Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe and Ohio Governor John Kasich will join the George Mason University community to celebrate the dedication of the Schar School of Policy and Government at the Arlington Campus Monday, Oct. 17.
The event recognizes the $10 million donation from businessman Dwight D. Schar, a longtime Mason supporter.
“Dwight Schar’s gift is transformational for the school,” said Mark J. Rozell . “We will have high-profile partnerships in public opinion polling, sponsor candidate debates and forums and provide timely analyses of issues that affect the Commonwealth [of Virginia] and the greater Washington, D.C. region.”
Mason’s school of policy and government has quickly earned a reputation for being a hub of national and regional research, housing influential centers that study regional economics, global terrorism, transportation, and public-private partnerships. Among its celebrated faculty are a Carnegie Fellow, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, a Guggenheim Fellow, and the former head of the CIA.
With the campus, faculty and programming already in place, the Schar gift can be used to supplement existing programs and to create new ones, with an emphasis on raising the school’s international and national profile.
“We also will be able to better support cutting-edge scholarly research and the profiles of our strong faculty and 12 degree programs,” said Rozell. “All of these will enhance our reputation as a leading school of policy and government studies for both undergraduate and graduate students."
Schar and his wife, Martha, established an endowed faculty chair for the public policy school in 2002 and have provided significant support for the school’s Center for Regional Analysis over the years. Schar served on the George Mason University Foundation Board of Trustees from 1986 through 1998, and received the George Mason Medal, the university’s highest honor, in 2003. Daughter Tracy Schar earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Mason in 1984 and is a current member of the university’s Board of Visitors.