George Mason University this week launched a comprehensive website for the university’s search for a new president, creating a resource that will help attract the best candidates for the job while keeping the university community informed about progress.
The presidential search website can be found at presidentialsearch.gmu.edu. It includes the position description; a search “roadmap” of the process; short bios and pictures of the 19 search committee members; videos of the five “listening sessions” with students, faculty and staff; and other information.
Faculty Senate Chair Shannon Davis and Board of Visitors Vice Rector Jimmy Hazel co-chair the presidential search committee.
“In today’s market, it’s essential to have a website that leaves a strong impression with candidates about the university they would lead,” said Hazel, JD ‘84, who served on the previous two Mason presidential search committees that led to the hiring of Alan Merten (1996-2012) and Ángel Cabrera (2012-2019). “At the same time, this is an important resource for engaging with our community. The common refrain we heard from Mason students, faculty and staff at the listening sessions is that they want to be kept as informed as possible throughout the search process.”
Davis and Hazel also will host a “presidential search community session” to update the university community and to answer questions about the search. The community session is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30, in Merten Hall, Room 1201, on the Fairfax Campus.
“Every member of the university community has a stake in the choice of our next president,” said Davis, who is a sociology professor in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. “The website and community sessions will give all stakeholders an opportunity to engage with the committee early in the process.”
The president position opened this past summer when Cabrera departed Mason to become president at Georgia Tech, his alma mater. Anne Holton, the former Virginia secretary of education and a Mason visiting professor, was named interim Mason president effective Aug. 1.