Editing George Mason University (section)

{{Short description|Public university in Fairfax, Virginia, US}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox university
 | name                   = George Mason University
 | image                  = George Mason University seal.svg
 | image_upright          = 0.7
 | motto                  = "Freedom and Learning"
 | established            = {{start date and age|1949}}<ref name="Finley" />
 | founder                = [[Virginia General Assembly]]
 | type                   = [[Public university|Public]] [[research university]]
 | accreditation          = [[Southern Association of Colleges and Schools|SACS]]
 | academic_affiliations  = {{hlist|[[Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area|CUWMA]]| [[Oak Ridge Associated Universities|ORAU]] | [[State Council of Higher Education for Virginia|SCHEV]]|[[National Sea Grant College Program|Sea-grant]]}}
 | former_names           = Northern Virginia University Center of the University of Virginia (1949–1956)<br>University College of the University of Virginia (1956–1959)<br>George Mason College of the University of Virginia (1959–1972)
 | endowment              = $222.2&nbsp;million (2024)<ref>As of April 14, 2025. {{cite web |url= https://gmuf.org/wp-content/uploads/24-263-Endowment-Report-2024_ATI.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205135752/https://gmuf.org/wp-content/uploads/24-263-Endowment-Report-2024_ATI.pdf |archive-date=December 5, 2021 |url-status=live |title=George Mason University Foundation Endowment Report, Fiscal Year 2024 |publisher=George Mason University Foundation |access-date=April 15, 2025}}</ref>
 | president              = [[Gregory Washington]]<ref>{{cite news |title=George Mason selects dean of UC-Irvine engineering school as its next president |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/02/24/george-mason-selects-dean-uc-irvine-engineering-school-its-next-president/ |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=March 16, 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
 | provost                = James Soto Antony
 | rector                 = Charles "Cully" Stimson
 | academic_staff         = 2,133 (fall 2023)<ref name="frb1-facu">{{cite web |url=https://oiep.gmu.edu/resources/fast-facts/mason-facts-and-figures-2023-2024/#facu |title=Mason Facts and Figures 2023-2024: Faculty |publisher=George Mason University |access-date=February 22, 2023 }}</ref>
 | students               = 39,763 (fall 2024)<ref name="frb1">{{cite web |url=https://oiep.gmu.edu/resources/fast-facts/mason-facts-and-figures-2024-2025/ |title=Mason Facts and Figures 2023–2024: Fall 2023 Enrollment and Student Profile (US Campus Only) |publisher=George Mason University |access-date=May 14, 2025 }}</ref>
 | undergrad              = 27,160 (fall 2023)<ref name="frb1"/>
 | postgrad               = 11,804 (fall 2023)<ref name="frb1"/>
 | city                   = [[George Mason, Virginia|George Mason]]
 | state                  = Virginia
 | country                = US
 | coor                   = {{Coord|38.831|-77.308|type:edu_region:US-VA|display=inline,title}}
 | campus                 = Large Suburb
 | campus_size            = {{convert|953|acre|ha}} (Fairfax / [[George Mason, Virginia]]), {{convert|1148|acre|ha}} total
 | free_label             = Location of Campuses
 | free                   = {{hlist|[[Fairfax, Virginia|Fairfax City]]/[[Fairfax County, Virginia|Fairfax County]]|[[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington]]|[[Front Royal, Virginia|Front Royal]]|[[Prince William County, Virginia|Prince William]]|[[Lorton, Virginia|Lorton]]|[[Incheon]], South Korea}}<ref name="ifez1">{{Cite news |last=Sang |first=Youn-joo |title=IFEZ Rises as Global Investment Center |work=[[The Korea Herald]] |location=Seoul, Korea |access-date=September 26, 2015 |date=May 14, 2015 |url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20150514000742}}</ref><ref name=ifex2>{{Cite news |last=Kim |first=Rahn |title=8 in 10 International School Students in Korea Are Koreans |work=[[The Korea Times]] |access-date= September 26, 2015 |date=February 11, 2015 |url=http://www.koreatimesus.com/8-in-10-international-school-students-in-korea-are-koreans/}}</ref>
 | colors                 = {{color box|#006633}} Green<br>{{color box|#FFCC33}} Gold<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ocm.gmu.edu/mason-brand/visual-identity-and-style/color |title=Color |publisher=George Mason University Office of Communication and Marketing |website=The George Mason University Brand Profile |access-date=June 7, 2021 }}</ref>
 | sporting_affiliations  = {{hlist|[[NCAA Division I]] – [[Atlantic 10 Conference|A-10]]|[[Eastern College Athletic Conference|ECAC]]|[[Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association|EIVA]]|[[IC4A]]|[[Mid-American Conference|MAC]]–wrestling}}
 | sports_nickname        = [[George Mason Patriots|Patriots]]
 | mascot                 = The Patriot
 | website                = {{URL|https://www.gmu.edu/|gmu.edu}}
 | logo                   = George_Mason_University_Logo_2024.png
 | logo_upright           = 1.05
 | free_label2            = Media
 | free2                  = ''[[Fourth Estate (George Mason University newspaper)|Fourth Estate]]'' (newspaper) <br />
[[WGMU Radio]] (radio station)
}}

'''George Mason University''' ('''GMU''')<!-- foreign language name should not be inserted unless the subject is **closely** associated with the subject, see [[MOS:LEADLANG]] --> is a [[Public university|public]] [[research university]] in [[Fairfax County, Virginia]], United States. Located in [[Northern Virginia]] near [[Washington, D.C.]], the university is named in honor of [[George Mason]], a [[Founding Father of the United States]].<ref>{{cite web|website=Mason Spirit|last=Rich|first=Colleen Kearney|title=From the Archives: What's in a Name?|url=http://spirit.gmu.edu/2012/04/from-the-archives-whats-in-a-name/}}</ref>

The university was founded in 1949 as a northern branch of the [[University of Virginia]]. It became an independent university in 1972, and it has since grown into the largest public university by student enrollment in Virginia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 24, 1956 |title=A History of George Mason University {{!}} Commonwealth of Virginia: House Joint Resolution #5, February 24, 1956. |url=http://ahistoryofmason.gmu.edu/items/show/18 |access-date=June 12, 2019 |website=ahistoryofmason.gmu.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=A History of George Mason University {{!}} About George Mason University: A History |url=http://ahistoryofmason.gmu.edu/about |access-date=January 8, 2020 |website=ahistoryofmason.gmu.edu |archive-date=January 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131081802/http://ahistoryofmason.gmu.edu/about |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Finley">{{Cite book |last=Finley |first=John Norville Gibson |url=http://digilib.gmu.edu/jspui/bitstream/handle/1920/2698/Mann_53_1_1_v.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |title=Progress Report of the Northern Virginia University Center |date=July 1, 1952 |quote="The report that follows is a progress report on the Northern Virginia University Center since its beginnings in 1949 by its Local Director, Professor J. N. G. Finley." George B. Zehmer, Director Extension Division University of Virginia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220225740/http://digilib.gmu.edu/jspui/bitstream/handle/1920/2698/Mann_53_1_1_v.pdf |archive-date=February 20, 2017}}</ref> It has expanded into a [[residential college]] for [[traditional student]]s while maintaining its historic [[Commuting|commuter student]]-inclusive environment at both [[Undergraduate education|undergraduate]] and [[Postgraduate education|post-graduate]] levels, with an emphasis on combining modern professional education with a traditional [[Liberal arts education|liberal arts]] curriculum.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Universidad Carlos III de Madrid ([[Charles III University of Madrid]]) and George Mason University |title=George Mason University – Guide to International Students |url=https://www.uc3m.es/secretaria-virtual/media/secretaria-virtual/doc/archivo/doc_une_george-mason-guidebook/student_guidebook.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Fonseca, Ed. |first=James W. |title=Higher Education for Adults: Non-Traditional Paths |url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED287426.pdf |website=[[United States Department of Education]]}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Steele |first=Clarence A. |title=Clarence A. Steele to Colgate W. Darden, Jr., April 4, 1949 |date=April 4, 1949}}</ref>

The university operates four campuses; the flagship campus is in [[Fairfax, Virginia]]. Its other three campuses are in [[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington]], [[Front Royal, Virginia|Front Royal]], and [[Prince William County, Virginia|Prince William County]]. It also operates a [[Retreat (spiritual)|retreat]] and [[Convention center|conference center]] in [[Lorton, Virginia|Lorton]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Retreat Facility |url=https://carterschool.gmu.edu/retreat-facility |access-date=May 26, 2023 |website=Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution |language=en}}</ref> and an international campus in [[Incheon]], South Korea. It is [[Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education|classified]] among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".<ref>{{cite web |date=2019 |title=Carnegie Classification |url=http://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/lookup/view_institution.php?unit_id=232186 |access-date=June 14, 2019 |publisher=[[Indiana University]]}}</ref> Since the university's founding, two of its [[economics]] professors have received the [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics]]: [[James M. Buchanan]] in 1986 and [[Vernon L. Smith]] in 2002.<ref>[http://walterewilliams.com/another-nobel-laureate/ Another Nobel Laureate] Walter E. Williams, GMU, Department of Economics, October 14, 2002</ref>