The George Mason University (GMU) Faculty Information Guide presents general information about administrative issues and benefits of importance to faculty. The information contained in this Guide is intended for the use of currently employed faculty, prospective faculty and the activities that employ faculty. The information in the Guide is subject to change at any time. It will be updated as new or changed information is known or obsolete information is deleted. This Guide does not address contractual matters of employment. They are contained in the GMU Faculty Handbook. Comments and/or questions about information in the Guide are welcome and may be submitted to the Provost's Office.
STATEMENT OF MISSION (BOV, 1991)
George Mason University will be an institution of international academic reputation, providing superior education enabling
students to develop critical, analytical, and imaginative thinking and to make well founded ethical decisions. It will respond to
the call for interdisciplinary research and teaching not simply by adding programs but by rethinking the traditional structure of
the academy.
The University will prepare students to address the complex issues facing them in society and to discover meaning in their own
lives. It will encourage diversity in its student body and will meet the needs of students by providing them with undergraduate,
graduate, and professional courses of study that are interdisciplinary and innovative. The University will energetically seek ways
to interact with and serve the needs of the student body.
The University will nurture and support a faculty that is diverse, innovative and excellent in teaching, active in pure and applied
research, and responsive to the needs of the students and the community. The faculty will embody the University's interactive
approach to change in both the academy and in the world.
The University will be a resource of the Commonwealth of Virginia, serving private and public sectors, and will be an
intellectual and cultural nexus between Northern Virginia, the nation, and the world.