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In 1972 George Mason University became an independent member of the commonwealth's system of colleges and universities. Since then, the university's development has been marked by rapid growth and innovative planning. Employing the revolutionary concept of the "distributed" university, George Mason acquired the George Mason University School of Law and a campus in Arlington in 1979. The Prince William Campus was established in Prince William County in 1997. The 150 acres that once was the entire George Mason University campus has become the 677-acre Fairfax Campus. Mason began having classes in Loudoun in the fall of 2005. Along with the George Mason University Administrative offices, the Fairfax campus contains such facilities as the George W. Johnson Center, the Center for the Arts complex, Patriot Center, a 113,900-square-foot Recreation Sports Complex, and a 66,000-square-foot Aquatic and Fitness Center. |
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George Mason University
began as the Northern Virginia branch of the University of Virginia in 1957.
Eager to support the fledgling institution, the Town (now City) of Fairfax
purchased 150 acres in 1958 and donated it to the University of Virginia for
a permanent branch campus. In 1966, the General Assembly authorized the expansion
of George Mason College into a four-year, degree-granting institution with
the long-range mandate to expand into a major regional university.