Alan G. Merten was a professor of information systems and the Anne and Elmer Lindseth Dean of the S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University before succeeding George W. Johnson as president of George Mason University.

Dr. Merten's vision for George Mason includes high academic standards, community service, and sound administrative operation. He wants students, faculty, and staff to look to Mason as an exciting place in which to study and work, and through which to engage with the Northern Virginia community. As a man known for his affability and willingness to listen, Dr. Merten seeks the input of students, alumni, faculty and staff, and community members in his goal to make George Mason a great university. He praises the university's spirit of optimism and innovation, its links to the local high-technology industry, its proximity and contribution to the metropolitan area's talent and expertise, and its emphasis on public policy, innovative undergraduate programs, and the arts as evidence of the university's high value to its students, employees, and community.

Dr. Merten believes we all need to "market" George Mason University--to take responsibility for helping to communicate its strengths. Even as we celebrate the promise of the Merten presidency, we must heed his prescription for a stellar future for Mason: "By working together, by insisting on quality, by recognizing our individual and collective responsibilities, we can take ourselves and George Mason to a new level of excellence."

If you'd like to read more about Dr. Merten, take a look at these two Mason Gazette articles: Message from the President: Our Strengths, Our Weaknesses, Our Future (August/September 1996), and Incoming President Alan G. Merten: The First Interview (May/June 1996).