Corey Schaut

Each year, the George Mason University Alumni Association’s annual Celebration of Distinction recognizes outstanding alumni, faculty members, and students.

Mason Alumni Association’s annual Celebration of Distinction recognizes outstanding alumni, faculty members, and students. This year’s celebration was held October 20 at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner.

Mark Rudich describes himself as a nontraditional student, but maybe that’s because he’s more used to teaching classes than taking them. After several years teaching exercise science to college students in Texas, he’s now part of the first cohort of students in the College of Public Health’s Master in Nutrition Program dietetics concentration, now beginning its second year.

Davis will serve a one-year term as leader of the organization that advocates for the role of acute and critical care nurses in the health care system.

Samantha Harrison, who graduated this spring with a bachelor’s degree in community health with a global health concentration, says that discovering the community health degree provided her with a comprehensive way to achieve her ambitions to bring equity to communities through well-being. 

Samantha Kanselaar and Julia Mandeville are among the first group of recipients of the Mentoring for Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence (MARIE) program, a new initiative sponsored by George Mason University’s Office of the Provost. The program offers mentoring support and funding for graduate students’ project ideas that advance the university’s values of access, diversity, equity, and inclusion.  

Theresa Smith received $5,000 to the advancement of the nursing profession via research.

Substance use disorder affects more than 40 million Americans according to the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Recovery can be a difficult path, but an interdisciplinary team led by Holly Matto, associate professor in the Department of Social Work, aims to make it a little easier through a recently patented technology-based therapy. 

For more than 30 years, the George Mason University Alumni Association has honored outstanding alumni, faculty members, and students at their annual Celebration of Distinction. The 2022 awardees include a diverse group of Patriots who exemplify service to others.

In a recent study, George Mason University Associate Professor Hong Xue, PhD and colleagues evaluated the impact of ending market exclusivity for brand-name statin drugs. The first study to comprehensively assess the economic impact of generic competition for statins found that ending market exclusivity for statins saves U.S. $12 billion and individuals nearly $1,000 annually.