Honors College

One of the highlights of biology major Gwendolyne Fields’ Mason career is her summer 2022 internship at the Cheetah Conservation Fund outside the town of Otjiwarongo in Namibia.

At the Spring 2023 Exhibition and Awards Ceremony, several of these students were celebrated with awards recognizing their achievements and accomplishments. The Honors College spotlights students who explore their curiosity and embody a commitment to civic engagement and experiential learning through their involvement within and beyond their communities.

The George Mason Faculty Alumni Awards are given yearly to a faculty member who graduated from Mason. The Faculty Alumni Award is given to someone who has contributed to a cultural scholarship or community at Mason. This year, the Honors College awarded Dr. Blake Silver, Rabbi Bruce Aft, and Professor Maoria Kirker for their service to the University. They were recognized for reflecting core Honors College values through their courses, challenging students to consider other perspectives, and integrating DEIJ in daily classroom settings.

The Honors College invites guest speakers to share their expertise with students. One such speaker was Andrew White, a Mason alum and author of "Hell Followed with Us," a Young Adult novel that addresses issues of transgender legislation. Students had the opportunity to ask questions and learn from his experiences. This is just one example of the many opportunities for students to connect with experts in their fields.

The Honors College welcomes Julie Coons to the Dean’s Advisory Board.

Dr. Cattaneo earned her doctorate in Clinical/Community Psychology from the University of Maryland in 2001 and joined George Mason University in 2003. She applies a community psychology orientation to her work and focuses on the wellbeing of marginalized populations. Dr. Cattaneo will be taking a new PhD student for the Fall 2023 application cycle.

Rosemarie Zagarri is a historian specializing in Early American history. She has published four books and numerous articles in leading scholarly journals. Professor Zagarri has received many research fellowships and awards, including the Outstanding Article Prize from the Southeastern Eighteenth-Century Studies Association. She has served on several editorial boards and was a member of the Advisory Board for the Museum for Statue of Liberty in NYC. In 2010, she was elected President of the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic (SHEAR) and in 2013 was named a University Professor by GMU Board of Visitors.

Mark Rudnicki is a teacher who is the recipient of two Kosciuszko Foundation Research Fellowships. He has spoken at conferences on the intersection of philosophy and literature in the works of Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz. Mark is also the advisor for Mason’s Music Productions Club and is currently working on a research project called Witkacy: Archaeology of Influence. He has several publications related to Witkiewicz.

Mason is launching a six-part YouTube series titled “Our Future, Transformed: Mason Spotlights the World’s Grand Challenges” and hosted by President Washington

Dr. Forbes teaches Honors 122, Reading the Arts. She trained as a Romanticist and scholar of poetry and is currently a fiction writer.