Richard Sparks is an alumnus of George Mason College and University and a free-lance photographer and artist.

He attended George Mason College at its first location at Bailey's Crossroads from 1961 until 1964, where he worked as a laboratory assistant in biology. He transferred to George Washington University in 1964, where he received his B.A. He continued to work as a laboratory assistant at George Mason College until his appointment as a laboratory instructor for the 1967/68 academic year. In 1970, he returned to George Mason College (later George Mason University), where he got his master's degree in biology in 1973. Since receiving his degree, he has worked for the federal government as a technical writer/editor and liaison to researchers using technical databases.

From his early days at George Mason College, Sparks has been an avid photographer. Sparks was one of the three photographers and authors of the first George Mason College Yearbook in 1963/1964. He worked with a Mamiya C3 camera, which his father gave him for his twentieth birthday, and he developed his pictures in a darkroom in his family home. His photograph collection contains over 80 digitized photographs of George Mason College at Bailey's Crossroads and 40 from the earliest years at Fairfax. In addition, Sparks put together a booklet, "Life at Bailey's Crossroads 1961-64," featuring some of his collection of photographs from George Mason College's early days. The brochure is available online as a .pdf file: "Life at Bailey's Crossroads 1961-64." (Problems opening Adobe in your browser?)

The collection also includes an oral history interview with Richard Sparks and his wife, Ann Walker Sparks, who is an alumna of George Mason College (1965). Ann Walker Sparks received a teaching degree from the University of Virginia, and taught mathematics in the Fairfax County public school system for more than 25 years until her retirement. The online exhibition Simplicity, Permanence, and Economy: The Origins of George Mason University's Fairfax Campus features some excerpts from the oral history interview: SC&A launched the exhibition in the fall of 2004 at the 40th anniversary of the opening of George Mason's Fairfax Campus.

Special Collections & Archives (SC&A) preserves and makes available to all students, faculty, and researchers many kinds of original and scholarly materials. Subject areas in SC&A include Northern Virginiana, Planned Communities, Congressional Papers, Performing Arts, Maps, the Civil War, and George Mason University. Formats in SC&A include manuscripts, rare books, playbills, musical scores, audio and videotapes, architectural drawings, photographs, and slides.