Good Afternoon, As follow up to Dean Ball’s earlier email, next
Tuesday, December 17, 2019’s all-hands faculty and staff meeting will take place in
Research Hall 163 from 9-10:30 a.m.
~Elizabeth
Elizabeth P. Dean, CMP
Special Assistant to the Dean
Volgenau School of Engineering
George Mason University
P: 703.993.1500 | E: [log in to unmask]
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Dear VSE Faculty and Staff:
Yesterday the Provost distributed a document, “Mason School of Computing: Draft Report of the School of Computing Working Group,” to the Mason community. This report provides a rationale for establishing the School of Computing (SoC), offers
a series of findings to guide that establishment, and provides recommendations on how the SoC should be organized, chartered, governed, and staffed. This report is certainly not the end of the process of creating the SoC, but it is an important milestone.
The new SoC will affect all corners of Mason, especially VSE. With that in mind, we will hold an
all-hands meeting for VSE faculty and staff on December 17 from 9 to 10:30 AM, Location TBD.
At this meeting, we will discuss the Draft Report and give everyone a chance to ask questions and offer comments. Please join this discussion before we all go on a well-deserved holiday break. Throughout the winter and spring, we will
hold additional meetings to discuss progress and get your feedback. I will also be asking the department chairs to engage with their faculty and staff on a smaller scale. We want to hear from everyone as planning goes forward.
Regards,
Ken
****
From: Mason Faculty <[log in to unmask]>
On Behalf Of Office of the Provost
Sent: Monday, December 9, 2019 1:41 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Draft Document on School of Computer Now Available
Dear Colleagues:
The arrival of Amazon and others signifies a shift toward an ever more diverse regional economy. With significant investment from the Commonwealth, Mason is offered a unique
opportunity to help create an innovation ecosystem in northern Virginia—as the ideas we generate and talents we cultivate will become the source for innovation that fuels the knowledge economy. In spring 2019, I charged a working group to conceive a new School
of Computing at Mason that “reflects upon and shape the future of our research, education, and translational programs in computing.” The working group has broad faculty and administrative representation across academic disciplines. I asked Deb Crawford, Vice
President for Research, Innovation and Economic Impact, to chair the working group.
After broad consultation, extensive information collection, and vigorous discussions, the group has completed a draft report describing their findings and offering their recommendations.
To begin the next step of campus-wide engagement and consultation, I am sharing their draft report with the Mason community. This document provides context and proposes a multidisciplinary implementation framework for the new school, while describing the steps
necessary to affect its successful launch in July 2020.
As you will find in the draft report, the Mason faculty community have contributed to the development of formidable strengths in computing education and research—strengths that span all of our colleges and schools. The formation of a new school of computing
creates a unique opportunity to create disciplinary and transdisciplinary programs that harness the power of computing to advance a diversity of fields, and to establish Mason’s leadership role in promoting multidisciplinary discovery and learning emanating
from modern computing.
I hope you will review the
draft document and consider joining us at one or more of the town hall and other open meetings in early spring to provide your input and recommendations regarding the report, as well as
to learn about the perspectives of our colleagues. Please stay tuned for more information about dates and times for these meetings.
I’d like to thank Deb Crawford and the working group for their diligent and thoughtful effort to date, and look forward to working with all of you to advance this exciting initiative.
Sincerely,
S. David Wu
Provost and Executive Vice President
____________________________________
Kenneth S. Ball, Ph.D., P.E.
Dean, Volgenau School of Engineering
George Mason University
Nguyen Engineering Building
4400 University Drive, MS 4A3
Fairfax, VA 22030
Phone: (703) 993-1500
FAX: (703) 993-1734
E-mail:
[log in to unmask]
Twitter: @KenBallVa
