Author: Sharon Wood

March 2015 Accolades

Spencer R. Crew, Robinson Professor of American, African American, and Public History, was the keynote speaker for the Fairfax County Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Foundation. He also was a featured presenter for the Africana Studies Department at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County on a program examining convict labor and peonage, and lectured on Benjamin Banneker at the Baltimore Museum of Industry.

Paul D’Andrea, Robinson Professor of Theater and English, was interviewed by Sarah McConnell on the National Public Radio program “With Good Reason,” speaking on what Shakespeare meant to audiences of his own time.

Robert Hazen, Robinson Professor of Earth Sciences, was a guest of honor at the opening of Meet the Trilobites, a special exhibit at the University of Arizona Science Museum in Tucson that featured specimens from his collection. The Austrian Academy of Sciences (Vienna) announced that a special symposium on mineral evolution will be held in his honor in May.

John Paden, Robinson Professor of International Studies, focused his efforts in February on the postponement of the Nigerian presidential election and the multistate offensive against Boko Haram. In particular, he briefed the Danish Broadcasting Corporation on the above topics and gave an extensive recorded interview. He also briefed the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom on the above topics, with a special focus on religion and conflict in Nigeria, and his U.S. Institute of Peace Special Report on the above topics became available in print version. In addition, he participated in a Concept Review Meeting for Northern Nigeria at the World Bank titled From Regional Divergence to National Convergence: Addressing the Humanitarian and Developmental Impact of the Conflict in the North East.

Laurie O. Robinson, Robinson Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, presided over four hearings around the country in January and February as co-chair of the White House Task Force on 21st-Century Policing. These sessions focused on building trust between communities and police, policy and oversight, technology and social media, community policing and crime reduction, training and education, and officer safety and wellness. Recommendations were given to President Obama on March 2.

February 2015 Accolades

Robert Hazen, Robinson Professor of Earth Sciences, conducted field work in the renowned ophiolite complex of the Sultanate of Oman as part of his work with the Deep Carbon Observatory.

John Paden, Robinson Professor of International Studies, engaged in the following outreach programs inJanuary:

Briefed the assistant secretary general of the United Nations/coordinator of the UN response on the regional impact of Boko Haram.
Briefed the World Bank Nigeria team on current electoral developments in Nigeria.
Participated in a roundtable discussion of the Nigerian election process at the U.S. Institute of Peace.
Briefed the European Union Nigeria team on counter-narratives to violent extremists in Nigeria.
Wrote a full-length special report for the U.S. Institute of Peace on Religion and Conflict in Nigeria: Countdown to the 2015 Elections.

January 2015 Accolades

Spencer R. Crew, Robinson Professor of American, African American, and Public History, was the keynote speaker at the New Jersey Forum at Kean University, which had the theme “Liberty, Diversity and Innovation.” His talk was titled “The Rugged Road to Citizenship: New Jersey’s Response to Newcomers from the American Revolution to the Present.”

Paul D’Andrea, Robinson Professor of Theater and English, won a 2015 Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award. The award will be presented on the floor of the General Assembly in Richmond on Feb. 19, 2015.

Robert Hazen, Robinson Professor of Earth Sciences, was the opening plenary speaker at the American Society of Cell Biology annual meeting in Philadelphia. Hazen spoke on mineral ecology. He also organized and chaired the Deep-Time Data Workshop at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco.

John Paden, Robinson Professor of International Studies, participated in a Council on Foreign Relations roundtable on U.S. policy on Boko Haram, participated in a two-day role-playing peace game on Nigeria at the U.S. Institute of Peace, briefed senior U.S. officials on the upcoming election in Nigeria, and briefed the U.S. State Department on security issues in Nigeria.

Laurie O. Robinson, Robinson Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, was named by President Obama in December to cochair a White House Task Force on 21st-Century Policing with Philadelphia police commissioner Charles Ramsey. Their goal is to come up with recommendations on how to build stronger collaborative relationships between communities and law enforcement. Hearings will be held across the country.

James Trefil, Robinson Professor of Physics, is editor in chief for Discoveries in Modern Science: Exploration, Invention, Technology, a three-volume set, published December 12, 2014.

Laurie Robinson Named to Co-Chair President’s Policing Task Force

George Mason University professor Laurie Robinson has been appointed co-chair of President Obama’s Task Force on 21^st Century Policing, the White House announced Monday.

Robinson, a Clarence J. Robinson Professor and a former assistant attorney general, has been involved with national criminal justice policy for more than 30 years.

The new task force is part of the White House’s response to the ongoing turmoil in Ferguson, Mo. Robinson will co-chair the task force with Philadelphia police commissioner Charles Ramsey, the former police chief of Washington, D.C.

The White House said in a statement announcing the task force appointments that the goals are “to include new ways to promote effective crime reduction while building public trust.” The task force is being asked to prepare a report within 90 days on issues including the militarization of municipal police forces, a national database to track the purchases of military equipment and the use of body cameras by members of the police. The president announced he will ask Congress for $263 million to equip police with body cameras.

As a Robinson professor of Criminology, Law and Society at George Mason, Robinson teaches undergraduate, honors and capstone courses in criminal justice, including Criminal Justice Management, which details aspects of administration and management challenges facing criminal justice leaders, and Contemporary Society in Multiple Perspectives: Problem Solving in Government, which addresses creative problem-solving in government. She has been at Mason since 2012.

Robinson was twice appointed assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice office of Justice Programs, first by President Bill Clinton and then Obama. She is the longest-serving head of the agency in its 45-year history.

Write to Buzz McClain at [email protected]

This article originally appeared at the Mason Newsdesk.

December 2014 Accolades

Robert Hazen, Robinson Professor of Earth Sciences, presented the keynote lecture on “Chiral Interactions at Mineral Surfaces” at the American Vacuum Society meeting in Baltimore, Md. He also lectured on “Mineral Ecology” at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla.

Carma Hinton, Robinson Professor of Visual Culture and Chinese Studies, presented her film, “Morning Sun,” and lectured on historical memory and censorship in China at Northeastern University. She also presented the film at exhibitions at both the China Institute in New York and the University of New York, Stony Brook. Hinton presented a paper titled “Vaisravana Commands Yakshas in China,” at the conference Animals, Marginality, and the Early Culture of South Asia. She gave a film presentation and lecture, “History in Images,” at Wake Forest University, and was a commentator and speaker at the Model United Nations in Shanghai, China.

John Paden, Robinson Professor of International Studies, briefed the United Nations Department of Political Affairs in November on humanitarian and security challenges in northern Nigeria. He participated in a U.S. Institute of Peace roundtable on the Boko Haram insurgency in Northeast Nigeria, and in a U.S. Department of State discussion of upcoming political elections in Nigeria. Paden briefed Chatham House (London) on the Nigerian political situation, and worked with Nigerian colleagues at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto and Mason’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution in setting up a graduate teaching and research program in peace studies at northern Nigerian universities. He also worked with senior officials from Nigeria on issues of stability and security in upcoming elections.

Steven Pearlstein, Robinson Professor of Public and International Affairs, moderated a panel discussion at the Aspen Institute in Washington on “The Business Case for Investing in Front Line Workers.” He spoke to the Mason Retired Faculty Association on the moral contradictions of capitalism, and spoke about government regulation of consumer finance at a forum hosted by the Mercatus Center in Arlington.

Laurie O. Robinson, Robinson Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, participated in a November program at the U.S. Department of Justice with Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Community Oriented Policing Services Office. She chaired a panel with current and former office directors to examine the past, present and future of community policing, and she was invited to a summit in October organized by the International Association of Chiefs of Police to fashion constructive steps that might be taken in the wake of recent events in Ferguson, Mo.

November 2014 Accolades

Robert Hazen, Robinson Professor of Earth Sciences, presented the Ingerson Lecture on mineral ecology at the Geological Society of America’s annual meeting in Vancouver, Canada. He also ran a day-long short course on Deep Carbon in Deep Time in Vancouver. In addition, Hazen presented the keynote plenary lecture on Metallogeny and the Supercontinent Cycle at the Society of Economic Geologists annual meeting in Keystone, Colo.

John Paden, Robinson Professor of International Studies, hosted a nine-day visit by the president (and senior officials) from Northwest University, Kano (Nigeria), to discuss cooperation with Mason and other area universities on matters of health and infectious diseases in West Africa. He also was appointed a visiting professor at Osaka University and facilitated a linkage agreement between that university and Mason’s School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs.

James Trefil, Robinson Professor of Physics, presented Scientific Methodology and Expert Testimony at the Economics Institute for Judges, sponsored by the Law and Economics Center at Mason’s School of Law.

October 2014 Accolades

Spencer R. Crew, Robinson Professor of American, African American, and Public History, with Lonnie G. Bunch and Clement A. Price, had a new publication, “Slave Culture: A Documentary Collection of the Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers’ Project,” published by Greenwood Publishing Group, 2014. He also lectured on the Underground Railroad to teachers from Fallsburg, N.Y., in April, and lectured and conducted a panel discussion on Henrietta Lacks at the New York Brooklyn Public Library in May. In addition, Crew lectured on the comparisons between the Civil Rights Movement and the Gay Rights Movement at the Depository Trust Company and the National Securities Clearing Corporation in Jersey City, N.J., in June.

Robert Hazen, Robinson Professor of Earth Sciences, presented the D. Foster Hewett Lecture at Lehigh University on origins of life. He also was named the 2014 Ingerson lecturer of the Geochemical Society, the 2015 Leibniz lecturer of the University of Pottsdam (Germany), and the 2015 Utrecht symposium lecturer at the University of Utrecht (The Netherlands).

Carma Hinton, Robinson Professor of Visual Culture and Chinese Studies, served as a judge on the second Washington, D.C., International Chinese Film Festival, in September.

John Paden, Robinson Professor of International Studies, in September briefed the United Nations’ Department of Political Affairs on the current situation in Nigeria; gave a presentation to senior U.S. government officials on violent extremism in northern Nigeria; gave a presentation to Nigerian higher education officials comparing U.S. and Nigerian approaches to higher education; gave a presentation to a U.S. State Department conference on future political projections in Nigeria; continued linkages with Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, regarding peace studies; and worked with the U.S. Institute of Peace on a report focusing on interfaith cooperation in Nigeria.

Laurie O. Robinson, Robinson Professor of Criminology, Law, and Society, presented “Importance and Impact of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994” (20 years after enactment) to policy makers, criminal justice constituent groups and federal agency representatives hosted by the Pew Charitable Trust Public Safety Performance Project. Also commemorating this crime legislation, she contributed to the Vera Institute of Justice’s multimedia initiative, Justice in Focus: Crime Bill@20, with a piece describing how appropriations under the act unexpectedly gave a big boost to science, supporting the greatest spending on crime-related research in the nation’s history.

James Trefil, Robinson Professor of Physics, presented “Scientific Methodology and Expert Testimony” at the Economics Institute for Judges, sponsored by the George Mason University School of Law’s Law and Economics Center in May and September.

September 2014 Accolades

Shaul Bakhash, Robinson Professor of History, wrote an article assessing the first year of President Hassan Rouhani’s administration in Iran, which was published in the Iran Primer under the title “Mixed Bag: One Year Later.” The article was republished in the Woodrow Wilson Center’s “Viewpoint” series, was excerpted in the Asia Times and circulated on the Gulf2000 website. He also helped edit and wrote the introduction to the book “Karim Emami on Modern Iranian Culture, Literature and Art,” which was published in August by the Persian Heritage Foundation. Over the summer, he appeared on a panel on Iran’s nuclear ambitions organized by the Woodrow Wilson Center and was quoted in news stories by the BBC and the InterPress news service.

Paul D’Andrea, Robinson Professor of Theater and English, was the keynote speaker at the Harvard Club of Washington on the occasion of a screening of the WETA/TV production of his play “Nathan the Wise.”

Robert Hazen, Robinson Professor of Earth Sciences, was the keynote speaker on mineral evolution at the Nordic Astrobiology conference in Bergen, Norway. He also presented lectures at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Geochemical Society’s Goldschmidt Conference in Vancouver, where he was awarded fellowship in the society. He was also named the 2014 Ingerson Lecturer of the Geochemical Society. Hazen also presented keynote lectures on the co-evolution of minerals and life at the Gordon Research Conference on Biomineralization in New London, N.H., and at the Dallas, Texas, Mineral Symposium. He engaged in field studies in the ancient Pilbara Complex of Western Australia, accompanied by a film crew from NOVA TV (WGBH, Boston). He also presented three talks at the International Mineralogical Association meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa.

John Paden, Robinson Professor of International Studies, in May presented “Countering Violent Extremists and Conflict Mitigation in Nigeria: Political Narratives and U.S. Options” at the State Department and “Religion and U.S. Foreign Policy” to senior U.S. officials. Also, he briefed the Department of Political Affairs of the United Nations on “The Current State of Affairs in Nigeria.” In August, Paden traveled to Nigeria to consolidate links with Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), especially its Center for Peace Studies, and also with the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, which has a memorandum of cooperation with Mason’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. In addition, he met with senior officials of the new Northwest University, Kano, to discuss future collaboration. In Sokoto, he gave a faculty seminar at the UDUS Center for Peace Studies on “graduate studies in conflict analysis and resolution.” He also gave a lecture to the UDUS faculty and graduate students on “Challenges Facing Northern Nigeria.” In Abuja, he presented a paper at the national conference, Interfaith Initiatives for Peace, on “Interfaith Relations in the 1st Republic.” Also in Abuja, he presented a paper and led a symposium on interfaith relations and conflict management in Nigeria.

Laurie O. Robinson, Robinson Professor of Criminology, Law, and Society, was appointed to the inaugural Faculty Advisory Board for the University of Maryland’s new Center for the Study of Business Ethics, Regulation and Crime, jointly sponsored by the Robert H. Smith School of Business and the College of Behavioral Sciences. She recently chaired panels at the 14th Jerry Lee Crime Policy Symposium on Mandatory Arrest Laws for Domestic Abuse and the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy annual symposium. She spoke at the launch of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency’s Washington Office and presented a national webinar with criminologist Al Blumstein on what’s next for crime and the justice system.

May 2014 Accolades

Shaul Bakhash, Robinson Professor of History, chaired and spoke on a panel organized by the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. His presentation, along with those of the other panelists, was published in April as one of the program’s Occasional Paper Series, under the title “Iran, the Next Five Years: Change or More of the Same?” He also participated in a panel discussion on Islamic Art, Culture and Politics: The Connections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, sponsored by the museum and the New York Review of Books. In addition, he met with groups of students interested in the Middle East and delivered a lecture at Wheaton College in Massachusetts, and delivered a lecture to faculty and students at La Salle College in Philadelphia.

Carma Hinton, Robinson Professor of Visual Culture and Chinese Studies, presented her film, “Gate of Heavenly Peace,” and as a panelist presented “Tiananmen 1989: Telling the Story to the World” and “Curriculum in Exile: Teaching Tiananmen” at the Tiananmen at 25 symposium at Saint Joseph’s University.

Steven Pearlstein, Robinson Professor of Public and International Affairs, presented an annual lecture at Radford University about the morality of capitalism. He also participated at the Young Leaders Forum of the World Economic Forum, organized by President Cabrera, at the Arlington Campus.

April 2014 Accolades

Spencer R. Crew, Robinson Professor of American, African American and Public History, gave a lecture at the Minnesota History Museum for its History Forum on African American Migration to the Twin Cities. He also gave a lecture on the Smithsonian’s African American Museum of History and Culture at the African American History Month Gala Dinner in San Francisco. In addition, Crew appeared on the Smithsonian Channel series on the Civil War and chaired a session of the Virginia Forum hosted by Mason titled “New Contexts and New Traffic at Historic Sites.”

Robert Hazen, Robinson Professor of Earth Sciences, conducted field work in the Anti-Atlas region of Morocco, accompanied by a film crew from “NOVA” (WGBH-TV, Boston). His book “The Story of Earth” will be the basis of a “NOVA” episode in 2015. He also presented lectures on the co-evolution of Earth and life at the Earth Life Sciences Institute in Tokyo, and the Space Telescope Science Institute. Hazen was named the keynote speaker for the 2014 annual meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology.

Hugh Heclo, Robinson Professor of Public Affairs, wrote a chapter, “George Bush and American Conservatism,” for the new book “41: Inside the Presidency of George H. W. Bush.”

Carma Hinton, Robinson Professor of Visual Culture and Chinese Studies, presented “Art, Politics and Money in Recent Chinese Cinema” at the Center for Chinese Studies, University of California at Berkeley.

John Paden, Robinson Professor of International Studies, briefed the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom on Christian-Muslim relations in Nigeria and participated in a roundtable discussion with the U.S. ambassador to Nigeria at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on U.S. foreign policy in Nigeria. He also hosted the Nigerian delegation from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund to discuss Nigerian university faculty training at Mason. In addition, he participated in the United States Institute for Peace symposium with governors from northern Nigeria on issues of security and economic development. Paden hosted the governor of Kano and his delegation to discuss Mason links with the new state university in Kano and hosted the governor of Kebbi state and his delegation to discuss Mason links with the new federal university in Kebbi.

Laurie O. Robinson, Robinson Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, recently met with two National Academy of Sciences committees. In March, she spoke on a panel about perspectives on the federal role in reforming the nation’s juvenile justice system before the Committee on a Plan for a Developmental Approach in Juvenile Justice. In January, she participated in an expert planning meeting with the Committee on Law and Justice to discuss diffusion of innovation.

James Trefil, Robinson Professor of Physics, presented two lectures at the Economic Institute for Judges in Arlington, Va.: “Scientific Methodology” and “Expert Testimony.”