As I am sure you know by now, I will depart Mason at the end of the month and become the 15th president of Towson University.
It has been the greatest professional, and personal, honor of my career to serve at Mason for a decade as the dean of the College of Education and Human Development, and for nearly four years as Provost. After 14 years, it is incredibly difficult to leave the place I consider “home.” It is even harder to say goodbye.
In preparation for my departure, I have been thinking about the experiences I have had at Mason as a faculty member and academic leader. In the next issue of the Provost’s Newsletter, which will be the last during my term as provost, I will share with the Mason community a video message that reflects on the work we have engaged in together, highlights our achievements, and offers thoughts about my own legacy.
In advance of recording such a segment, I have pondered guidance given in a sermon by Rabbi Daniel Kaiman during the recent Judaic high holidays. He remarked, and I paraphrase, that at times of personal transition it is prudent and appropriate to:
RETRACE our history,
REFLECT on our experiences, and
REBOUND from our successes and failures while we plan for the future.
As his comments had special meaning for me, I found this to be sage advice.
Over the coming weeks, as I continue to reflect on my Mason experience, I will consider each of these important domains. I believe that taken together they frame a picture that captures what was, what is, and what can be. I am confident the picture formed will be a photograph worthy of savoring and saving.
I wish George Mason University a future that builds on our past, leverages today, exceeds our expectations, and reaches new heights. That is an image I want to keep.
All the best.
Mark R. Ginsberg, Ph.D.
Provost, Executive Vice President, and Professor