Schar School of Policy and Government

General Michael V. Hayden discussed his bestselling memoir, “Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror” with a packed audience in Founders Hall. General Hayden, former CIA and NSA director, and current Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Schar School, participated in a panel discussion with Dean Mark Rozell, Professor Jeremy Mayer, and Georgetown Law Professor Laura Donohue. The General signed copies of his book afterwards.

For Paul Gilbert, executive director of NOVA Parks, there are “two big, giant numbers” to take away from the just-released study that details the impact of the nation’s local and regional parks: $140 billion in economic activity and 1 million jobs.

George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government has been ranked 10th in Best Value Schools’ list of 50 “Innovative Public Service Schools.”

“For me, nothing connects the world more intensely than the rather drab and routine everyday transactions that take place between peoples across borders,” Pritam Banerjee said.

Internships at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum are providing an almost-out-of-this-world learning opportunity for two George Mason University students. The experience also could help them land dream careers.

Congratulations to the 20 George Mason University students and recent graduates who were selected as semi-finalists for the 2015 Presidential Management Fellows program. Eleven of the selected students were from Mason’s Schar School of Policy and Government and will advance to the finalist round:

The 2016 class of finalists for the Presidential Management Fellows programs was recently announced, and sixteen George Mason University students and recent alumni have been named as finalists. Mason’s Schar School of Policy and Government accounted for half with eight finalists.

David C. Williams, the recently retired Inspector General of the US Postal Service (USPS OIG), will join the Schar School of Policy and Government as a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Public Policy. He will begin teaching classes in the Fall, helping students understand government oversight issues.

Kathleen Danskin’s work at GAP Solutions, Inc., is helping to get disaster-stricken communities back up on their feet. Her role – supporting the Science Preparedness program for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response (ASPR) – serves the health needs of people recovering from ruin.

We should all be lucky enough to enjoy our jobs as much as Denise Turner Roth, BA Government and Politics ’99, does hers. “I look forward to coming to work every day,” she says, “and every day I have an experience where I go back and say, ‘Wow, I just did that.’” She even enjoys the commute into Washington, D.C. “It’s got great views of all the monuments.”