Schar School Featured Stories

Irma Garcia always had a goal of earning a college degree. Now, at age 72, she will graduate with a bachelor's degree in public administration degree from the Schar School.

Saddam Salim came from Bangladesh as an 8-year-old. After bouts of homelessness and reliance on public support, the 2012 and 2015 Schar School graduate is now a Virginia state senator. But his public service journey is hardly over: He is now running for Congress. Read what the keynote speaker at the Degree Celebration will tell the audience on May 16.

A mistranslation in a medical setting can be dangerous. Two Schar School scholars developed an AI-generated platform to overcome language barriers—and have already won an award for it.

The Schar School welcomed its first cohort into the newly launched National Security and Public Policy master’s program.

Gabriella Grabovska came to the United States in 2022 just after Russia invaded her homeland of Ukraine. The Kyiv native’s first visit to the United States was as a George Mason University student in the Schar School of Policy and Government. Now, four years later, she’s leaving with ambition, experience, and a clear mission.

Eighty-one energetic Patriots traveled to Richmond on March 5 for Mason Lobbies, where George Mason University President Gregory Washington joined House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, BA Economics ’93, and Senator Saddam Salim, BS Public Administration ’12, MPA ’15, in welcoming students to the General Assembly for a whirlwind day of advocacy.

A new minor, the only one of its kind in the Washington, D.C., region, teaches the arts of lobbying and advocacy. Read about the program and how a collaboration between a mentor and a student developed it.

The Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University is proud to partner with the Peace Corps as a Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program institution, expanding opportunities for Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) to pursue graduate education while continuing their commitment to service in communities across the United States.

TraCCC becomes CONTRA: The first center to examine transnational crime and corruption adds criminal networks to its mandate and changes its name.

The 2026 Peter N. Stearns Provost Scholar-Athlete Awards have been announced. Meet the four Schar School students who are not only elite athletes but elite scholars.