Provost Peter Stearns
Provost search committee releases names of final candidates
|The names of the four finalists to the Provost search process were released in an email announcement to Mason students and faculty late Monday night.
"Over the past six weeks, the search committee reviewed more than 70 applicants for the position of provost," Kelly wrote in the email. "During the holiday break we interviewed 12 semi-finalists. I want to take a moment to thank all the members of the committee for giving up a significant portion of their break for this effort."
General Assembly to address burdensome interstate online education regulations
|Incorporating online education into Mason’s academic programs was a key component of the strategic plan that was adopted in December of last year.
Editor’s Blog: Mason’s funding problem in one question
|At a regularly held budget forum on Oct. 10, two senior university officials painted an optimistic picture of the future of Mason’s finances, but emphasized that many challenges remain.
Provost Peter Stearns and Senior Vice President JJ Davis, presented a number of data sets revealing little support Mason receives as a public university. For example, out of Virginia’s six doctoral institutions, Mason receives the lowest per-FTE (full time equivalent) student funding. At the same time, the university spends 62 percent that of its peer institutions.
Provost search reignites debate over faculty handbook
|Citing concerns over their role in the provost search process, Mason’s Faculty Senate passed a resolution reaffirming a provision of the faculty handbook concerning the selection process for key administrative positions.
In a 20-4 vote on Oct. 9 2013, the Faculty Senate reaffirmed part of the faculty handbook that says, “The search and selection process must include opportunities for the General Faculty to meet with candidates who are finalists for the presidency.”
Mason begins strategic planning process
|George Mason University officials held their first town hall to collect input as part of its strategic planning process. The strategic plan will lay out concrete goals for Mason to fulfill its recently passed vision.
According to a news release by the university, Provost Peter Stearns outlined several draft goals that would be accomplished by a strategic plan, including increasing enrollment.
New survey reveals differences between seniors and freshman
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| 61 percent of seniors did not participate in extracurricular activities in 2012 (Image by Frank Muraca). |
New results from the National Survey of Student Engagement revealed both progress and continuing challenges faced by George Mason University students.
University officials hold plans for Tysons expansion
|For the past year or so, the George Mason University administration has discussed the possibility of expanding the regional campuses to include Tysons.
“[Fairfax County] reached out to George Mason University to have a presence in Tysons [Corner] in the future, so we did a lot of planning and evaluating the feasibility of building classrooms and establishing a physical site,” said Kathleen Q. Johnson, assistant vice president for regional campuses.
Among other administrator changes, Provost Stearns to step down in 2013
|Provost Peter Stearns plans to step down from his role as senior academic administrator in the summer of 2013 and transition into full-time teaching with the history department. He is one of several key administrators whose positions will need to be filled within the next two years.