Fourth Estate Executive Editor Frank Muraca
Letter from the Editor: Winter break coverage
|It’s been a busy and exciting first semester at Fourth Estate.
Eight things to know about Mason’s impact on NoVa’s economy
|In October, Mason’s Center for Regional Analysis released a study of the university’s impact on the region’s economy. Universities are regularly cited as economic engines for surrounding communities, but just how much value does Mason generate?
1. All in all, Mason produces $1.14 billion in economic activity.
Mason plans to boost research credentials through investment, undergrad involvement
|As part of its strategic plan, Mason will try to attain a “very high research activity” ranking from the Carnegie Foundation, a research center that measures the research activity of hundreds of universities. The move is part of an attempt to increase Mason’s reputation as a high-class research institution. To reach the goal, officials hope to invest heavily in research projects and to restructure academic programs to make research a more prominent component of Mason’s academic experience.
What do student leaders do?
|Letter from the Editor
Last week, Fourth Estate published an article entitled “Five things you need to know about student leaders.” Before we jump into the complaints that many of our readers raised in the article’s comments, let me first explain the original intent of the article.
Editor’s Blog: Mason’s funding problem in one question
|At a regularly held budget forum on Oct. 10, two senior university officials painted an optimistic picture of the future of Mason’s finances, but emphasized that many challenges remain.
Provost Peter Stearns and Senior Vice President JJ Davis, presented a number of data sets revealing little support Mason receives as a public university. For example, out of Virginia’s six doctoral institutions, Mason receives the lowest per-FTE (full time equivalent) student funding. At the same time, the university spends 62 percent that of its peer institutions.
Provost search reignites debate over faculty handbook
|Citing concerns over their role in the provost search process, Mason’s Faculty Senate passed a resolution reaffirming a provision of the faculty handbook concerning the selection process for key administrative positions.
In a 20-4 vote on Oct. 9 2013, the Faculty Senate reaffirmed part of the faculty handbook that says, “The search and selection process must include opportunities for the General Faculty to meet with candidates who are finalists for the presidency.”
RECAP: Board of Visitors meeting (3 Oct. 2013)
|The Board of Visitors (wait, what’s that?) held its first meeting of the school year on Oct. 2. Fourth Estate live-blogged the full day meeting in its entirety. In case you don’t feel like looking through the notes – here are six big takeaways that you may have missed:
INFOGRAPHIC: What is the Board of Visitors?
|On Oct. 2, Fourth Estate will be live-blogging the entirety of Mason's Board of Visitors meeting. Here is everything you need to know about the Board and what they do at Mason:
Editor's Blog: State's newest residents are more educated than the average Virginian
|According to census reports, residents who have moved to Virginia from out-of-state or abroad have higher educational attainment than the state’s current residents.
As of 2012, about 51 percent of new residents moving to Virginia have a bachelor’s degree or higher. The state’s current average is 35 percent.
The data set, first published by Governing.com, described a number of characteristics of Virginia’s newest residents.
Of the state's new residents, 20 percent are foreign born and the median age is 27.
Editor’s Blog: Aligning Mason’s vision with Virginia’s goals
|In a blog post last week, President Ángel Cabrera wrote about the changing relationship between public universities and the states that finance them. Cabrera presents some figures that show declining state support for universities who have had to find sources of revenue to make up the difference.