Mason Staff Senate
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Featured on Homepage June 2025

Staff Senate Recognition Ceremony

A group of five senators with the Vice President of Human Resources. Senators are holding certificates of recognition.
Left to Right: Megan Neff-Boyle, Chris Ackerman, Melissa Hallman, Jeremiah Garcia, Jariatu Bah, and Rachel Spence. Senators featured online: Carlos Sandoval, Tabatha Hargrove, Lei An Ilan-Garcia, Danielle Fritz, and Diana St. Amand-Campos (Photo by Hannah King)

Each June the Staff Senate recognizes those staff senators who have completed their two-year term. This year we were joined by Chris Ackerman, vice president of human resources and Stacey Ellis, faculty and staff engagement program manager who presented senators with certificates and words of thanks during a brief recognition ceremony.

Thank you all for your service to the senate, the university, and our constituents. As Chris Ackerman said during his presentation, “I have been deeply impressed by the commitment and passion this group brings to supporting our classified staff and non-student wage colleaguesDespite the demands of your daily roles, you’ve made the time to lead and advocate for others—and that speaks volumes. Thank you for setting the standard for what servant leadership and active engagement look like at George Mason.”

The following senators were recognized:

Carlos Sandoval
Mason Square, Awards & Engagement Committee Co-Chair

Diana St. Amand-Campos
Mason Square

Jariatu Bah
Fairfax, Events Committee Co-Chair

Timothy Diggins
Fairfax

Jeremiah Garcia
Fairfax, Awards & Engagement Committee Co-Chair

Melissa Hallman
Fairfax, Parliamentarian

Tabatha Hargrove
Fairfax, 25th Anniversary Committee Chair

Lei An Ilan-Garcia
Fairfax

Megan Neff-Boyle
Fairfax, Events Committee Co-Chair

Danielle Fritz
At-Large

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Profile of a Senator May 2025

Meet Lauren Reese, Staff Senator and Communications and Marketing Manager, Information Technology Services

Lauren Reese, Staff Senator and Communications and Marketing Manager, Information Technology Services

Role: I lead the ITS Communications & Marketing team who is responsible for ensuring the George Mason community is informed of all IT-related news, initiatives, and information to keep them connected and protected. Our team crafts and disseminates messages faculty, staff, and students receive regarding new and updated services, maintenance, and outages. We also collaborate with ITS teams on significant projects, partner with other departments to amplify critical information that enhances the teaching, learning, and working experience at George Mason, and explore innovative ways to engage the community through design and social media.

Mason journey: My George Mason journey began in December 2011 with the Division of Instructional Technology (DoIT), which was part of ITU at the time. Throughout my tenure, ITS has seen significant transformations and growth; these experiences have honed my ability to adapt, strategize, and collaborate with diverse individuals across various roles and departments. Beyond ITS, I have had the privilege of participating in initiatives such as the Student Experience Redesign, Emerging Leaders Supervisors Series, and Mason Orientation.

Best thing about working at Mason: The people. Over the past 14 years, I have encountered so many individuals with diverse skills, backgrounds, hobbies, and interests, all of whom have enriched my experience and made me a better contributor to George Mason, my community, and the world. I have formed lifelong friendships, gained trusted mentors, watched students achieve great things, met so many dogs, and cherished every hello received while walking across campus.

Why serve on the Staff Senate: Inspired by my parents, both educators with nearly a century of combined public service, I have always been driven to advocate for the underdog, give a voice to the voiceless, and stand up for my beliefs. In these challenging times, where injustice often feels prevalent, I decided to toss aside my waffling and put my name in the running to join the Staff Senate. If not now, when?

At the end of the day: George Mason has provided me an inclusive and supportive environment to learn, grow, and explore not only as a professional but as a person. It is truly unique to know the work you do contributes to something bigger than yourself, and I’m very grateful to wake up each day with a job that aligns with my personal values.

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June 2025

May General Meeting Recording

Sharnnia Artis, Vice President. Photo by Evan Cantwell/ Creative Services

The May 2025 Staff Senate general meeting featured guest speaker Sharnnia Artis, vice president for Access, Compliance, and Community.

For those who missed the meeting, or would like to re-watch the session, the recording is now available.

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April 2025

Heal Together 2025

The Office of Access, Compliance, and Community is thrilled to invite YOU to Heal Together 2025 — our multi-campus celebration of healing, connection, and well-being as they kick off Mental Health Awareness Month!

Fairfax | Sci-Tech | Mason Square | Mason Korea
Wednesday, April 30 | 10AM – 4PM

Join us for an unforgettable day of mindful movement, cultural connection, and self-care experiences across all campuses. Whether you’re looking to recharge, reflect, or simply vibe with your community, Heal Together is your space to do just that.

Expect mindfulness sessions, a fabulous panel of healing experts, movement-based wellness, and more!

Questions? Reach out to [email protected] 

Event details: Heal Together 2025

Registration for Hybrid events: Heal Together (Hybrid)

 

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Uncategorized

Test Calendar link

The featured speaker at the March Staff Senate Meeting is Rector Stimson.

Add to Calendar

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February 2025

Federal Compliance Updates

Mason students on Capitol Hill
Schar Democracy Lab tours Capitol Hill. Photo by: Ron Aira/Creative Services/George Mason University

The Staff Senate has received questions, comments, and concerns from constituents about changing circumstances with federal support for higher education.

As we continue to navigate this dynamic environment, more messages from University senior leadership will be coming in the days and weeks ahead to help our community navigate the emerging landscape. There is also a new web page called Federal Compliance Updates on our University News site where the latest university guidance and verified federal government instruction on compliance are being posted.

We encourage you to monitor this site for news and timely updates from University leadership.

 

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February 2025

February General Meeting – Follow-up from HR

In addition to constituent questions that were presented to the President, some of the pre-submitted questions for our February meeting were passed on to representatives from HR for their response.

Could the university expand the number of tuition exemption credits for staff to take courses at the university? 

We offer a robust and competitive tuition exemption program for employees. The program and the number of tuition exemption credits employees can take per semester are designed to consider various factors, including workload, departmental needs, and overall employee well-being. We understand that flexibility and support are key to fostering a positive work environment, and we strive to balance these elements. We are always committed to staying informed about current trends and best practices, and we appreciate your feedback and suggestions as we continue to enhance our offerings.

Could the university offer an hour lunch break for staff instead of 30 minutes?

Department of Human Resources Management Policy 1.25 (pdf) “Hours of Work,” states that a 30-minute unpaid lunch break shall be afforded for employees who work at least 6 consecutive hours.  Employees seeking to extend their lunch break are encouraged to talk to their supervisor about flexible work options, with the following key points in mind:

    • Discretionary breaks (two fifteen-minute breaks) may be granted to employees who work an eight-hour day or longer.
    • The lunch period is not counted as hours worked.
    • Discretionary breaks cannot be added to the 30-minute lunch break.

An example of how this could work, with supervisor approval, might be:

    • Begin work at 8:00 am
    • Break 10:15 am
    • Lunch 12-1 pm (30 minute unpaid + 30 minute flextime)
    • Break 2:15 pm
    • End day at 5:00 pm

A reminder that employees with flexible work agreements must have a flexible work agreement on file.

Will more vacant Classified positions be filled? Some employees are taking on the job responsibilities for employees who have left George Mason and doing the work on top of their current roles. This is not sustainable in the long run.

We understand this is an ongoing challenge across the university. We continue to encourage employees and supervisors to have conversations about workload, prioritization, and strategies for streamlining or making processes more efficient. Please check MasonLEAPS for learning opportunities related to holding 1:1 conversations, self-advocacy, and change management. For support in discussing workload with your supervisor, please reach out to Employee Relations at [email protected].

In lieu of larger pay increases than what we currently receive, is offering additional time off/holiday pay something the administration has considered?  

Each year, our senior leadership team works with HR to review the Commonwealth’s holiday calendar with the goal of providing a 2-week winter break where possible. In order to create the winter break we enjoy at the university, certain holidays (such as President’s Day) are shifted to be observed in December. There are times where administration supplements the holidays granted by the Commonwealth to extend winter break by granting additional holiday leave; this leave comes at an operating cost to the university, so this decision is made based on complex factors, but please know this suggestion is part of the decision-making process at George Mason.

Additional questions were raised about the tuition benefit and subsequent tax implications. These concerns will be passed on to Payroll and we hope to have feedback to share at either the March meeting or the next newsletter.

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February 2025

President’s Town Hall Sessions

George Mason University President Gregory Washington will host two 90-minute town hall sessions to discuss the state of the university and to engage with faculty and staff.

The first town hall, for faculty and staff working in academic units, will take place on Wednesday, March 19 at 9:00 a.m., in the HUB Ballroom.

The second town hall, for George Mason employees working in non-academic units, will take place on Tuesday, March 25 at 1:30 p.m., in the HUB Ballroom.

For those unable to attend in-person, both sessions will be livestreamed on Zoom. Please contact your respective unit leadership for Zoom links and passwords. While live questions will be taken at the conclusion of each town hall, the Zoom chat function will not be enabled. Should virtual attendees have any questions, please provide them to your designated unit contact so they can be shared in-person during your respective town hall session.

Captioning will be available on the livestream. If you are in need of sign language interpreters for this event, please reach out directly to the Office of Disability Services, ds.gmu.edu. If United Language Group (ULG) services are needed, please reach out directly to the Office of Human Resources.

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January 2025

Meet Rachel Spence, Staff Senate Vice Chair

I am excited to serve as Vice Chair during my second term as a Staff Senator. I initially joined the Senate in 2022 as the at-large senator while working remotely from California. In 2024 I returned to Northern Virginia and was re-elected to represent the Fairfax campus. I was honored to be elected to the Vice Chair position by my fellow Senators in December 2024.

During my (almost) 8 years at George Mason, I have seen the Staff Senate as a valuable campus resource, not only for advocacy purposes, but also for fostering connections and creating a supportive and inclusive environment for all staff, regardless of their location. As Vice Chair, I am committed to supporting professional development, well-being, and work-life balance initiatives to enhance the overall staff experience at George Mason University. I hope I can provide the leadership needed to continue the good work of the Staff Senate in creating a thriving, engaged community that reflects the university’s values and mission.

If you have any questions, problems, or concerns and would like the support of the Staff Senate, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly or use the Staff Senate contact form. I look forward to working with you, supporting you, and advocating for you!

Get to know more about me:

 

 

 

 

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April 2024

Follow-up Questions from April Meeting with President Washington

During the session with President Washington on April 3, we received questions from constituents that were not addressed due to time limitations. The President has provided written responses.

Question 1: If the BOV does not approve the 3% tuition increase, where does that leave us with regard to balancing the budget?

President Washington: If maintaining Mason’s budget at the same level, it would require additional slowing of expenditure growth by approximately $6M, based on in-state undergraduate tuition only; note that approximately 1/3 of impact would come from not incrementing student financial aid.

Follow-up Question: Will we need to make reductions?

President Washington: In all budget scenarios, year 2 of the planned budget mitigation will be ongoing. Please plan on attending or watching the May 2 Board of Visitors Finance & Land Use meeting for additional information.

Question 2: Why didn’t the rebranding initiative include more people? Also, was the cost to schools and offices considered? It may not cost OUB money, but it will cost schools and offices a lot of money?

President Washington: Inclusion – All told, the three-year rebrand process involved more than 1,500 people from the seven stakeholder groups: students, parents, faculty, staff, donor, alumni, community supporters/leaders. Most of the feedback we used was gathered on the front end, early in the process. In this, we asked a broad range of questions that gave us direction for the entire branding project – the framing of our identity, under the All Together Different theme, and eventually to evaluate a new logo design.

As we worked on the visual logo, we engaged the President’s Brand Advisory Counsel, which is comprised of a cross-section of university leadership and marketing/communications practitioners from across the campus to add to the input we’d gathered prior to rolling out the “All Together Different” brand. We then worked with a small, interdisciplinary team of subject-matter specialists and our brand consultant, Ologie, to produce and test various design concepts, to ensure that any options we considered could stand the test of being used in the endless myriad of contexts (digital, large-format display, apparel, business collateral, etc.). That group included experts from academic units, facilities, advancement, athletics, and the Office of University Branding.

Ultimately, we arrived at two finalist options, and we invited the entire community to take a sneak peek and answer specific questions about each option, which informed our final decision. About 200 people participated in that exercise.

The university’s new logo will do what great visual branding is supposed to – and what our current system unfortunately is not – which is to represent our full brand story in a way that we can all display it compellingly and consistently. It won’t be popular at first, because new logos never are. Its job is not to be popular among faculty and staff. Its job is to compete in the DC metro region – the fiercest, most highly contested higher education marketplace in America.

Cost – In fact, this will cost the Office of University Branding a lot of money, which they are paying for with significant reallocation of funding for the next two to three fiscal years. It will not require local units to spend any additional money. The first thing to change should be digital uses, which should not impact the budget – just our time.

If your unit has materials with the old logo on it – use them up and then replace them as you naturally would. Our mantra is, “Run out, don’t throw out.” More permanent logos, including signage, will be replaced at the expense of the Office of University Branding. This should not compete with existing budget priorities for local units, unless that leader makes the independent decision to accelerate her or his unit’s conversion to the new logo.

This is truly designed as a budget-neutral conversion.

Question 3: Does the 8% increase in staff hires take into account the number of staff that have left the university during/after the pandemic? My experience is that we are short staff – not staff heavy. Are there any data on employee retention rates/ turnover rates at Mason?

President Washington: Please refer to this spreadsheet provided by HR.

Chart showing data on turnover and new hires at Mason from FY19 to FY24 to date, disaggregated by employee group. For full details, see pdf linked below.

(download pdf of HR data)

 

Please note, as this is the end of fiscal year and data is pulled in July of each year, it will differ from what some headcount and other data may be found through other resources, such as the OIEP or MicroStrategy reports.

Data queried as of the following dates, subject to change thereafter:
FY19 – As of 6/30/2019, queried August 2019
FY20 – As of 6/30/2020, queried 7/1/2020
FY21 – As of 6/30/2021, queried 7/12/2021
FY22 – As of 6/30/2022, queried 7/14/2022
FY23 – As of 6/30/2023, queried 7/10/2023
FY24 – to date 4/2/2024

Question 4: Speaking of west campus and partnerships: now that it seems that the cricket partnership doesn’t seem like it’s the right choice, has there already been exploration into other partnership opportunities?

President Washington: The facilities we use to train and compete in Division 1 Intercollegiate Athletics, engage students, faculty, alumni, and the community, and activate our brand internationally are functionally obsolete and do not support the University’s strategic priorities. Although the cricket partnership did not ultimately meet the University’s needs in the Temporary Multipurpose Ballpark, the strategic priorities (outlined in the 2023 Strategic Direction: Mason is All Together Different) remain. It is our responsibility to ensure all units are positioned advantageously, and resources are deployed appropriately to achieve our goals. As such, we will continue to explore potential partners that enhance our campus experience while reserving state funding for other much-needed improvements.

Question 5: Thank you for what you said earlier about those whose positions require them coming to campus 5 days a week being the ones who deserve a parking break as they also have the highest commuting and time costs. Fully remote employees do not have parking costs. Does the university currently have an overall policy on in-person versus remote days expected for staff or is this now decided on the college or department level?

President Washington: Mason’s current Flexible Work policy does not include guidance on in-person vs. remote office days. Supervisors are encouraged to review business unit goals/needs and employee job descriptions to determine telework eligibility and scheduling. For further questions or information on flexible work training, including “Supervising a Hybrid Workforce,” reach out to [email protected].

However, you do bring up a valid point and we need to rethink if we should or could provide an additional benefit to those who cannot have a flexible schedule. I will ask our HR team to look at that.