Schar School

The Schar School’s Organization Development and Knowledge Management program celebrates 25 years of teaching change.

When it comes to making informed decisions for government, businesses, and the community, it’s important to have lots of information. For the Greater Washington area, leaders in those spheres rely on reports and analyses to ensure the best choices are made for the region’s future. In many ways, they are relying on Jeannette Chapman.

May Abboud Melki’s home was in shambles following the massive August 4 explosion in Beirut, Lebanon. Glass shards from blasted windows and debris filled her home, and nearly everything she owned had been damaged. That is, except for her piano.

Political campaigns are complex—even for political scientists. For students studying the field, understanding what is happening behind the scenes of a campaign can be difficult. For the average citizen, the confusion can be even greater.

That’s why Steven Pearlstein created the First Tuesday speaker series. The Robinson Professor of Public Affairs at George Mason University hopes it can help broaden perspectives on politics and challenge misconceptions that lead to political cynicism.

When Haider Semaisim works on the federally mandated database of global incidents of terrorism with George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government, he does so with pride. It is not only an educational and professional endeavor, he said. “It’s personal.”

To defend against terrorism, you have to understand it. Thanks to more than a dozen students, alumni and faculty at George Mason University working on a digital terrorism database, everyone from policy makers to researchers around the world will be a step closer to that goal.

The rapidly changing challenges that confront the globe’s societies—and governments’ policy responses to them—were the focus of a two-day, 14-panel conference that brought dozens of academics and practitioners to George Mason University’s Arlington Campus in early February.