation will occur in a LEED-Platinum building, which will be net-zero ready.

Second, we stand for healthy people.

Climate change and world population increases are combining to create unprecedented health threats to humanity. They now threaten the health of all ecosystems with environmental degradation and extinction the likes of which modern humanity has never seen. The impacts on human health are profound, and already underway.

For Virginia, this means the Commonwealth must keep pace with growing healthcare needs and a growing population. The Robert Graham Center estimates that just to keep pace with existing need, Virginia will require a 29 percent increase in practicing physicians by 2030.

This is not a spigot that can simply be turned on and off – building infrastructure to increase medical education capacity can be a lengthy, expensive, and tedious exercise.

I say to you today: It is time for Virginia to commit itself to establishing its next public medical school designed and optimized for the 21st century, that can be stood up relatively quickly and economically, with a focus on clinical training. And the university that should lead this effort is �鶹��Ƶ.

As we look to protect the health of the Virginia public, we must also look inward to ensure the students who come to �鶹��Ƶ are in the best possible environment in which to study, work, and live.

After all, we are preparing them to save the world — and so their well-being is of vital importance to us all. That means we must establish ourselves as the most diverse and inclusive campus in the country where equity and equality are not just slogans but a way of life. �鶹��Ƶ was a founding institution in the campus wellbeing movement, having established one of the first centers for the advancement of wellbeing in the nation.

As a result, �鶹��Ƶ is more competitive in attracting talent and more successful in retaining our diverse students, staff, and faculty by cultivating a welcoming, caring, and collaborative culture.

Third, we stand for healthy economies.

We will be a central catalyst of economic development for Virginia and beyond. This starts with talent, and an inclusive talent pool begins with the �鶹��Ƶ Virginia Promise. The MVP is a pathway toward a bachelor’s degree or your own business for EVERY VIRGINIAN who wants it. We are the only institution in the state that can possibly pull this off.

We currently admit about 90% of the students who apply, and historically that was frowned upon because it typically led to high dropout rates. But our approach to student success means we consistently graduate more than 70% of those who begin with us – that’s above the national average – and we do it for all ethnic and racial groups.

Our African American, Latin American, Asian American and Caucasian students all graduate at about the same rates. You would be hard pressed to find five other large institutions in the country with this performance record.

If you don’t want a college degree, that’s okay. MVP will also help you establish your own business through the 29 Small Business Development Centers operating throughout the Commonwealth, all managed by �鶹��Ƶ. If you just need a few courses to get you to a better opportunity, we are going to be there for you through programs like our �鶹��Ƶ Talent Exchange.

We are not just in the knowledge and degree business. We are in the SUCCESS business. We will become the ultimate “Point B” institution. No matter where your “Point A” is, we will get you to your “Point B.”

And finally, we stand for healthy societies.

What we want is enshrined in the final words of this nation’s pledge of allegiance. We stand for liberty and justice – for all.

For the majority of 400 years, America looked one way and we are now moving towards America’s first fully multicultural society, where there will be no racial majority.

Change, especially in this area, does not come easily or without resistance. “We, the people” have a choice on how to approach this transition. We can be reactive, or we can be proactive. We can use this moment to bury our past mistakes and deny they ever existed or we can look at them with minds and hearts intent upon learning . . . reconciling . . . healing . . . and growing into our inevitable future.

When I came to �鶹��Ƶ last year, I was so impressed and moved by how we approached the national reckoning with George Floyd, and the attention his murder focused on structural biases that persist from bygone eras. Many observers fully expected us to take down George �鶹��Ƶ’s statue and take his name off the university.

We chose another path. It spoke volumes about the character of this institution. We have kept the name and the statue. But we have put them to work, as educational tools to open a wider discussion and understanding of the full duality of George �鶹��Ƶ’s nature.

He was the author of some of the most radically progressive ideals in modern human history, which he embodied in the Virginia Declaration of Rights.

He was also a slaveholder who could not live up to his own ideals, nor even follow the example of other leaders of his time by at least emancipating those he had held in enslavement upon his death.

As the Enslaved People of George �鶹��Ƶ Memorial so powerfully illustrates, our namesake is the very embodiment of the duality of America, whose ideals have served as a beacon to humanity for centuries, but whose actual example has at times fallen far short of those ideals.

In that spirit, we are pressing ahead with the Task Force on Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence, which is rooting out legacies of biased structures and practices wherever they may exist at �鶹��Ƶ and replacing them with more inclusive approaches.

If we are to become a national exemplar of anti-racism and inclusive excellence, we must speak honestly about our past, present, and future. And we must take affirmative steps to establish and maintain a university atmosphere of inclusion, equity, and acceptance that our students require.

Rescuing our future to ensure a healthy planet, healthy people, healthy economies, and healthy societies will be the central organizing cause of the rest of our lives. It is our job to conduct research to find solutions to our overlapping grand challenges – and to educate students to solve them.

Finally, I want to speak to the students of �鶹��Ƶ. I have described you today as serious-minded masters of adversity, with the weight of the world on your shoulders.

I want you to know that I see you.

I honor you.

And I dedicate my presidency to you.

In my own youth, I was one of you. I have lived, grown, and ultimately worked my way to this podium facing many of the same obstacles you have.

I know your journey because I am your journey.

As I stand here, I am a living testament to the places your journey can take you.

So, keep walking.

We will walk with you.

I will walk with you.

Patriots, as we leave this splendid ceremony, let’s gather around a common vision of a verdant planet, healthy people, vibrant economies, and free and inclusive societies.

That is a cause worthy of our passions. Bigger than all of us. And stretching beyond most of our lifetimes.

It is a cause we can’t help but throw our whole hearts and minds into.

And THAT is what it means to be a Patriot. Let’s get to work.

Topics

Investiture

Office of the President

Campus News

Gregory Washington

A message from President Washington on L.T. Services

Melanie Balog — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 23:17:44 +0000

A message from President Washington on L.T. Services Melanie Balog Mon, 02/22/2021 - 18:17

�鶹��Ƶ values everyone who works on our campuses, whether they are faculty, classified staff, student employees, or contractors. We hold high standards toward the treatment of everyone.

For the past several months, the university has actively sought resolution of troubling accusations brought forward regarding how employees and/or contractor staff are treated at L.T. Services and its subcontractors, with whom �鶹��Ƶ contracts for janitorial services at its 220 buildings throughout Northern Virginia.

The university has conducted an initial review of the complaints. As a result, I have ordered an outside audit of the labor practices of L.T. Services and its subcontractors as they relate to their contract with �鶹��Ƶ. The advisory CPA firm Baker Tilly will conduct the audit, and I look forward to learning the results of what I expect will be a thorough, fair, and thoughtful audit.

In order to be fair to all involved, we will not be able to offer any further public comment on findings until the outside audit has concluded.

Gregory Washington, President

Topics

�鶹��Ƶ President

Gregory Washington

Fighting the fires of social and racial unrest

Mariam Aburdeineh — Thu, 21 Jan 2021 20:16:18 +0000

Fighting the fires of social and racial unrest Mariam Aburdeineh Thu, 01/21/2021 - 15:16

To honor the memory of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and recognize those on campus who actively live out his vision, �鶹��Ƶ will host the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Evening of Reflection and awards ceremony on Thursday, Jan. 28, at 6 p.m. via Zoom.

“This year, it is particularly important to continue on with the Evening of Reflection, as we consider the state of our nation,” said Hamal Strayhorn, director of the Office of Coalition Building and Diversity Education at �鶹��Ƶ. “Our nation has experienced the loss of 400,000 lives to COVID-19, social and economic disparity in full view, the continuation of black bodies being murdered by police without accountability and racial unrest. On Jan. 6 we all witnessed a failed insurrection in our nation’s capital, which was rooted in divisiveness and racism.”

“Our hope is that students and attendees will understand that in our nation and world there is still a lot of work to do around issues of social justice, equity and inclusion and that ‘the time is always right to do what is right,’” Strayhorn said, quoting Dr. King.

�鶹��Ƶ President Gregory Washington will be the event’s keynote speaker and will address this year’s theme of “The Burning House,” which comes from another Dr. King quote:

“I’ve come upon something that disturbs me deeply. We have fought hard and long for integration, as I believe we should have, and I know we will win, but I have come to believe that we are integrating into a burning house…”

“How will our commitment to anti-racism work be like the ‘firefighters’ preventing the ‘house’ from burning completely down?” Strayhorn said. “[President Washington] will also look at how the work of anti-racism touches and affects our students, professional members, the local community, the commonwealth and eventually our nation.”

Following the keynote address, representatives from the student body will have the opportunity to ask questions relating to the theme, the work the university is doing around anti-racism, or how they can play a part in keeping Dr. King’s vision at the forefront of social change, Strayhorn said.

Students, faculty and staff who are doing influential work centered on Dr. King’s vision will also be honored with the Spirit of King Awards.

“The MLK Evening of Reflection shows that �鶹��Ƶ is committed to diversity, excellence, and inclusion and to addressing the hard questions of where we are as a people and nation,” Strayhorn said.

The programs and services offered by �鶹��Ƶ are open to all who seek them. George �鶹��Ƶ does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnic national origin (including shared ancestry and/or ethnic characteristics), sex, disability, military status (including veteran status), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, pregnancy status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. After 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.

In This Story

Gregory Washington

Working together to keep �鶹��Ƶ safe now and in 2021

Melanie Balog — Tue, 01 Dec 2020 15:16:46 +0000

Working together to keep �鶹��Ƶ safe now and in 2021 Melanie Balog Tue, 12/01/2020 - 10:16

We are nearing the end of a remarkably successful fall semester, especially considering where we started and what we’ve been through. Just five months ago, our greatest challenge was figuring out how we could deliver a �鶹��Ƶ education to a record number of students during a global pandemic. Now, in two weeks, we will graduate a class at winter commencement that includes more than 4,600 graduates and more than 5,000 when counting students earning certificates.

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A message from President Washington on safety over Thanksgiving break

Melanie Balog — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 15:08:42 +0000

A message from President Washington on safety over Thanksgiving break Melanie Balog Wed, 11/18/2020 - 10:08

Dear Patriots,

We have seen a rapid spike in coronavirus cases across the country and these increases have triggered new restrictions in many states, including Virginia.

Here at �鶹��Ƶ, we have also experienced an uptick in cases in our community. On Monday, active cases at �鶹��Ƶ totaled 42 – including 33 students (mostly off-campus), seven employees and two contractors. Our leadership and safety experts continue to monitor the situation and are in contact with public health officials. At this time, we are confident that the situation remains manageable. Our ability to manage this crisis is in no small part a credit to the efforts of students, faculty and staff, who have done an extraordinary job of following new safety guidelines. We will continue to update the university community should things change.

We are now one week away from the Thanksgiving holiday. This is traditionally a time for a well-deserved break from our studies and work so that we can see family and friends and offer gratitude for our blessings. However, public health officials are warning that social gatherings and family events pose a great risk for spreading the virus, so please keep that in mind when making your plans.

As you know, Governor Ralph Northam announced new restrictions on public gatherings last week. I also want to make you aware of how these changes will impact activity here at �鶹��Ƶ.

Academic instruction and most university operations will remain unchanged. The university will switch to virtual instruction after the Thanksgiving holiday, as planned, and buildings will remain open for those employees who need to be on campus. Our review of our public health data confirms that transmission has not occurred among students, faculty, or staff attending classes, working or campus, or participating in extracurricular university events.

New limits on non-instructional events. The university will be limiting non-instructional events and activities on campus to 25 people or less. Some events may be modified or postponed. Please check with organizers. Attendance at Eagle Bank Arena and other public venues on campus will be restricted to either 30 percent of occupancy or 250 people, whichever is lower.

Residential students should avoid traveling next week. For those that choose to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday, please complete your studies virtually and do not return to campus until it reopens for the spring semester, on or after January 20. Those who are unable to change holiday plans are being asked to apply through Housing and Residence Life for an exemption. A notice from University Life went out to residential students yesterday, so please look for that if you haven’t seen it.

All members of our community should take additional precautions both on campus and when traveling. For students, faculty and staff who do travel for the holidays, please implement the health and safety precautions that have worked well on campus. Please continue to wear a mask in public, practice physical distancing, complete the �鶹��Ƶ COVID Health Check™, and if you feel unwell, isolate and call your healthcare provider. If you have had exposure to COVID-19, abide by medical and public health recommendations, and quarantine.

We will continue to monitor the situation and are in touch with public health officials as we prepare for the spring semester. Our goal is to keep our community safe and provide the best education for students.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Gregory Washington

President

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Getting real about racism, diversity and inclusion

Melanie Balog — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 21:20:08 +0000

Getting real about racism, diversity and inclusion Melanie Balog Tue, 11/17/2020 - 16:20

�鶹��Ƶ President Gregory Washington (left) and College of Humanities and Social Sciences Dean Ann Ardis (right) in the GMU-TV studio with panelists appearing remotely for the "Racial Justice, Anti-Racism, and Inclusion" Freedom and Learning Forum. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

Understanding what anti-racism, diversity and inclusion mean for �鶹��Ƶ was just one of the goals of Monday’s Freedom and Learning forum hosted by President Gregory Washington.

Ensuring a common definition of the terms helps create meaningful dialogue, and helps the �鶹��Ƶ community understand the work of the Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Task Force. The group was formed by Washington in response to both the high-profile death of George Floyd at the hands of police and the nationwide racial justice movement.

“We shouldn’t – we cannot – run away from these discussions,” Washington said. “We have to have engagement on these topics.”

Washington asked the task force to look deeper into �鶹��Ƶ’s environment, policies and practices to see what changes are needed to ensure the university can remain a national model for diversity and inclusion.

Monday’s hour-long open dialogue, which can be viewed here, touched on many of those key issues.

Washington was joined in the GMU-TV studio by moderator Ann Ardis, the dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Panelists included Wendi Manuel Scott and Shernita Parker, the co-chairs of the Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Task Force; Provost and Executive Vice President Mark Ginsberg; Creston Lynch, the associate dean for University Life; and Milagros “Millie” Rivera, �鶹��Ƶ’s director of Diversity, Inclusion and Well-Being.

Manuel-Scott, a professor of history in the School of Integrative Studies within CHSS and the former director of the African and African-American Studies Program, said the aim of the task force was to create an anti-racist institution that fully supports the entire �鶹��Ƶ community.

“Race matters,” she said. “Race, historically speaking, has always mattered in the United States of America. … Race mattered in George �鶹��Ƶ’s revolutionary era, to the civil rights, to the Obama era, to the age of COVID that we are all existing in right now. Race matters, and therefore we must engage in strategies and policies that help to disrupt those structures so that we can create a more inclusive institution.”

Eradicating the practices, structures and traditions of racial bias at �鶹��Ƶ won’t happen overnight, but Washington and the other panelists expressed confidence that the �鶹��Ƶ community can serve as a national exemplar of anti-racism, reconciliation and healing.

Interpretations can differ, so Washington made a point of clearly defining all the terms at the outset, most notably characterizing anti-racism as “a verb, in that it’s a form of action against racism and also the systematic racism of marginalized groups.” In other words, he explained, it’s not enough to believe that racism is wrong; an anti-racist has to consciously take action against racism in all its forms.

“Diversity encompasses race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, ability, as well as cultural, religious or other affiliations,” he said, while “inclusion is the intentional and ongoing acceptance and engagement of diversity as it relates to diverse groups.”

Parker said that the work of the task force and its many committees shows how the �鶹��Ƶ community is living the university’s values.

“To thrive together we have to recognize our interdependence, our connection to each other and that as a community, it is critical that we make sure all voices are heard,” Parker said. “…we will not and cannot thrive individually and as a community if we are not conscious of the challenges that we face as it relates to diversity and inclusive excellence, and that we work actively to address and overcome those challenges.”

�鶹��Ƶ is the state’s largest, most diverse public research university with more than 38,000 students, a majority of whom are students of color. But those numbers are not reflected in a faculty comprised of just four percent African-Americans. Improving those numbers will require a multi-pronged approach, but will be a high priority, Rivera said. Studies have shown that a more diverse staff leads to stronger student success outcomes, particularly among underrepresented groups and first-generation students.

Efforts to make the university more inclusive should be of paramount concern to all students, not just those of color or marginalized groups, Ginsberg said.

“If you care about our university, then you have to care about this agenda,” he said. “The successful future of our university is, in large part, dependent upon us caring about this agenda.”

Washington said that he welcomes respectful dissenting voices to the conversation as part of free speech.

Manuel-Scott said she looked forward to the day when all minds and bodies can experience the complete support of the university community and be their ancestors’ “wildest dreams.”

“It’s an ongoing process,” she said, “but it’s righteous and good. Together, we are creating a better institution.”

The Leadership, Education and Development (LEAD) Office and the Office of the President have been co-sponsoring the Freedom and Learning Forums since 2014.

The task force will continue to take questions; submit questions here.

Moving forward after last week's election

John Hollis — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 21:22:00 +0000

Moving forward after last week's election John Hollis Mon, 11/09/2020 - 16:22

Fellow Patriots:

We have just come through an historic election, which has taught us a great deal about ourselves and our society that we will spend time processing. As happens from time to time, America appears to have made history again: More Americans than ever voted, nearly 150 million in all, despite the onerous pandemic amid historic racial tensions. And, if the results we now see withstand the remainder of the vote count and anticipated challenges, we will have elected the oldest president in history, and the first-ever woman and person of color to the vice presidency.

In the coming days, the vote will be celebrated, vilified, analyzed, and challenged in court. The best course of action for all of us is to process this election peacefully, thoughtfully, respectfully, and patriotically.

So now, fellow �鶹��Ƶ Patriots, it is time to do what this nation has done throughout our history: heal, come together as Americans, and participate in the process from here. As �鶹��Ƶ Patriots, we now must work together to create a greater campus as part of a greater society. This is a jubilant time for those who supported the winners, and a difficult time for those who supported those who did not win. The best thing we can do is regard each other as fellow Americans, and fellow Patriots in every sense of the word.

Patriots, I am so proud of how you have participated in the process. Now, let’s move from today to tomorrow and beyond as we do best – together.

I look forward to working with you to support our society going forward!

Sincerely,

Gregory Washington

President