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Satellite imagery could aid in seeking justice for human rights violations in Sudan

Sarah Holland — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 13:26:43 +0000

Satellite imagery could aid in seeking justice for human rights violations in Sudan Sarah Holland Wed, 08/21/2024 - 09:26

On April 15, 2023, intense violence erupted in Sudan’s capital city of Khartoum between the state-run military and a non-state militia group. Over the past 16 months, the conflict has continued to expand in scale. Peace negotiations have collapsed. Civilians have experienced catastrophic humanitarian conditions.

��ӽ紫ý’s Daniel Rothbart has for many years investigated the plight of civilians in war globally. He believes that out of the 59 protracted violent conflicts around the world, the civil war in Sudan is among the most horrific.

“This conflict has had catastrophic humanitarian implications,” explained Rothbart, the Druscilla French Chair in Conflict Analysis and Resolution in the Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution. “There have been an estimated 16,000 fatalities and numerous cities destroyed. Right now, Sudan has the largest number of internally displaced persons in the world at 10.7 million people.”

As peace talks failed and conflict escalated, the Conflict Observatory, managed by the MITRE Corp and funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization operations, approached Rothbart and the Carter School to support an investigation into the human rights violations associated with the civil war.

In areas of violent conflict, scholars like Rothbart must find remote methods of data collection. One such method is through Open Source Investigations (OSINT), where publicly and commercially available information, such as satellite imagery, social media posts, and news reports, are collected and analyzed.

Because the Conflict Observatory specifically requested satellite imagery evidence, Rothbart enlisted a team of researchers from the College of Science’s Department of Geography and Geoinformation Science, including department chair Dieter Pfoser, to gather and analyze the images. Through this method, they can show side-by-side images of the large-scale destruction of civilian areas over the course of the conflict, such as markets, neighborhoods, and health care facilities.

Comparison photos of an area of El Fasher, North Darfur, Sudan showcasing the destruction of civilian property as a result of the ongoing civil war, as featured in the Sudan Conflict Observatory Situation Report "Impact on Civilians from Fighting in El Fasher, North Darfur, May 9-27, 2024"

This is a valuable kind of data for understanding the impact and trend of protracted violence, Rothbart said. “It captures the evolution of events over time in a particular region, and the amount of detail these experts are able to gleam from these images has been used to great effect.” As detailed in the report, the experts can distinguish between a building burned and a building bombed: important evidence for building a future case in prosecuting human rights violations.

But satellite imaging only tells part of the story of the destruction and devastation. Other information comes from witness testimonies, which Rothbart and his team gather with the help of the Sudan Human Rights Hub. By combining these two methods of data collection, they can paint a more robust picture of the breadth and depth of violence.

“For example, with both testimonies and open-source intelligence, we have documented that some militant forces have systematically killed civilians, bombed hospitals, and engaged in large-scale gender-based violence, ” Rothbart said.

Through these reports, Rothbart and his team are the primary source of evidence of civilian devastation in the war in Sudan. And while the evidence submitted by the team is under the discretion of the State Department, it could be used to prosecute the perpetrators of the described human rights violations.

The project is also an opportunity for students to gain valuable experience. Current conflict analysis and resolution PhD student Beltina Gjeloshi, and alumnus Mathieu Bere, PhD Conflict Analysis and Resolution ‘22, are both supporting members of Rothbart’s team.

“I’ve learned best practices in open-source investigations, a myriad of new digital tools, and how to capture evidence via different channels, such as satellite images and social media,” said Gjeloshi. “Coupling the training with my human rights and conflict resolution background has allowed me to formulate unique insights and use tools transdisciplinarily.”

“This deliberate violence against civilians requires that the international community takes measures to enforce international humanitarian law, protect civilians, and hold perpetrators accountable. The work that we have been doing in this project contributes to the fulfillment of that moral and legal requirement,” said Bere.

Daniel Rothbart. Photo by Creative Services/Office of University Branding

"On a purely academic and scientific side, we have been using, and hope to contribute to improve, some innovative technological tools, especially OSINT and GIS tools, for remotely monitoring and documenting what is happening in conflict zones, and for conducting real-time conflict research,” said Bere. “For example, we are exploring the possibility of developing an AI model that will facilitate some of the steps of the data-gathering process that may be automated. The project is an interdisciplinary work, which requires collaboration between experts from various disciplines."

Every conflict is unique, but there are repeated patterns in motivations, actions, and strategies. Rothbart hopes that the global peace community can learn from why and how peace talks have been unsuccessful in Sudan to improve their approaches to other protracted conflicts.

“We must be prepared to recognize that under certain conditions human beings can commit horrific acts,” Rothbart explained. “But in every case of protracted violent conflict, we find human beings who show an enormous degree of courageous compassion in the face of horrific violence. And that’s important to keep in mind.”

Find pathways to peace at the Carter School

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Through NSF funding, graduate students and community partners find novel solutions to public health problems

Sarah Holland — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 16:18:40 +0000

Through NSF funding, graduate students and community partners find novel solutions to public health problems Sarah Holland Fri, 06/21/2024 - 12:18

One of the ways ��ӽ紫ý is All Together Different is its approach to research. Students in the Center for Adaptive Systems of Brain-Body Interactions (CASBBI) NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program learn how to apply interdisciplinary, community-focused research to find solutions to the world’s grand challenges.

2023-24 NRT cohort members. Photo by Sarah Holland

Since the program began in 2019 with the support of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the NRT Program has bought together graduate students from engineering, data science, and social science for one-year fellowships. Students work in multidisciplinary teams of other fellows and community partners to define a problem within the community and co-develop creative solutions. Thus far, 82 graduate students have participated in the five cohorts.

“No one is doing this level of interdisciplinary convergence,” explained Samuel Acuña, research professor in the Department of Bioengineering and assistant director of CASBBI. “You'll see other programs with, say, mechanical engineers working with electrical engineers, but we have groups with computer scientists, social workers, and linguists working together. Psychologists, engineers, and neuroscientists. It’s novel.”

In the program, students are assigned to groups and matched with community partners working to solve public health problems. The groups work with these partners to establish a project that will best meet their needs: This could be anything from data collection to mobile application development to further developing the work of the previous cohort.

Some groups have even continued their work long after their time in the program concludes; iConnect, an app to connect those suffering from substance abuse to local resources and support, continues beyond the program with their community partner The Chris Atwood Foundation.

“To have, say, a computer science student work with the community and think about people and problems in a way they wouldn’t otherwise, that’s the type of experience that they can draw on for years and years to come,” Acuña said. “The fellowship helps them think more deliberately about how they approach their research through a toolbox of techniques. So, when they’re done, they can approach any issue or problem they might be assigned from this perspective.”

Community-centered and human-centered research is a big draw for some NRT fellows. Morgan Lamarre, BA Dance ’22, BS Bioengineering ’24, master’s student in bioengineering and a member of the 2024-25 cohort, said, “Many of us hope that our careers are in community-facing work, so to have these skills and experience in engaging with the community will be really helpful. And these methods are different from what we see in our classrooms and labs.”

“As engineers, we’re often given a problem to solve how we want and how we think is best without input from the community, and there’s a bit of mistrust between the overall community and the scientific community as a result,” said Kirubel Tadesse, BS Bioengineering ’24, current master’s student in data analytics engineering and incoming cohort member. “But through this method, we’re actively engaging with the community and stakeholders to ensure that our designs are meeting their specific needs. We’re bridging that gap.”

2023-24 Team FIRE (First-responers, Innovation, Research, and Exploration) presents their research at NRT orientation. Photo by Sarah Holland

“It’s a completely new way for us to approach our work,” said Brady Stinson-Smith, master’s student in bioengineering, and fellow member of the incoming cohort. “We can be so siloed in our fields, but this program helps us make the connections between not only the community, but also with researchers in other fields like sociology, psychology, and social work who can help us think better and differently about our approaches and solutions.”

This is the philosophy upon which the NRT program is built. “No one field is enough to solve these problems,” said Acuña. “The leaders of tomorrow need to know how to navigate across multiple disciplines and groups of stakeholders in order to create impactful change.”

“We all come from different approaches,” said Yosef Shaul, PhD student in kinesiology and 2023-24 cohort member. Shaul was a member of team VIRTUE (Violence Intervention and Resolution through Unifying Efforts), focused on addressing barriers to domestic violence prevention and management in Northern Virginia. “Everyone brings their own advantages and attributes. It makes the whole greater.”

Now that he has completed the fellowship, Shaul plans to adjust his research process for his PhD to incorporate more community-centered practices. “My outcomes,” he said, “will now better meet community needs.”

See how CASBBI works to change the world

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State Department initiative brings Carter School students to the forefront of peacebuilding

Sarah Holland — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 20:13:07 +0000

State Department initiative brings Carter School students to the forefront of peacebuilding Sarah Holland Thu, 06/06/2024 - 16:13

Presentations aren't an uncommon final exam component. But few are as high stakes as presenting research to the U.S. Department of State in the hopes of paving the pathway to peace in fragile countries.

Photo provided

As part of the new Academic Centers of Conflict Anticipation and Prevention (ACCAP) initiative, ��ӽ紫ý students in the new Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution course Fragile States Policy had the opportunity to work with the U.S. Department of State on priority research.

ACCAP is a national academic partnership between American higher education institutions and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO) to anticipate, respond to, and prevent conflict in the global system that impacts U.S. national security interests.

“No matter how great the expertise of our staff or contractors, there’s only so much capacity we have to address some very critical topics,” explained Keith E. Noble, CSO’s Chief Data Officer and Advanced Analytics Office Director, who served as the instructor for the course in Carter School. “The idea for ACCAP is that we can reach out to our university partners to get supplemental analysis, research, and data that can help us expand our priorities.”

The U.S. Department of State initiated a search for the inaugural cohort of institutions conducting research in the conflict and stabilization space. The Carter School was, according to Noble, one of their first picks.

“The Carter School, which is the largest school in the country focused on conflict and stabilization-related issues, is right in our backyard,” he said. “And there was unique alignment in CSO’s core mission and the Carter School’s expertise, values, and willingness to engage the department to help us make better data-driven decisions in this space.”

This first cohort includes eight institutions, with hopes for expansion.

Based on conversations with its office directors and other agencies, CSO compiled a list of research opportunities pertaining to countries represented in the Global Fragility Act (GFA). Each institution can then claim the opportunities through a database, based on whether they have faculty with expertise, or interest in teaching a course or capstone around a relevant topic. The Carter School took it one step further: what if Noble himself taught a course based on this consortium, and selected the topics for Carter School students to research?

Noble, who saw this as an opportunity to demonstrate how CSO wanted each institution to approach their selected research, agreed.

For the course, Noble selected topics that he thought would be achievable within the semester time frame as well as appropriately challenging for the students—Coastal West Africa: Social Network Analysis (Ghana and Togo); Women, Peace, and Security (Haiti); Women in Politics (Haiti); and Communal Impact Mining (Papua New Guinea).

Chad Cline, MS in Conflict Analysis and Resolution ‘24, was on the Women, Peace, and Security team. “I learned so much about each country in the GFA,” he said of his classroom experience. “It gave me a different perspective.”

With ACCAP’s goal being delivering valuable research to CSO, Noble wanted stakeholders involved in his students’ research from the start. “We wanted this to be an iterative process where department staff spent time investing in the students, providing mentorship and building relationships so the department could, first, get a better final product, and second, show these students that CSO could be a destination after they graduate,” Noble said. “It was mutually reinforcing incentives.”

At the end of the course, Carter School students presented their work at the U.S. Department of State; ��ӽ紫ý was the first institution to submit completed projects.

Chief Data Officer and Advanced Analytics Office Director Keith Noble. Photo provided.

“It was a mix of anticipation, preparation, and planning, as well as a deep sense of responsibility,” recalled Hamad Aldhlea, a PhD student in conflict analysis and resolution. His team worked on Coastal West Africa: Social Network Analysis. “I received invaluable feedback, and it was an excellent opportunity to build a network with State Department officials.”

The course is planned to run again in the fall.

“There are any number of internships and opportunities for students within this department and other USG agencies that offer great experience, but rarely reach the critical point where the work the students are doing is impacting policy,” Noble said. “This work, however, is filling critical gaps and will have real and practical impacts on our offices and the work we do. We’re looking to the Carter School to make substantive contributions to our global mission.”

Karina Valenzuela, a PhD student in conflict analysis and resolution, also worked on Women, Peace, and Security. “It’s one thing to write a paper for a grade and quite another to present research to a group of professionals working in these complex situations who tell you the work you’ve done is valuable,” she said.

Noble believes that the Carter School’s proximity to Washington, D.C. and the expertise and quality of its faculty and students will allow it to play a leading role in the developing ACCAP community.

“I think this will not only enhance the prestige of the university, but will help deliver real-time, value-added analyses that will help this government make better data-informed decisions,” Noble said, “and that’s something the Carter School should be very proud of.”

Help build peace through the Carter School

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Graduating Carter School student is trailblazing a new path to peace

Sarah Holland — Tue, 07 May 2024 19:31:22 +0000

Graduating Carter School student is trailblazing a new path to peace Sarah Holland Tue, 05/07/2024 - 15:31

Keil Eggers is the first to admit that his research methods are unique to the world of conflict analysis and resolution. But as he is hooded at the 2024 Commencement ceremony at ��ӽ紫ý, his unorthodox approach is becoming the standard for ��ӽ紫ý Peace Engineering Lab in the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution.

Photo provided

Eggers, who is graduating from Mason with his PhD in Conflict Analysis and Resolution, has been a champion of complexity-informed conflict transformation, futures, and SenseMaker: a technology that applies a quantitative framework to narrative data submitted and interpreted by the subjects themselves.

“My professors have always been willing to let me experiment and have supported me in trying new things,” he said. “That’s one of the biggest strengths of the Carter School, how it allows people to explore unique combinations of scholarship, ideas, and disciplines.”

As a Kansas native with an interest in international politics, Eggers knew he wanted to be in the center of the action in the Washington, D.C., region when applying as an undergraduate. ��ӽ紫ý was the perfect fit. After a year in the international politics degree program, however, he took a course in the Carter School, and “it sealed the deal,” he said.

“I found it to be a much more helpful approach to problem-solving. It’s less about protecting one country’s interests and more about building international relationships based on dialogue, mutual learning, and mutual respect. It creates much more fulfilling relationships.”

After graduating with his BA in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from the Carter School and the Honors College in 2015, Eggers received his MA in International Peace Studies from the UN-Mandated University for Peace before returning to ��ӽ紫ý for his PhD.

Eggers’ approach to research using sensemaking technology is unique, particularly in academia, and very few programs could accommodate it. The Carter School, however, was interested in Eggers’ methodology and had a fellowship with that topic in mind. He was the first to receive the Peace Engineering Fellowship, one of the Provost PhD Awards designed to support the creation of the Peace Engineering Lab, where conflict analysis and resolution experts would work with engineers to create innovative technologies for peace building.

“More and more often, engineers are put on the front lines to solve social conflict through designing infrastructure or new technologies,” Eggers explained. “But their solutions also have social impact, which needs to be accounted for and considered during the design process. They need more tools to understand that impact and how it will affect peace, which we can provide. And, on the other side, we need support in developing and implementing new analytical technologies.”

Part of Eggers’ work with the lab included setting up internal and external partnerships, including with the Cynefin Centre for Applied Complexity: the creators behind the SenseMaker tool. The lab has used SenseMaker in local, national, and international research projects.

“I saw my role as creating a strong intellectual foundation for the lab, trying to figure out what our unique approach as the only conflict analysis and resolution school in the broader peace engineering field could be,” Eggers said. “We were building the plane as we were flying it, so to speak. We had a strong belief that this is an emerging field and a gap that needed to be filled. We keep showing up, putting in the work, and we’re cementing our role in the field as being at the forefront of this.”

Through the largest grant ever given to Carter School, the lab recieved funding to expand into one of the university's research centers. It plans to relaunch in fall 2024.

Meanwhile, Eggers simultaneously completed his dissertation, utilizing the same sensemaking technology he worked to implement in the lab. With the support of partnering organizations Horizon Project and Common Ground USA, “Us Against When: Futures and Complexity-Informed Conflict Transformation in the United States” looked at five states with higher risk of political violence, collecting data from 800 subjects. He presented his work at the Alliance for Peacebuilding’s PeaceCon2023, and used his research to build the syllabus for and teach Honors 360: "Us Against When: Exploring Peaceful Futures for the United States."

After graduation, Eggers hopes he can continue his work to develop complexity-informed approaches to research, sensemaking, and futures methodologies through a postdoc position. He also has a dream of putting together a music festival for peace at the Carter School's Point of View facility.

“Your destiny is in your hands when you enter a PhD program,” Eggers said, when asked what advice he would give to a first year PhD. “Explore what you like, craft the experience you want. Believe in your own power to be persistent and pave the path you want to see.”

Spring Commencement 2024

Build peace in the Carter School

Recognizing ��ӽ紫ý's 2024 graduates

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Mason Korea Commencement caps off a week of festivities
June 20, 2024
Going global as Mason Korea’s first computational and data sciences graduate
May 21, 2024
Outstanding Graduating Student: Amanda Magpiong
May 17, 2024
This Senior of the Year found ‘true community’ at ��ӽ紫ý
May 9, 2024

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Hispanic and Latinx Patriots share their cultural touchstones for Hispanic Heritage Month

Sarah Holland — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 22:50:26 +0000

Hispanic and Latinx Patriots share their cultural touchstones for Hispanic Heritage Month Sarah Holland Wed, 10/11/2023 - 18:50

National Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated from September 15 through October 15 each year, recognizes the contributions and influence of Hispanic and Latinx Americans to United States history, culture, and achievements.

Mason enrolls and graduates the Mid-Atlantic region’s largest population of Hispanic and Latinx students, and we celebrate the varied and diverse contributions of our students every day through our 90% acceptance rate, an above-average graduation rate, and more than 400 student organizations.

Meet some of our students, faculty, and staff who represent the varied experience of Hispanic and Latinx Americans.

View an accessible PDF version

Conoce la Universidad ��ӽ紫ý

Stories from our Hispanic and Latinx community

Hispanic and Latinx Patriots share their cultural touchstones for Hispanic Heritage Month
October 11, 2023
New Mason summer program shows high school students the value of a STEM degree
August 15, 2023
Film festival explores ‘the way of life’ in various Spanish-speaking countries
September 7, 2022
Mason teams with Dominion Energy, HACU for Summer Bridge Program
July 27, 2022
Hispanic Heritage Month: Faculty Spotlight
October 12, 2021

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Students find inspiration and connections at Clinton Global Initiative University

Colleen Rich — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 17:56:55 +0000

Students find inspiration and connections at Clinton Global Initiative University Colleen Rich Fri, 04/14/2023 - 13:56

��ӽ紫ý students joined more than 600 of their peers from around the world at Vanderbilt University, near Nashville, Tennessee, for the 15th annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) from March 3-5. CGI U was launched in 2007 by former President Bill Clinton to engage the next generation of leaders on college campuses.

Mason graduate student Aadam Dirie and his friend Jasmanet Chahal were chosen to present their FollowUp project at the CGI U Exchange Fair, where mentors gave them valuable feedback. Photo provided

CGI U asks students to make Commitments to Action, which involve innovative solutions to the world’s challenges. The program then mentors and supports students through the process of fulfilling their project goals. The annual meeting includes panels from leaders in nonprofits, businesses, and politics; skill and working sessions; and community service on the Day of Action.

Aadam Dirie, a computer engineering master’s student, heard about CGI U from his friend Jasmanet Chahal, who recently graduated from University of Virginia. The two applied together with a project called FollowUp for assisting adults living with, or at risk for, chronic diseases. Dirie describes FollowUp as “a solution that empowers people to take control of their health by providing personalized health insights and actionable feedback.”

Dirie and Chahal were chosen to present at the CGI U Exchange Fair, where mentors gave them valuable feedback. On top of that, Dirie said, “We were able to present our Commitment to Action to Chelsea Clinton and had a very nice discussion with her.”

At the end of their chat, Clinton even took their business card.

Throughout the weekend, Dirie networked with student peers, CGI U alumni and mentors, and panelists. “My big takeaway from CGI U is the resources, and lifelong connections to other students and mentors.”

These productive relationships are one major benefit of the event, said Rose Pascarell, vice president for University Life, who also attended. “CGI U provided our students the opportunity to connect with other student changemakers from around the country and world, all interested in positive change and making a difference.”

An activist for men’s mental health at Mason, junior Liam Keen said his weekend highlights included the opportunity to make new contacts and reach a larger global network. However, he felt that CGI U could have benefited from the audacity that helps define Mason.

Keen, who is studying government and international politics, said he would have liked to have heard from climate justice activists who could have challenged the panelists from the session he attended. “It's important to propose an alternative pathway,” he said. “Providing multiple pathways helps people gain a greater understanding of a subject.”

On the Day of Action, Pipa, a criminology, law and society major, had a chance to speak with Bill Clinton about public policy.

“He told me I was going to do great things,” said Pipa of meeting the former president. “It was an experience that I will take with me for the rest of my life and to help fuel my passion for public policy and creating change.”

Making other connections at CGI U has also inspired Pipa’s new plans for graduate school and even starting a nonprofit in the future.

The event’s closing Day of Action was coordinated by Hands On Nashville. Keen helped clear land for a cultural center with the Native American Indian Association of Tennessee, and Pipa packed vegetables and loaded bags of groceries for a drive-up food bank with Second Harvest Food Bank.

“It was so rewarding knowing I made an impact on a community that I was only a part of for three days,” Pipa said.

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No surprise that this Mason student is doing big things for health care policy

Shayla Brown — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 17:04:31 +0000

No surprise that this Mason student is doing big things for health care policy Shayla Brown Wed, 12/14/2022 - 12:04

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Second master’s degree lets Mason graduate exercise a different part of his brain

Colleen Rich — Mon, 12 Dec 2022 15:33:18 +0000

Second master’s degree lets Mason graduate exercise a different part of his brain Colleen Rich Mon, 12/12/2022 - 10:33

Paul Vosti is the first to tell you he doesn’t need another degree.

He already has a BA in Japanese studies from the University of Notre Dame, and an MA in international studies from the University of Washington. But Vosti also loves learning. So when the opportunity arose, he dove in.

Mason graduate student Paul Vosti. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

Later this month, the 65-year-old Burke, Virginia, resident will graduate from ��ӽ紫ý with a master’s degree in finance, part of the program’s first cohort of 14 students.

“There is a sense of accomplishment,” Vosti said. “But honestly, I don’t even know if I’m going to turn this into a professional career opportunity as much as just the experience of the education, which I love. I love going to school.”

Vosti hadn’t been in a traditional civilian academic setting since 1989, when he graduated from Washington. A military career followed, including stints as the senior advisor of Guam policy and the director for Japan policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

He is currently working part-time as a contracting officer’s representative, administering contracts for the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy. All of which is to say, Vosti had some catching up to do when it came to current tools of education.

“When I came to the University of Notre Dame as a freshman, we all came with portable electric typewriters. That was our technology,” Vosti said.

For his finance classes, all of which were online, Vosti had to learn software such as Python and RStudio, and advanced capabilities of Excel for inputting formulas.

He had to get comfortable with the functions of a financial calculator and, as he said, “get that heavy layer of rust off” in classes that included a heavy dose of calculus.

Lin Sun, an assistant professor in the finance section of Mason’s School of Business, said that did not hold back her student.

“What is unique about Paul is that when he studies something new, he would really dig into it and ask a lot of questions until he understood every detail of the underlying mechanism,” Sun said. “That is the quality that makes him stand out in anything he is determined to achieve.”

“He’s not afraid to push forward, and he’s a role model for other students,” said associate professor Jim Hsieh, the director of the master’s in finance program. “I’m convinced that he convinced other students that if you put your mind to something you can achieve it.”

The truth is, studying finance is a return to Vosti’s youthful interests.

When Vosti began at Notre Dame, he intended to major in mathematics. When he switched majors to Japanese studies due to his strong interest in international relations, math was set aside.

“But I always had that interest, playing with numbers,” Vosti said, “And I was always interested in the financial markets. So for me, this was an opportunity to go back to something I had an interest in, and it would all be new knowledge.”

Vosti attended Mason in great part, he said, because the finance program was supportive, encouraging, and worked with his G.I. Bill requirements. It also allowed him to finish the program in 15 months to accommodate a long-planned vacation.

“I just liked the heck out of it,” Vosti said of the program. “This was like exercising a different part of my brain. I’ve enjoyed the journey as much as what it might open to me.”

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Mason announces new Graduate Division in the Office of the Provost

Colleen Rich — Wed, 12 Oct 2022 14:15:33 +0000

Mason announces new Graduate Division in the Office of the Provost Colleen Rich Wed, 10/12/2022 - 10:15

The Office of the Provost is excited to announce the launch of ��ӽ紫ý’s Graduate Division. The Graduate Division will be one of the major units of Academic Affairs within the Office of the Provost.

Photo by Sierra Guard/Creative Services

Its mission is to elevate graduate education at Mason by increasing the global impact of its graduate students and programs, fostering a collaborative culture of academic excellence, and contributing to the research productivity and the workforce development appropriate to an R1 institution. Leveraging economies of scale, the Division is designed to maximize strategic and targeted investments to augment and complement the efforts of Mason’s local academic units.

The Graduate Division will serve all graduate programs and students including pre-professional master's to research-intensive doctoral students by working with the schools and colleges to provide services and communication strategy assistance.

“The inception of the new Graduate Division is an important step in supporting graduate education programs and graduate students at our university,” said Mark Ginsberg, Mason Provost and Executive Vice President. “I am confident that it will enhance the graduate student experience at Mason while further elevating our nationally respected academic and research programs. I can’t wait to watch our students and programs continue to soar as a result.”

The Graduate Division will coordinate pre-enrollment activities to increase the visibility and recognition of Mason graduate education. It will also expand central programming and opportunities to enhance the graduate student experience, refine graduate policies and procedures to uphold the quality and integrity of graduate programs, and bolster internal and external relations to elevate graduate student career readiness and placement.

The Office of the Graduate Education will officially transition into the Graduate Division during the Fall 2022 semester. During its first year, the Graduate Division will focus on unveiling a new graduate online onboarding platform, offering a university-wide graduate teaching assistant training, and starting a new mentored anti-racism and inclusive excellence mentorship program.

“The launch of the new Graduate Division is the result of a two-year university-wide team effort,” said Laurence Bray, associate provost of graduate education. “It has been an honor and privilege to lead this initiative and work with so many amazing partners across campus to make the Graduate Division become a reality.”

Over the next several years, the Graduate Division expects to expand its services to better support all graduate students and programs. Initial plans include creating a graduate success center to optimize student experience and engagement, as well as leveraging externally funded projects to increase graduate funding support.

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He wrapped up his master’s degree like a pro

Colleen Rich — Tue, 17 May 2022 15:56:36 +0000

He wrapped up his master’s degree like a pro Colleen Rich Tue, 05/17/2022 - 11:56

Malik McCoy was just beginning his graduate studies in athletic training in 2020. With all courses online, he had to learn taping and wrapping techniques in a virtual class. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

For students whose coursework required hands-on experience, the COVID-19 pandemic created challenging and, in some cases, unique hurdles.

Consider Malik McCoy, who during the fall 2020 semester was just beginning his master’s studies in athletic training at ��ӽ紫ý. With all courses online, he had to learn taping and wrapping techniques in a virtual class.

“But we made it work,” McCoy said. “The staff did a good job to make things work out.”

McCoy can laugh about it now as he prepares to graduate with the admiration of the coaches and athletes with whom he worked and the Mason faculty members with whom he interacted.

“I did have a great experience,” McCoy said. “The connections I made during my time here, and going to different schools and meeting new people, was great.”

McCoy, who is from Portsmouth, Virginia, came to Mason from Norfolk State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science with a concentration in kinesiotherapy.

But conversations with his Norfolk State advisor, herself a former athletic trainer, gave McCoy the bug.

As a sophomore he introduced himself to the athletic training staff, which allowed him to help out as a student aide. By his senior year, he was traveling with the football team. He chose Mason to pursue his master’s after attending an orientation.

“I fell in love with the staff and faculty,” he said. “It just felt like my new home.”

At Mason, McCoy has done clinical training at one college and two high schools, helping his preceptors deal with ankle sprains, dislocations and even a spinal cord injury.

“His professionalism was top notch,” said Brandon Holland, a certified athletic trainer for Prince William County Schools and McCoy’s preceptor at C. D. Hylton High School in Woodbridge, Virginia. “He built a great rapport with the student-athletes. He built a great rapport with the coaches to the point they were sad to see him go.”

In addition, Holland said, “He asked a lot of questions, which is great. A lot of young people are afraid to ask questions. What he didn’t know he actively pursued knowledge on, and if there was something he needed to make an adjustment with, he would rehearse it until it became second nature.”

Still, it hasn’t been easy for McCoy, who is working several jobs to get through college: part time as a customer service representative at the Department of Motor Vehicles in Virginia, and full time as a driver rehabilitation specialist, training those with autism how to safely operate a motor vehicle. He also trains those who require adaptive equipment to operate a motor vehicle because of a physical disability.

McCoy agreed that balancing his workload with his coursework while maintaining a healthy lifestyle has been challenging, but worth it.

“I love helping others and giving back, especially when an athlete is injured,” he said. “Making that one-on-one connection with them, and making them feel better. Just seeing the smiles on their faces when they’re out there playing is so rewarding.”

McCoy said he’d ultimately like to work for a professional sports team or as an athletic trainer at NASA’s Astronaut Strength, Conditioning and Rehabilitation Group.

For now, though, “I’m just looking forward to the day,” he said of graduation. “I can make my mother, my family, and friends proud. I just want to see their smiling faces as I walk across the stage.”

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