Mason Staff Senate
The Support Group for Working Mothers at Mason is one way faculty, staff, and students can come together, discuss the issues confronting working mothers, and perhaps motivate changes on campus. The group meets in a hybrid format with virtual participation offered on Microsoft Teams. If you are interested in sharing stories and being part of an informal organization of working mothers, please visit the Working Mothers at Mason website for meeting dates and additional information.
Personal background: Dr. Tabatha Hargrove is a native of Suffolk, Virginia and is married with four children. She has a Miniature Pinscher dog named Tangie. As hobbies, Tabatha loves to read, roller skate, bake, and spend time with family.
Professional journey: Tabatha has over ten years of experience working in higher education. She has worked for the state for six of those ten years and transferred to George Mason in September 2022. She loves working for George Mason because the university is innovative and forward thinking. Her position allows her to embrace her broad-based background to serve each student holistically.
Professional background: Her broad background based in both Academic and Student Affairs includes the following: career and academic advising, tutoring and writing center supervisor, college success specialist, academic coaching and advising, as well as teaching and program administrator. This background has given her the knowledge, skills, and ability to help serve students in the Honors College as the Student Support Coordinator.
Why I serve on the Staff Senate: Tabatha joined the Staff Senate in August 2023 and although new to the Senate, she has served in the same capacity at her previous institution. Tabatha looks forward to serving and advocating for staff, along with helping her fellow staff senate colleagues on the Staff Engagement and Rewards committee and the Staff Senate’s 25th anniversary event.
Tickets are now on sale for the 2024 season at The Center for the Arts, Hylton Performing Arts Center, and the College of Visual and Performing Arts. Read more for details on upcoming performances, workshops, and shows. Mason faculty, staff, retirees, alumni, and students receive a handful of discounts and offers, both for single tickets as well as subscriptions.
February 12 – 18
Mason Artist-in-Residence
A.I.M by Kyle Abraham
Saturday, February 17 at 8 p.m.
Center for the Arts
MacArthur Genius Award-winning choreographer Kyle Abraham has developed a dance aesthetic that defies genre, mixing and morphing from social dance to classical dance styles and back again. The Center presents his visionary works using various dance and music styles to uncover the relationships between identity, history, and geography. This Black-led contemporary dance company aims to create a body of dance-based work that is galvanized by Black culture and history.
MALEVO
Saturday, February 17 at 8 p.m.
Hylton Performing Arts Center, Merchant Hall
With its attitude, thrilling footwork, and powerful drumming, Argentinian sensation MALEVO draws heavily from the Argentinian folk dance Malambo to create an exhilarating, innovative experience. MALEVO was named “Cultural Ambassadors for the National Identity of Argentina” and have been seen on NBC’s America’s Got Talent. Don’t miss their electrifying Hylton Center debut!
February 19 – 25
Dewberry School of Music
Mason Symphony Orchestra: A Tribute to Professor Anthony Maiello
Wednesday, February 21 at 8 p.m.
Center for the Arts
The Mason Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Soo Han, is comprised of outstanding string, wind, and percussion players from throughout the School of Music. This concert features winners of the School of Music’s student concerto competition.
Mason School of Theater
Twelve Ophelias
February 22, 23*, 24 at 8 p.m.
February 24 and 25** at 2 p.m.
*ASL Interpreted (ASL) and Talkback
**Audio Described
TheaterSpace, Fairfax Campus
Shakespeare’s Ophelia rises up out of the water dreaming of Pop-Tarts and other sweet things. She finds herself in a neo-Elizabethan Appalachian setting where Gertrude runs a brothel, Hamlet is called a Rude Boy, and nothing is what it seems. In this mirrored world of word-scraps and cold sex, Ophelia cuts a new path for herself.
Hylton Family Series
Giraffes Can’t Dance
Saturday, February 24 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.*
Hylton Performing Arts Center, Merchant Hall
The beloved storybook Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees celebrates its 20th anniversary with this imaginative musical adaptation told with puppets, African rhythms, and dancing! With a resounding message of the power of self-acceptance, Giraffes Can’t Dance will have everyone in the audience on their feet, confidently showing off their moves. (Recommended for ages 3 to 8)
American Roots Series
Tray Wellington Band
Saturday, February 24 at 5 and 8 p.m.
Hylton Performing Arts Center, Gregory Family Theater
Banjo virtuoso, two-time International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Award winner, and 2019 Momentum Instrumentalist of the Year, Tray Wellington leads the high-energy acoustic Newgrass sensation the Tray Wellington Band. The quartet pushes the boundaries of Bluegrass music, incorporating Bossa nova, jazz, and blues elements to create an exciting new sound that also honors traditional Bluegrass roots.
“Growing Pains” EP Release Concert, with Carlehr Swanson
Saturday, February 24 at 6 p.m.
Harris Theatre, Fairfax Campus
Join College of Visual and Performing Arts alumna, Carlehr Swanson, Bachelor of Music ’19, for a concert of her newly released EP “Growing Pains.” Growing up, Carlehr was enamored by the musical aspects of a church service. Through her “Growing Pains,” she puts an update-to-date spin on several genres close to her heart. “Growing Pains” is a six-track EP written by Swanson. Sonically, this EP combines jazz, R&B, and gospel music genres. Lyrically, these six tracks chronicle the slight discomfort one feels while arriving at adulthood. For Swanson, this project combines her interests in performance and music research, as each track provides a historically informed performance of the mentioned genres. This EP invites conversations about love, faith, and mental health and is dedicated to those 20-somethings who are just trying to figure “it” out. Following the performance, Swanson will greet fans and sign albums in the lobby of the theatre.
National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine
Volodymyr Sirenko, conductor
Natalia Khoma, cello
Sunday, February 25 at 2 p.m.
Hylton Performing Arts Center, Merchant Hall
The Kyiv-based National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine (NSOU) has been one of the most distinguished orchestras in Eastern Europe. In 2024, the official orchestra of Ukraine returns for its first tour in the U.S. since conflict in its country began. GRAMMY Award-winning Ukrainian conductor Volodymyr Sirenko leads the orchestra along with Tchaikovsky Competition winner, cellist Natalia Khoma.
Mnozil Brass: Jubilee
Sunday, February 25 at 3 p.m.
Center for the Arts
Hailed as one of the world’s premier brass ensembles, Austrian septet Mnozil Brass seamlessly combines slapstick comedy with classical, jazz, folk, and pop. Mnozil Brass takes its name from Gasthaus Mnozil, a restaurant across the street from the Vienna Conservatory, where seven young music students met and began playing at a monthly open mic in 1992. 30 years later, Mnozil Brass performs for sold-out houses around the world.
Songwriting Series for Military Kids
Sundays, February 25–March 17 from 1 to 3 p.m.
Online via Zoom
Students will explore the techniques of recording, producing, and performing original music at home in this four-week virtual series designed for military kids. Learn songwriting skills in a collaborative, virtual environment led by instructors from Mason Community Arts Academy and Veterans and the Arts Initiative.
February 26 – March 3
Gerson Lanza
Tuesday, February 27 at 1:30 p.m.
Hylton Performing Arts Center, Gregory Family Theater
Honduran tap dancer and choreographer Gerson Lanza captivates Hylton Center audiences in his love letter to the American percussive art form of tap, during an afternoon of syncopated rhythms and intricate footwork. For his Matinee Idylls debut, he will be joined by his jazz quintet featuring some of the best musicians on the East Coast.
Dewberry School of Music
Mason Wind Symphony & Symphonic Band Concert #3: “Persichetti Symphony No. 6”
Tuesday, February 27 at 8 p.m.
Center for the Arts
The Mason Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band open the Spring 2024 performance season with a joint concert performance. The Mason Symphonic Band will open the concert with traditional and contemporary works for wind bands composed by a variety of composers. The Mason Wind Symphony will present one of the cherished historical works for wind band, Vincent Persichetti’s Symphony No. 6. Nicolas Slonimsky described Persichetti’s music as “remarkable for its polyphonic skill in fusing the seemingly incompatible idioms of classicism, romanticism, and stark modernism (with) Italianate diatonicism.” Other selected works in this concert include the Mason Wind Symphony premiere of Nkeiru Okoye’s “Voices Shouting Out.”
Dewberry School of Music
University Singers: The Soundscapes of Austria
Wednesday, February 28 at 8 p.m.
Harris Theatre, Fairfax Campus
Experience the majestic melodies and rich harmonies created by the cultural heritage of the Austrian choral tradition. Austrian composers have made significant contributions to the sacred and secular choral canon, creating pieces that are cherished and performed by choirs worldwide. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Haydn, Marianna Martines, Franz Schubert, Anton Bruckner, and Franz Schrecker are a part of this rich choral history.
American Roots Series
J2B2 (John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band)
Saturday, March 2 at 5 and 8 p.m.
Hylton Performing Arts Center, Gregory Family Theater
Four Bluegrass giants make up J2B2 (John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band), a quartet that delivers fresh interpretations of Bluegrass classics combined with the stylings of West Coast folk rock. Experience American roots music at its finest and “expect fireworks and amazing playing from some of the best string players in the world” (Yes! Weekly).
Camerata Ireland
Barry Douglas, piano and conductor
Celine Byrne, soprano
Eimear McGeown, Irish flute
Sunday, March 3 at 2 p.m.
Hylton Performing Arts Center, Merchant Hall
Camerata Ireland, a groundbreaking chamber orchestra, has delighted audiences across Ireland and worldwide since 1999. In this program, enjoy a nocturne by John Fields, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2, selections from Mozart’s most beloved operas, and a genre-defying musical collaboration between Barry Douglas (pianist and conductor), Eimear McGeown (Irish flute and whistle), and Celine Byrne (soprano).
Keyboard Conversations® with Jeffrey Siegel: Chopin and Liszt
Sunday, March 3 at 7 p.m.
Center for the Arts
In Chopin and Liszt, Keyboard Conversations® with Jeffrey Siegel explores the virtuosity of the two Romantic-era superstars. Both composers created impressive catalogues of melodious works and achieved a level of popularity not experienced by the virtuosos who preceded them. A masterful performer and communicator, Siegel demonstrates the Nocturnes of Chopin and the Hungarian Rhapsody by Liszt, while sharing stories about the lives and times of these 19th century legends.
March 4 – 10
The Peking Acrobats
Sunday, March 10 at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Center for the Arts
For more than 30 years, The Peking Acrobats have revitalized Chinese acrobatics, fusing ancient athletic discipline with modern special effects to create a marvel of gravity-defying spectacle with amazing displays of contortion, flexibility, and control. Accompanied by live musicians, The Peking Acrobats execute daring maneuvers and display their technical prowess. The Peking Acrobats will leave you and the whole family breathless with an exuberant performance full of pageantry and amazing feats that need to be seen to be believed.
Mason Rector Horace Blackman, who leads the university’s Board of Visitors, has been invited to be the guest speaker at the March Staff Senate meeting.
Wednesday, March 6
10 a.m. to noon
10 a.m. to 11 a.m. – Guest Speaker
11 a.m. to noon – General Meeting (Agenda)
Constituents are invited to attend in person in Merten Hall, Room 1201, or join the meeting via Zoom.
Passcode: SS123
Call in: 301-715-8592 or 267-831-0333
Meeting ID: 946 9452 3314 / Passcode: 760740
The Staff Senate collected questions in advance for consideration. We will also be accepting live questions, time permitting.
The Staff Senate represents all classified and non-student wage employees at George Mason University. Working closely with university administration, we address concerns that have an impact on the quality of work-life for the Mason community. The work of the senate is accomplished through open and continuous communication with its constituents. Find more ways to engage with the senate before, during, and after our general meetings.
The February Staff Senate meeting featured guest speaker, Mary “Missy” Cummings, to discuss her work in artificial intelligence.
For those who missed or would like to rewatch the session, the recording is now available, Check out the recording, here.
Feast for $5! First Fridays – Exclusive Dining Deal for Faculty & Staff
Visit any one of our dining halls and show your Mason ID for a $5 meal the first Friday of the month! Available in all dining halls. Visit dining.gmu.edu to view the daily menu and learn more about each dining hall!
Join us for a Watch Party as Mason Men’s Basketball challenges Loyola Chicago on the road!
Grab your colleagues, family and fellow Patriots and join us for a fantastic watch party at P.J. Skidoos in Fairfax on Saturday, February 24! Get ready for an unforgettable event filled with great food, drinks, and a lively atmosphere as we watch Mason Men’s Basketball challenge Loyola! Receive 10% off with your Mason ID! RSVP to enter to win a prize.
Create an Account: MasonCommutes.com
What is MasonCommutes.com? It’s the go-to site for planning your commute to Mason. Looking for someone with whom to share a ride? See who might live in your general area and be coming to campus at similar times. Looking for a bike buddy to ride with? Want to track your commutes and see how much CO2 you’re reducing? Check it out. Create an account today!
Mason Shuttle Schedule Changes for Spring Break
Spring Break will bring some modifications to the Mason Shuttle schedules. A summary of Spring Break schedule changes is available, here. Parking and Transportation is also offering regional shuttles for Spring Break; those details will soon be available, here.
Reminder: Nominations Open for the Rick Holt Active Transportation Advocate Award
The Rick Holt Active Transportation Advocate Award honors Rick, “the Mason bike dude,” who passionately advocated for and encouraged active transportation at Mason and beyond. Nominations are open for this award, the recipient of whom will be recognized at the Outstanding Achievement Awards in April. If you know a faculty or staff member who embodies Rick’s enthusiasm and commitment, we encourage you to submit a nomination. The deadline for submissions is Friday, February 23.
If you have any questions, please contact Parking and Transportation at 3-2828 or e-mail transpo@gmu.edu.
Guaranteed Ride Home
If you’re a faculty or staff member who bikes, carpools, vanpools, uses mass transit (e.g. bus, metro) or walks to work at least two times per week, Parking & Transportation wants you to know that you always have a ride backup with Guaranteed Ride Home (GRH). Sponsored by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG), it’s free to sign up and free to use. Once you register, you can use GRH up to six times per year. If a qualifying emergency arises, call Commuter Connections and they will arrange transportation for you (e.g. taxi, car rental, transit). It’s a good idea to sign up before you need it. Conditions apply; find more details and register (scroll to Guaranteed Ride Home Program).
Spring 2024 Vonage Implementation Update
ITS is actively implementing Mason’s new telecommunications system, Vonage, Inc., on Fairfax Campus. As ITS moves through buildings, impacted users will be notified of how to prepare and what to expect during the change. For more details, including the implementation schedule, visit the Telecom System Replacement Roadmap.
DocuSign Service for Faculty and Staff Expanded
ITS recently expanded the DocuSign service for business and administrative needs at Mason. Previously, Mason had a limited number of envelopes (i.e., digital signature requests) for sending. With this expansion, the service now includes unlimited envelopes for sending and is available to all faculty and staff. Read more information about DocuSign on the ITS website.
Canvas is Mason’s New Learning Management System
Canvas by Instructure has been selected as George Mason University’s new Learning Management System (LMS) and will eventually replace Blackboard. For more information, visit lms.gmu.edu.
Mason Facilities is seeking interns to join our in-person, hands-on program!
Students can gain meaningful and applicable real-world work experiences through specific projects and engagement with Facilities professionals.
Internship Details:
Four Internship Opportunities are Available:
Internship Requirements:
Application Deadline: March 1, 2024
Learn more about Facilities Summer Internship Program here.
