Community Engagement

Federico Frum, BA Art and Visual Technology ’05, believes in the power of art to bring people together. Known professionally as MasPaz—Spanish for “more peace”—Frum has spent his career fusing activism and creativity, using bold street murals, community engagement, and cultural storytelling to spread a message of unity.

In May, a George Mason University law student, working with the Mason Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic (M-VETS), advocated for a U.S. combat veteran before an administrative law judge at a hearing before the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA). 

George Mason University researchers Cynthia Lum and Christopher Koper are testing solutions to help local police departments balance limited resources while strengthening public trust.

BSW student Nallely Calles Ortega and MSW student Betzy Balladares Oviedo were honored with Student of the Year Awards from the National Association of Social Workers Metro D.C. Chapter for their exemplary academic performance, contributions to community service during their practicums, and work advocating for social work education equity.

George Mason professor Celso Ferreira recently redesigned his Flood Hazard Engineering and Adaptation course to work with community partners to deliver real projects as part of the Institute for a Sustainable Earth’s (ISE’s) NSF Accelerating Research Translation (ART) Seed Translational Research Project (STRP) Program.

The new College of Visual and Performing Arts special topics course AVT 496 focuses on furniture design and is offered through the university’s School of Art. As a part of the course, the students will tour the National Gallery of Art and put what they’ve learned to practice by identifying and recommending ways to create a more welcoming environment for people to experience the art.

The Culinary Careers Collaborative (CCC) is a workforce development project to get restaurant workers the foundational skills they need to succeed.

Now in its third year, Poetry Alive! has extended its reach to a new site, the Patrick D. Molinari Juvenile Shelter in Prince William County.

GRAMMY Award-winning Silkroad Ensemble and Versa-Style Street Dance Company led powerful residencies at the Center for the Arts this spring 2025 semester.

Students from George Mason University’s Film and Video Studies Program collaborated in the classroom to create films that earned them their first Capital Emmy Student Production Awards. These awards, sponsored by the National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, recognize outstanding achievement in video production in the region.