Department Chair Resources

The responsibilities covered by departmental leaders cover the gamut of operations in the academic environment.

Strong academic unit leadership is vitally important to George Mason University. Department chairs and Local Academic Unit (LAU) heads set the tone for a supportive, inclusive, and productive climate for our faculty and staff success. This is integral to our mission of student retention and success. Chairs and LAU heads:  

  • Oversee the quality of teaching, learning, mentoring, and advising  

  • Steward the curricula, including degree programs, minors, and certificates 

  • Initiate and oversee fair, inclusive and transparent faculty recruitment and hiring processes 

  • Assure that faculty and staff receive appropriate mentoring and support  

  • Manage faculty and staff performance evaluation processes 

  • Promote faculty governance  

  • Manage a variety of resources, including budgets  

  • Connect local academic goals to broader college/school and institutional priorities  

  • Provide input and suggestions to deans, directors, and the broader academic community  

George Mason acknowledges and values the commitment and hard work of our chairs and local academic unit leaders.   
 

Department Leader Rosters:

College of Education and Human Development

Title Contact
Dean, College of Education and Human Development Ingrid Guerra-López
Director, Advanced Professional Teacher Development and International Education Joan Shin
Director, Child, Family, and Community Engagement Sam Steen
Director, Education Leadership and Policy Farnoosh Shahrokhi
Director, Educational Psychology and Research Methods Michelle Buehl
Director, Elementary, Literacy, and Secondary Education Kristien Zenkov
Director, Learning Technologies Nada Dabbagh 
Director, School of Education Audra Parker
Interim Director, School of Kinesiology Bob Baker
Director, School of Sport, Recreation, and Tourism Management Bob Baker
Director, Special Education and disAbility Research Pamela Hudson-Baker

College of Engineering and Computing

Title Contact
Dean, College of Engineering and Computing Kenneth Ball
Divisional Dean, Volgenau School of Engineering Ariela Sofer
Divisional Dean, School of Computing Gurdip Singh
Chair, Bioengineering Ketul Popat
Director, Computer Forensics and Data Analytics Bob Osgood
Chair, Computer Science David Rosenblum
Interim Chair, Cyber Security Engineering Paulo Costa
Director, Data Analytics Engineering James Baldo
Interim Chair, Electrical and Computer Engineering Brian Mark
Chair, Information Sciences and Technology Ozlem Uzuner
Chair, Mechanical Engineering Leigh McCue
Chair, Sid and Reva Dewberry Dept. of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering Elise Miller-Hooks
Chair, Statistics Jiayang Sun
Chair, Systems Engineering and Operations Research John Shortle

College of Public Health

Title Contact
Dean, College of Public Health Melissa Perry
Interim Chair, Global and Community Health Rima Nakkash
Chair, Health Administration and Policy P. J. Maddox
Chair, Nutrition and Food Studies Martin Binks
Interim Director, School of Nursing Margaret Rodan
Chair, Social Work Emily Ihara

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Title Contact
Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences Ann Ardis
Director, African and African American Studies LaNitra Berger
Chair, Communication Kim Meltzer
Chair, Criminology, Law, and Society James Willis
Interim Director, Cultural Studies Lisa Rabin
Chair, Economics Daniel Houser
Chair, English Tamara Harvey
Director, Global Affairs Cortney Hughes Rinker 
Director, Higher Education Daniel Chen
Chair, History and Art History Matthew Karush
Director, Interdisciplinary Studies Ben Gatling
Interim Director, Latin American Studies Lisa Breglia
Interim Chair, Modern and Classical Languages Robert Matz
Chair, Philosophy Lisa Eckenwiler
Chair, Psychology Tim Curby
Chair, Religious Studies John Turner
Director, Russian and Eurasian Studies Steven Barnes
Executive Director, School of Integrative Studies Kelly Dunne
Chair, Sociology and Anthropology Dan Temple
Director, Women and Gender Studies Anu Aneja

College of Science

Title Contact
Interim Dean, College of Science Cody Edwards 
Chair, Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Sciences Mark Uhen
Chair, Biology Geraldine Grant
Chair, Chemistry and Biochemistry Mikell Paige
Acting Chair, Computational and Data Sciences Arie Croitoru
Chair, Environmental Science and Policy Gad Perry
Director, Forensic Science Mary Ellen O'Toole
Chair, Geography and Geoinformation Science Dieter Pfoser
Director, Advanced Biomedical Sciences Programs William Hahn
Acting Director, Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience Ted Dumas
Chair, Mathematical Sciences Maria Emelianenko
Chair, Physics and Astronomy Ernest Barreto
Director, School of Systems Biology Iosif Vaisman

College of Visual and Performing Arts

Title Contact
Dean, College of Visual and Performing Arts Rick Davis
Director, Arts Management Karalee Dawn
Associate Director, Computer Game Design Sang Nam
Interim Director, Film and Video Studies Cynthia Fuchs
Director, School of Art Zoe Charlton
Director, School of Dance Susan Shields
Director, School of Music Linda Monson
Director, School of Theater Djola Branner

Costello College of Business

Title Contact
Dean, Costello College of Business Ajay Vinzé
Chair, Accounting Long Chen
Chair, Business Foundations Cameron Harris
Chair, Finance Alexander Philipov
Chair, Information Systems and Operations Management Pallab Sanyal
Chair, Management Claus Langfred
Chair, Marketing Jessica Hoppner

Honors College

Title Contact
Dean, Honors College Zofia Burr
Assistant Dean, Faculty and Curriculum John Woolsey
Associate Dean, Honors College Jan Allbeck
Associate Dean, Student Engagement, Admissions, and Administration Anthony Hoefer

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Title Contact
Dean, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution Alpaslan Özerdem
Director, Graduate Programs Susan Allen
Director, Undergraduate Programs Mara Schoeny

Schar School of Policy and Government

Title Contact
Dean, Schar School of Policy and Government Mark Rozell
Faculty Program Director, Government and International Affairs Michael Hunzeker
Faculty Program Director, Public Policy and Public Administration Stefan Toepler