Statement: Office of the President

Our motto is “freedom and learning.” At our core, we are a place to teach, learn, and improve our understanding of the world. For most of us, this sudden turn of violence is confusing and frightening, and we need help to make sense of what is unfolding.

We have met our goal of keeping our COVID-19 testing positivity rates consistently below 4 percent for the past several weeks, and the latest guidance from the CDC indicates that all of our domestic campuses are at the “Low” level of transmission, which now means the CDC no longer recommends that masks be required indoors.

It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic news of the death of Michael Buschmann, Eminent Scholar and Chair of Mason’s Bioengineering Department in the College of Engineering and Computing. A scholar, university leader and man of compassion and integrity; his untimely death saddens all who knew and loved him.

Mason’s positivity rate – the percentage of those being tested who are positive for COVID-19 –remains consistently far below the 4 percent threshold, at 0.38 percent. This success, combined with Mason’s 95-percent overall vaccination rate, as well as the continued overall drop in COVID-19 spread throughout the region and nation, now make the pivot to optional mask-wearing more viable.

George Mason University is winning the battle against COVID-19. We have not won yet, but we are close.

Anne Gentry has been named George Mason University's interim University Counsel effective immediately.

This spring we are guided by three goals for success: preserving health and safety, minimizing operational disruptions, and stopping the spread of the virus to hasten the end of the pandemic.  We urge administrative and academic units to review their contingency plans and update them as appropriate.

We will open as planned on January 3, and the spring semester will begin as planned on January 24. We will require all faculty, staff, and students to obtain a booster shot as soon as they are able, and provide proof of the booster to Mason. And we will continue our indoor masking, testing, and Mason COVID Health Check requirements.

Prioritize your health and safety. Here are a few departing reminders to help ensure that we close out this year happy and healthy!

Mason's eighth president Gregory Washington's inaugural video message to the university community.