Fourth Estate News Editor Niki Papadogiannakis
New integrative research facility to house CHHS
|The College of Health and Human Services will soon be housed in a new comprehensive building. The building, whose construction is set to begin in September 2014 on the Fairfax campus, will provide the foundations for a new health research facility that will contain classrooms, research labs and a community clinic.
Undocumented students at Mason
|When Dayana Torres was a senior in high school, she received full-ride scholarships to five different colleges.
“When I received the letters from the schools, I looked at the bottom and it said that a social security number was required to accept the scholarship,” Torres said.
Administrative officials express support for undocumented students at Mason DREAMers event
|Leaders from multiple Mason administrative offices expressed their support and listened to student suggestions for proposed aid to undocumented students at a panel discussion this Monday.
“We want to fully support Mason DREAMers because their goals are [University Life’s] goals," said Rose Pascarell, vice president of University Life, who was on the panel.
Strategic plan outlines university ten-year goals
|Mason’s new strategic plan lays out the university’s goals for the next ten years, showcasing the priorities of the university and where resources, including funding, should be allocated.
“It’s a structured approach to anticipating our future,” said Michelle Marks, chair of the strategic planning committee. “It will help us concentrate our resources in areas in highest priority to key stakeholders which include students, number one, also faculty, staff, also our community, our region and also the world.”
Adjunct faculty pay, benefits not on par with comparable universities
|While adjunct professors are an essential facet of the instructional faculty at Mason, they are hired per-class, meaning they do not receive all of the benefits nor the pay of full-time faculty.
University offices promote cultural curiosity among all students
|Mason ranks in the top 50 most diverse schools in the nation in U.S. News and World Report's ratings. Mason received a 0.63 diversity score, in which closer to 1.0 means more diverse based on campus ethnic diversity, for 2012-2013. The diversity is evident by just walking around campus at peak hours; students and faculty of ethnic, socioeconomic, gender, sexuality and ideological differences are abundant.
Innovation Food Forest promotes sustainable gardening
|On the way to the Engineering and Arts & Design buildings from the Johnson Center, students and faculty can now pick up fresh fruit - straight from the source.
“Feel free to pick fruit, but I want to get these plants healthy and established before we start picking some vegetation,” said Elizabeth Torrens, project manager and volunteer for the Innovation Food Forest (IFF).