Summary George Mason 2007 In Brief Reaching Our Goals The Nature of the Institution The Distributed University Enrollment and Student Life Learning and Teaching The Basic Curriculum Faculty Programs More Programs Research The Libraries Technology as the Foundation The Global Perspective Interactive with its Region Summary: The Innovative University for the Information Society George Mason will be the university needed by a region and world driven by new social, economic and technological realities. (Vision Statement, 2000). Our location is key: The nation’s capital region is the epicenter of the world’s political web, its information and communications network and its new economy. Through it, George Mason will reach out to the world. George Mason’s historic strengths—innovation, responsiveness, flexibility, and interactivity with its community—will continue to shape our direction and our culture. Because of the unique nature of this region, George Mason is an integral part of a diverse set of communities that reach far beyond immediate geographic boundaries: Northern Virginia, the Greater Washington area, the Commonwealth of Virginia, the nation’s capital and the world’s capital. The university's relationship with its communities—the degree to which we both draw upon and contribute to their strengths—will be a key factor in our continuing success. George Mason 2007 in Brief By 2007, George Mason will be closing in on our target enrollment of 30,000 students at our three campuses in Fairfax, Arlington, and Prince William, and through activities in Loudoun County. Reaching this target calls for an aggressive yet selective increase in enrollment between 2001 and 2007. The university will grow by nearly 1,000 students each year, an approximately 4 percent growth rate. The student population will expand at both the graduate and undergraduate level, with headcount enrollment split roughly 35/65 between the two. We will expand graduate programs to meet the growing workforce needs of the region, while the undergraduate population will increase to meet the accelerating demand for access to college in Virginia. The needs of this dynamic region will drive programmatic developments. We will give major emphasis to academic and research programs in policy, information technology, the sciences, and the arts, with significant attention also to conflict resolution, management, nursing, and education. Research efforts, involving a mix of applied and basic research, will focus on partnerships with industry and government, and the level of external funding will have doubled to at least $90 million a year. We will accentuate liberal arts education at the undergraduate level, including an innovative and focused core curriculum. All curricula will share a commitment to global education and research and to ensuring that students graduate with competence in current technologies. We will undertake a major building program over the next six years, resulting in three new academic buildings at the Fairfax campus, a new research building, a student services building bringing together all student enrollment operations, and possible public-private partnerships to create research park-like space on the west side of the campus. Additional housing units will add space for another 2,000 students, bringing the total to 5,000 students in residence. Major campus expansion will occur at the Prince William Campus, with one additional academic/research building, an arts center and expanded research space. At the Arlington campus, we will complete Arlington II, and begin planning for Arlington III. Publicly funded development at this campus will be supplemented by the development of adjacent land owned by the George Mason University Foundation. While George Mason’s students will continue to improve in quality as measured in traditional ways, they will increasingly match the culture of the institution in being innovative, entrepreneurial, curious and diverse in race, culture and age. The Commonwealth of Virginia will continue to be the primary source of funding for George Mason, but private support will increase significantly. This plan is based on the premise that our endowment will grow by over 50 percent to $60 million and annualized giving will exceed $20 million annually. Reaching the Goals The goals for George Mason over the next five years are ambitious. They depend on a number of factors beyond simply adding new programs or even adding faculty. Funding. George Mason’s development depends on adequate state funding for new programs and for higher enrollment. But it also depends on major strides toward base budget adequacy, to first provide the staff, faculty and services needed to meet existing university responsibilities appropriately, and then to extend this infrastructure to the new levels of enrollment and research. Enrollment expansion, for example, should not prevent progress in reducing average class size, and only a significant base budget increase will permit these criteria to be met. Staffing. Serving more students and amplifying research activities requires additional staff in a variety of areas—admissions, advising, fiscal services, student life, sponsored research, computing. The list is extensive. The university must plan the services necessary to implement its goals for 2007, as well as acquire the requisite funding. Space. Key space needs are suggested in the plan itself. The university already lacks adequate dormitories, research space, student services space, and classrooms. An ambitious building program has already been sketched for the next three biennia, but further efforts and successful implementation are essential. Invitation to planning. The university’s goals invite a careful process of planning for implementation in conjunction with budget strategies over the next several months. Guided by the targets of student numbers and research volume, and the additional programs planned, it is essential to determine the necessary infrastructure in terms of facilities, technology and personnel.