Mason Staff Senate
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June 2025

June 2025 General Meeting Presentation

Lauren Posey, Director of State Government Relations, Photo Provided

The June 2025 Staff Senate general meeting featured guest speaker Lauren Posey, director of state government relations.

The Staff Senate would like to apologize for not including a recording to this session. We experienced technical difficulties during the Zoom and were unable to capture the session. For those who missed the meeting, or would like to review the presentation, you can view the slides here. Slide 14 includes Lauren’s responses to the pre-submitted questions.

In addition to her presentation, Lauren referred to the following resources from the Office of State Government Relations website:

Guidelines for Public Testimony and Communication with State Officials

Members of the University Community are asked to keep these Guidelines for Public Testimony in mind when they choose to communicate with state officials. These policies have been approved by University Administration as well as both the Faculty and Staff Senates.

State Government Relations Key Facts Pocket Card

George Mason University State Government Relations Key Facts Pocket Card

Categories
June 2025 August 2025

2025-2026 Staff Senate Meeting Schedule

Staff Senate general meetings take place on the first Wednesday of each month (except January, July, and August). As our speakers for the year are confirmed, this list will be updated. Unless otherwise noted, the location of the meeting will be on the Fairfax campus. All meetings are also available via Zoom.

2025-2026 General Meeting schedule:

September 3, 2025 – Speaker: Chris Ackerman, VP of HR
October 1, 2025 – Speaker: President Gregory Washington
November 5, 2025: Dr. Mary Ellen O’Toole (Location: SciTech)
December 3, 2025
February 4, 2026
March 4, 2026
April 1, 2026
May 6, 2026 – Speaker: President Gregory Washington (Location: Mason Square)
June 3, 2026

We look forward to seeing you at our meetings this year!

Categories
June 2025

Staff Senate Nominations are Open

Becoming a Staff Senator is a great way to get involved with the university community and to have an impact on your workplace. The senate provides many opportunities to learn about how the university works and to collaborate with administrators and staff members outside of your unit. Terms begin in August and are for two years. Seats are open to classified staff and non-student wage employee classifications.

We are currently accepting nominations for the 2025 election. The nomination form can be submitted for yourself or a colleague between June 9 – June 20.

The official election will be held between July 9 and July 23. Ballots will be emailed to all classified and non-student wage employees. Results will be published in the August Staff Senate newsletter.

Available Seats by Campus:
Fairfax: 8 seats
Mason Square: 2 seats
SciTech: 1 seat
At-Large: 1 seat

Categories
May 2025

John Crocker, Presidential Citation Recipient

John Crocker of Risk, Safety, and Resilience received a Presidential Citation for his service to a fellow employee during a medical emergency. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

John Crocker, chemical safety manager in Risk, Safety, and Resilience, was awarded the Presidential Citation at the 2025 Outstanding Achievement Awards ceremony on April 15, 2025.

On March 24, 2025, an HVAC unit outside of the University Police and Public Safety Headquarters had a catastrophic failure severely injuring a Facilities and Campus Operations employee. John was in the vicinity, heard the malfunction, and rushed over to the scene of the incident. He found the other employee non-responsive, without a pulse and not breathing. John quickly began administering CPR and the employee regained a pulse, began breathing, and became conscious. It is thanks to John’s keen observational skills, drive to action, and willingness and ability to perform CPR that his fellow George Mason colleague received the necessary medical attention in an expeditious manner.

The Presidential Citation is a non-competitive award intended to recognize those who perform an exceptional deed that may or may not be related to their normal duties. The recipient of the award must have rendered a service or performed a deed at either personal or potential sacrifice that was motivated by good citizenship or a sense of public responsibility. Human Resources accepts nominations via Dynamic Forms. The nomination must include a one page description of the action for which the employee is being nominated.

Categories
May 2025

Outstanding Supervisor Awards 2025: Finalists and Nominees

The Outstanding Supervisor Award, sponsored by the Mason Staff Senate, seeks to recognize supervisors who routinely go above and beyond to provide unparalleled leadership, mentorship, and support within their departments or offices. Outstanding supervisors model and promote a positive work-life balance and strive to serve not only their departments or offices, but also their personnel.

During the Outstanding Achievement Awards ceremony on April 15, the Staff Senate presented two awards for outstanding supervisor:

  • Dan Minot, assistant dean for student success in the Office of Student and Academic Affairs within the College of Education and Human Development
  • Ryan Braun, director of undergraduate academic success in Undergraduate Education

In addition to our two finalists, we would also like to recognize all 51 of the outstanding supervisor nominees this year! Thank you for all you do to support your colleagues and the university!

2025 Nominees for Outstanding Supervisor:
Adriana Latham
Bill Cunningham
Brittney Dalmas
Caitlyn Mundie
Christi Wilcox
Claire Wurmfeld
Colette Brooks
Dan Minot
Diana Parkinson
DJ Spaulding
Eleanor Weis
Emily Schneider
Erin McSherry
Ethan Carter
Geraldine Grant
Hatisha Jeffrey
Jacelyn Tyson
Jacquelyn Sims
Jasmyne Rogers
Jeanne Booth
Jenna McGwin
Jennifer Meslener
Jennifer Rene Torrance
Katherine Sirotin
Ketul Popat
Kevin Connor
Kirstin Franko
Krystal Dains
Lisa Joyner
Maggie Ewell
Mark Snyder
May Abou Ghazaleh
Melissa Thierry
Michele Schwietz
Michelle Thompson
Ozlem Uzuner
Rebecca Hurd
Robin Parker
Ronald Fasso
Rubi X. Chavez
Ryan Braun
Sabrey Stewart
Said Bouiftilen
Sharon L. Cullen
Skye Berg
Stacey Ellis
Susan Graziano
Tatiana Link
Vanessa Correa
Yena Kim