George Mason University

University Development

In the NewsResearch I Observatory

A sampling of Mason news of interest to corporations and foundations

 

Volkswagen Group Invests in Volgenau School of IT&E

Distributing $2.1 million to area students and educators earns you a nice "welcome to the neighborhood."

At the grand opening of its Herndon, Virginia, U.S. corporate headquarters, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. announced that Mason's Volgenau School of Information Technology and Engineering is a beneficiary of the company's new education initiative supporting local students and teachers interested in automotive technology and engineering.

The Volgenau School will receive $225,000 over the next five years to fund two VW Distinguished Scholars awards and to provide general corporate support of the school's activities.

"Volkswagen Group of America and George Mason University share an innovative spirit, making us natural partners," said University President Alan G. Merten. "We welcome Volkswagen Group as our new neighbor, and we hope that this is just the beginning of future collaborations between our organizations."

Volkswagen's "Partners in Education" program focuses on creating a comprehensive education intiative for institutions in the Greater Washington region and the Commonwealth of Virginia. The partnership with high schools, universities, technical schools, and community colleges is designed to positively impact students throughout their educational experience and througout the region.

For additional information, contact Jennifer Lamb, assistant dean of development and alumni relations for the Volgenau School, at 703-993-1752.

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Bank of America Foundation Supports EIP Summer Academy

The Bank of America Foundation sponsored nearly 300 high school students at the Early Identification Program’s 2008 Summer Academy. The academy took place on Mason’s Fairfax Campus July 7-25.

The Early Identification Program (EIP) is a college preparatory program for students in the eighth through 12th grades who will be the first in their families to attend a university.

Classes during the Academy focus on preparing students for the courses they will take in the following academic year and include working in both computer and science labs. Other activities include team-building exercises, social development seminars, a career day, resume preparation, and a job shadow opportunity with a professional in the private, nonprofit, or government sector.

The grant from the Bank of America Foundation helped to hire additional teachers for the Academy, which allows a small class size of 18 students per room. The grant also helped the Academy to offer special programs designed to prepare students for college and to hire additional graduate student assistants to work with the EIP students throughout the academic year.

Since its inception in 1987, EIP has graduated more than 850 college-bound students. Participants come from six Northern Virginia school districts—Arlington County, Fairfax County, Falls Church, Manassas, Manassas Park, and Prince William County. The program is free to those who qualify, and students who successfully complete the multiyear program are guaranteed admission to George Mason.

The Bank of America Foundation is a long-term supporter of EIP, having established the Bank of America Early Identification Program Scholarship Endowment in 1997. This endowment pays tuition expenses for program graduates attending George Mason.

For more information, call Diane Coppage, director of corporate and foundation relations, at 703-993-9515.

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Hylton Performing Arts Center Debuts Name, Breaks Ground

With a $5 million leadership commitment from the Cecil D. and Irene V. Hylton Foundation, the performing arts center now under construction on Mason's Prince William campus will be known as the Hylton Performing Arts Center. Half of the Hylton funds are a challenge grant to encourage the community to support the Center.

The $44 million, 86,000-square-foot facility is scheduled to open in spring 2010. It will host nationally and internationally acclaimed artists as well as provide a state-of-the-art venue for regional performing arts groups and Mason student performers.

Cecil and Irene Hylton, who established the Hylton Foundation through their estates, believed in supporting the communities in which they did business. The husband and wife team were successful real estate developers in the post-World War II housing boom and are credited with creating the master plan for Dale City, Virginia, which included building more than 21,000 homes.

Other spaces named to date in the Hylton Center include Merchant Hall, the Gregory Family Center, Didlake Grand Foyer, and Buchanan Partners Gallery.

In addition to foundations, many local businesses have provided significant support for the Hylton Center endowment campaign. Lead corporate gifts so far have come from organizations such as Lockheed Martin Corporation, American Type Culture Collection, Dominion, Temporary Solutions Inc., Micron, and Vulcan Materials.

The project is a partnership of Prince William County, the City of Manassas, and George Mason University, with support from the Commonwealth of Virginia and the private sector.

For more information, including additional naming opportunities, call Brian Marcus, associate dean for development in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, at 703-993-8607.

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A Ripple Effect: ICASIT's Worldwide Assistance

Taking the time to teach and train a few people and then witness the ripple effect on others and the economy is essential to the International Center for Applied Studies in Information Technology (ICASIT), directed by School of Public Policy Professor Stephen Ruth. For more than a decade, grants from such organizations as the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Soros Foundations have helped ICASIT fund and establish information technology projects in almost two dozen developing nations. Ruth describes these projects as “low in unit cost, high in yield.”

In particular, ICASIT's work in Nepal has blossomed from an initial program teaching villagers to use the Internet into new programs that include health care, paper making, and additional computer training and maintenance. Those who attend these classes are able to take their new knowledge back to their communities to teach others.

To read the full article, see the School of Public Policy's Winter 2008 issue of Policy Impact.

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Fund Established to Bring Mason Inventions Closer to Marketplace

Through their gifts, Mason donors can now assist in the vital behind-the-scenes work that takes new products from research to prototypes to commercial markets.

The Invention to Innovation Project helps fill the gaps in funding for technology development that occur between the early research stage and the new product stage when investors typically take interest in a project. Through private support, the university hopes to ensure that more potential discoveries become products, creating additional revenue for the university and its inventors.

Project funds will be dispersed in two phases. Initially, grants of $2,500 to $5,000 will support the evaluation phase, which involves performing market analysis, determining how a product might be adopted by consumers, and investigating risk factors, among other activities. These steps help make the preliminary case for the new technology or product.

Where the technology shows promise, the second phase of funding would be initiated. This phase would grant up to $50,000 to support needed developments, such as a working prototype, preclinical development, or a detailed business plan.

In the future, revenue from products and technologies successfully licensed by the university will help to replenish the project fund.

For more information, visit entrepreneurship.gmu.edu/innovate or call 703-993-4298.

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NAIOP Raises Over $1 Million to Support New Real Estate Center

The Center for Real Estate Entrepreneurship has launched its programs, thanks in part to the local chapter of a national real estate association.

George Mason University is working with the Northern Virginia Chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) to provide students the most pertinent education for the regional market. In return, NAIOP is helping to support the Center’s operations.

According to Eric Wells, 2007 chairman of the Northern Virginia Chapter of NAIOP, the organization has a goal to raise $2 million for the Center, with commitments currently exceeding $1 million. The Chapter made an initial gift of $100,000 to help begin the fundraising effort. Individual members and associates in the local real estate community have contributed the rest of the support earned to date.

NAIOP is an association for commercial and industrial real estate developers, owners and investors, and service providers for the industry. The Northern Virginia Chapter has more than 780 members.

Because the Washington, D.C., region is one of the most desirable real estate investment markets in the world, the Center for Real Estate Entrepreneurship was created to shape the next generation of leaders in this vital sector of the local economy.

The Center relies on resources and expertise within Mason’s Volgenau School of Information Technology and Engineering, the School of Public Policy, and the School of Management. Programs focus on areas including land use and environmental considerations, acquisition dynamics, and construction management.

The Center is offering real estate certificate programs and concentrations in real estate development in some existing degree programs and plans to offer a master’s program in real estate entrepreneurship in the future.

For more information, call Diane Coppage, director of corporate and foundation relations, at 703-993-9515.

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New IT & E Building to House Corporate Offices and Classrooms

Companies seeking to work with bright young researchers soon might not have to look any farther than down the hall.

George Mason University’s new 180,000-square-foot research building will offer the area business community a unique opportunity to partner with Mason—by leasing office space in the same place that Mason students and faculty are conducting groundbreaking academic research in information technology and engineering.

The $60 million building will be the new home of the Volgenau School of Information Technology and Engineering. With 20,000 square feet of office space available for lease, the building is unlike any other in the Virginia public university system.

“This new building shows the commitment of the university and the Commonwealth to provide a state-of-the-art facility to educate and train the best information technology professionals and engineers in Northern Virginia,” says Lloyd Griffiths, dean of the Volgenau School.

IT or engineering companies that lease space in the building can participate in multiple research projects that could benefit both the university and their company. On-site businesses will have first access to recruiting top students for internships and full-time jobs as well as have opportunities for their staff to sit on departmental and school advisory boards and serve as adjunct faculty.

The new research facility is scheduled to open in the fall of 2009. The school estimates that it will be able to accommodate four to eight companies in the available lease space.

For additional information, contact Jennifer Lamb, assistant dean of development and alumni relations for the Volgenau School, at 703-993-1752, and see the press release.

To learn more about the Volgenau School and to watch the progress on its new home via photo diaries and a webcam, visit the 2010 Campaign page.

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