Ángel Cabrera became Mason’s 6th president in 2012. The George asked him about his most memorable moments at Mason, his accomplishments, and his hopes for Mason’s future. He begins his term as president of Georgia Tech on Sept. 1.
Q: Mason has grown in size and stature during your seven-year tenure. What accomplishments are you most proud of?
A: I am proud that we are serving thousands more students of even more diverse backgrounds and serving them better than ever before. That we are delivering exceptional outcomes (high graduation rates, high career outcomes, low student default rates) that are uncommon for universities like ours. That is our most important measure of impact. I am also proud that our faculty have propelled our research and scholarship to the highest level and that, thanks to them, we have become the youngest Tier 1 research university in the nation.
Q: From the day you arrived in 2012 to now, what has changed the most at the university?
A: The most visible changes may be our new buildings (Point of View, Potomac Science Center, Peterson Hall, Mason Korea, Institute for Biohealth Innovation, etc.). But what I hope has changed is our growing sense of pride and confidence in who we are and who we are not: our commitment to access to excellence, to diversity of people and ideas, to measuring our impact by how many we help learn and grow, not how many we exclude.
Q: During your tenure, Mason was named a Tier 1 research university, completed the most successful fundraising campaign in Mason history, launched the ADVANCE transfer program, and helped attract Amazon to the region, just to name a few things. How are these achievements a reflection of faculty and staff and the entire Mason community?
A: Without our faculty and staff, we would be nothing. And without the support of our boards, alumni and friends, our faculty and staff would not be able to do their work. ADVANCE is a reality because student advisors and faculty from Mason and Northern Virginia Community College sat down to figure out how to make transfer work better for students. Our new R1 status is a reflection of the work of our world-class faculty. Amazon chose our neighborhood from hundreds of possibilities across the country because of the technology talent pipeline in the region, and no other school contributes more to it than we do—another accomplishment of our faculty and staff.
Q: What is the greatest challenge you faced as Mason president?
A: Resisting political pressures, internal and external, from both ends of the political spectrum, to exclude certain people or ideas from our campus. Sticking to one's values of tolerance and free expression is tough to do, quite painful at times, but essential to our mission as a university and the example we must set in our increasingly polarized society.
Q: During your time at Mason, both of your children graduated from high school and went off to college, your parents celebrated their 50th anniversary, you turned 50…. What has changed the most about you during these seven years?
A: George Mason University doesn’t just change our students. It changes all of us. These past seven years have been among the most deeply transformative in my life. I leave Mason with an increased appreciation for the crucial role of higher education in our society. Talent knows no gender, no race, no immigration status, no age—but opportunity often does. I leave even more committed to working to remove barriers of access.
Q: Is there anything you wanted to achieve here that you did not?
A: Raise $100 million more for need-based scholarships. Build a permanent home for the Green Machine. Return to the Final Four. Convince elected officials to fund Mason at the same level as our older peer institutions in the commonwealth.
Q: You often say that Mason is a place where everyone can thrive, and student outcomes back that up. Why do you think that happens at Mason?
A: Indeed, contrary to the norm in American higher education, our student outcomes barely vary by ethnicity or between Pell Grant recipients and students from higher economic status. Our wonderful diversity, our culture of inclusion, and the tireless efforts of our University Life colleagues contribute to making everyone feel they belong at Mason.
Q: What advice would you have for a new Mason leader?
A: Embrace the uniqueness of this place, help make it the best university it can be for the world.
Q: There are many major initiatives under way at Mason—the Core Campus Project, expansion in Arlington and SciTech, potential growth in Loudoun, and so on. What are you most excited about seeing as a future visitor to Mason?
A: An innovative new medical school. New breakthroughs in online education. A world-renowned, well-endowed, and influential Institute for a Sustainable Earth. A new innovation district in Arlington anchored by our new digital innovation center. A new science and engineering building at SciTech together with a thriving town center next to it. All colleges named after a generous donor.
Q: In five years, Mason will be…
A: Thriving, serving 45,000 students, challenging norms in American higher education.