College of Humanities and Social Sciences

2026 Celebration of Distinction honors alumni leaders from across the university

Katarina Benson — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 20:59:35 +0000

2026 Celebration of Distinction honors alumni leaders from across the university Katarina Benson Fri, 10/16/2026 - 16:59

The 911�� Alumni Association’s annual Celebration of Distinction recognizes outstanding alumni, faculty members, and students.

Since 1975, the 911�� Alumni Association has recognized alumni, faculty, and students for outstanding achievement, service, and leadership at its annual Celebration of Distinction.

Guylaine Saint Juste. Photo provided

Each year, the Alumni Association presents its highest honors—including Alumnus/a of the Year, Alumni Service Award, Faculty Member of the Year, Senior of the Year, and Graduate of the Last Decade (G.O.L.D.)—while also celebrating distinguished alumni from 911��’s colleges, schools, and alumni chapters.

At this year’s celebration, held on October 15, the association honored these five alumni:

Guylaine Saint Juste, BA International Studies '94, is Alumna of the Year. She is the president and CEO of NABA, a national organization representing more than 200,000 business professionals in accounting, finance, and related fields. Saint Juste has more than 30 years of executive experience in financial services, governance, and organizational transformation. In 2025, Accounting Today named her one of its Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting for the fifth consecutive year. Learn more.

Charity Rankins. Photo provided

Charity Rankins, BS Psychology '22, received the Alumni Service Award. While Rankins is a human resources leader professionally, her most visible impact is through her entrepreneurial work in the community. She is the founder of P.S. Karma Arts and Crafts Enrichment Company, an organization dedicated to the creative and emotional development of children, particularly in high-risk communities. The organization’s work has been recognized as among the best arts and crafts programs in the region for five years.

Anthony Amos. Photo provided

Anthony Amos, MPP '24, received the Graduate of the Last Decade (G.O.L.D.) Award. He is only the second African American to serve on the City of Fairfax City Council. He leads multiple council committees and initiatives and serves as the city’s representative on the water and air quality committees with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and the Virginia Municipal League. Among Amos’s projects are creating the city’s first-ever affordable housing strategic plan and Virginia’s first kindergarten-to-college fund.

Cher Weixia Chen. Photo provided

Cher Weixia Chen, a professor in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences’ School of Integrative Studies, is the Faculty Member of the Year. She is the founder of the Human Rights and Global Justice Initiative, a senior scholar of the Center for the Advancement of Well-Being, and a faculty fellow of the Institute for a Sustainable Earth. Her teaching and mentoring work have received numerous awards. Chen’s research focuses on women’s and Indigenous rights, among other marginalized groups. She has written and edited six books and numerous articles and chapters related to human rights law and policy.

Rakibul Alam. Photo provided

Rakibul Alam, BS Management; Marketing '26, is the Senior of the Year. As a student, Alam focused on connecting his business education with real-world impact. He held eight internships, five leadership roles, and went on three study-abroad experiences. He was the cofounder and president of Mason Consulting Group, which offers pro bono consulting for local Fairfax businesses. He also helped to found the Collective Organizations of South Asia and served as a student senator for Student Government. He was a U.S. State Department Gilman Scholar and an OSCAR research grant recipient and led research and community impact programs in South Asia.

In addition to the five honorees, 18 alumni received Distinguished Alumni Awards from their school, college, or affinity alumni chapter at this year’s event. See the full list.

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Ferrer wins 2026 New American Voices Award

Katarina Benson — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 14:04:47 +0000

Ferrer wins 2026 New American Voices Award Katarina Benson Fri, 10/16/2026 - 10:04

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Ada Ferrer received the ninth annual Institute for Immigration Research New American Voices Award for her memoir, Keeper of My Kin: Memoir of an Immigrant Daughter, at the Fall for the Book Festival at 911�� on October 8.

Ferrer received a $5,000 prize in recognition of her work, which explores the experiences of immigration, family separation, and the challenges of starting over.

“The New American Voices Award is a very special prize,” Ferrer said. “Especially in a moment such as this, it is important to share immigrant stories as part of the fabric of American life. I am moved and honored to be this year’s recipient.”

Established in 2018 by Fall for the Book and the Institute for Immigration Research, the award recognizes recently published works by immigrants and first-generation writers whose voices have historically been underrepresented in literature and publishing.

Ada Ferrer eceived the ninth annual Institute for Immigration Research New American Voices Award. Photo provided

The award's two other finalists, Bindu Bansinath, author of the novel Men Like Ours, and Chantel Acevedo, author of the novel Cages, each received $1,000.

The winner and the finalists each read excerpts from their books and discussed their work during the event.

Judges Angie Cruz, Donna Hemans, and Weike Wang praised Ferrer’s memoir for its portrayal of immigration and the emotional struggles experienced by families separated by political and historical upheaval.

“Through vivid imagery and a scrapbook-like accumulation of letters, documents, and family stories, Ferrer gives a human face to histories too often reduced to politics, sanctions, and humanitarian crises,” the judges wrote.

The judges also highlighted the memoir’s exploration of maternal relationships, family separation, and the difficult choices faced by immigrants.

Ferrer is the Dayton-Stockton Professor of History at Princeton University. Before joining Princeton, she taught at New York University from 1995 to 2024. Her previous book, Cuba: An American History, won the Pulitzer Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in history and was a finalist for the Cundill History Prize.

Previous recipients of the New American Voices Award include Hernan Diaz, Patricia Engel, and Rachel Heng.

Fall for the Book is Northern Virginia’s oldest and largest festival of literature and the arts. All events are free and open to the public thanks to the generous support of sponsors including 911��, the City of Fairfax, ArtsFairfax, and the Virginia Commission for the Arts.

The Institute for Immigration Research is at the forefront of immigration research, producing high-quality, timely research and analysis that examines the economic contributions of immigrants in the United States.

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911��’s Alumna of the Year champions education and opportunity

Katarina Benson — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 21:41:45 +0000

911��’s Alumna of the Year champions education and opportunity Katarina Benson Wed, 10/14/2026 - 17:41

Guylaine Saint Juste, BA International Studies ’94, understands education’s power.

Raised in Haiti and the first in her family to attend college, Saint Juste put herself through college while working full-time, attending class two nights a week. It took her seven years to graduate. One generation later, she was able to give her daughters a very different experience—the opportunity to attend college full time with their education paid for.

“This is the power of education, and the power of what 911�� does,” she said.

Today, Saint Juste is a globally recognized transformational leader and president and CEO of NABA Inc., a business leadership organization representing more than 200,000 accounting, finance, and business professionals. This October the 911�� Alumni Association recognized her as the 2026 Alumna of the Year.

With more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, Saint Juste has been repeatedly named among the Most Powerful Women in Accounting by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and CPA Practice Advisor, and as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting by Accounting Today for five consecutive years. The accolades reflect her leadership in advancing access, opportunity, and representation across the accounting and finance professions.

Guylaine Saint Juste. Photo provided

Saint Juste said, 911�� was preparing students for the “workforce of tomorrow” before that phrase was commonplace and that the university taught her “to think about things differently, to explore other opportunities, to encourage the hearing out of people—even if I have a different view or set of data.”

These skills have served her throughout her career.

“There’s no playbook for CEO,” she said. “You have to figure it out.”

She credits her time at 911��—and specifically the university’s Robinson Professors—for teaching her fundamentals that have served her in the fast growth and impact of NABA.

“So much of how I lead, learn, and play has [grown from] those [911��] experiences,” she said. “I care deeply about this institution. I love that [911�� is] proving that providing wide access does not dilute the outcome or the quality of the talent.”

After graduating from 911��, Saint Juste completed graduate studies in retail banking management at the University of Virginia. Before joining NABA, her distinguished career included serving in leadership positions at Capital One and as a regional executive director of Year Up, a nonprofit organization that provides students the opportunity to pursue careers in business and technology.

In 2014, Saint Juste cofounded the 911�� Women in Business Initiative, which provides scholarships, mentorship, and networking opportunities to students. She is also proud to support scholarships and research at 911�� and wants people to think differently about philanthropy.

“Don't give—invest,” she said. “I want people to think about the importance of investing in institutions. I want people to ask, ‘What have you received?’ And how do you ensure that it is there for generations to come?”

So much of the power in attending 911�� is intangible, Saint Juste said. “911�� is the institution, but the relationships that we form, the communities around which we gather—that's the magic of it.”

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Student and faculty researchers team up to drive societal change

Susan Martonik — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 16:47:47 +0000

Student and faculty researchers team up to drive societal change Susan Martonik Wed, 10/14/2026 - 12:47

This summer, classrooms gave way to labs, field sites, and data sets as 911�� faculty and students partnered to tackle some of society's most pressing challenges. The research teams explored complex issues—many aligned with the university’s Grand Challenge Initiative—examining them from multiple perspectives and generating new insights to help shape future solutions.

These Summer Team Impact Projects, supported by grants from Mason Impact, were led by faculty members who assembled teams of undergraduate and graduate students from across disciplines. Students—who received stipends to support their participation—took part in a one-week boot camp to begin the 10-week program, along with various enrichment activities throughout the summer. The students shared their findings at the Office of Student Creative Activities and Research Summer Celebration of Student Scholarship and Impact.

Summer Team Impact Project researchers Abigail Naidoo (left) and Katelyn Mckee present at the OSCAR Summer 2026 Celebration. Photo by Susan Lawrence.

The research spanned a wide range of topics, including homelessness and climate-related challenges, using virtual reality to support health, changes in the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem, how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to better understand how people move through cities, and the impact of generative AI on student writing.

Susan Lawrence and Courtney Massie, director and assistant director, respectively, of the Writing Center, led a project titled “Student Writers and Generative AI: Investigating Practices, Knowledge, and Critical Literacies.” Working with a team of six undergraduate students and one graduate mentor, their research examined how 911�� students are integrating generative AI into their writing processes in realistic academic settings. It also explored the extent to which writers saw themselves thinking critically and the ownership they felt over their work.

While Lawrence and Massie oversaw the project, their team of students led the research-- interviewing participants, coding results, and analyzing data to generate findings.

“I conducted qualitative research using in-depth interviews and coding to determine insights about how 911�� students use generative AI in their writing,” said Marisa Parikh, an Honors College student majoring in public administration in the Schar School of Policy and Government. “One of the most valuable things I learned was how new developments in technology are impacting students today. This helped me look more long term at how institutions can promote accessibility to education for all students and use this technology as a tool to increase student success outcomes.”

Lawrence spoke highly of the student researchers’ work. “Having a multidisciplinary team of student researchers was a major asset for this project,” she said. “They connected easily with participants during interviews, and their diverse perspectives on generative AI helped shape how we ultimately interpreted the data.”

The team has submitted their project for presentation at the International Writing Centers Association conference in October and are moving toward publishing a manuscript. Beyond its scholarly contributions, the project also highlighted the Writing Center as a valuable setting for research on writing and literacy.

Jenna Krall, associate professor of global and community health, and Marybeth Mitcham, assistant professor of global and community health, both in the College of Public Health, along with Fengxiu Zhang, assistant professor in the Schar School, led another Summer Team Impact Project on “Supportive Housing as Climate Resiliency: Resident, Community, and Government Perspectives.” Working with a team of nine student researchers, the project sought to understand the challenges of homelessness and environmental hazards using community health, environmental science, and policy frameworks.

“There are huge knowledge gaps in this space, so we split our researchers into three groups to gather multiple perspectives,” said Krall. “Our team meetings became a space where the students could experiment and sandbox ideas for how to analyze the data they collected. They weren’t just checking boxes; they were helping build a knowledge base to inform future research and practice.”

Professor Krall's Summer Team Impact Project members take a field trip to the Lamb Center. Photo by Jenna Krall.

The research team presented their findings to local partners, including the Lamb Center and the City of Fairfax. Efforts are also underway to publish the research.

“The project provided me with real-life experience of how it is to work on a team, in particular building my skill of patience through the research process, understanding the reason for the project, working with colleagues, and letting creative ideas flow,” said student researcher Alex Romero Valenzuela, a community health major in the College of Public Health who is pursuing a master's degree in public health through 911��'s bachelor’s-to-accelerated master's (BAM) program.

For Krall, the experience was rewarding both professionally and personally. A 911�� alum, she participated in a summer research project as an undergraduate. “I’ve wanted to apply for this grant since I started teaching at 911��,” she said. “It’s especially meaningful to come full circle and introduce current students to research as a potential career path.”

“The Summer Team Impact Projects provide valuable experience for all involved. Faculty can pursue research in areas of personal and professional interest, while students gain hands-on experience with research design, implementation, and analysis,” said Jesse Guessford, director of curriculum and initiatives in the Office of Undergraduate Education. “This program brings together two of 911��’s key priorities: supporting student success and creating opportunities for faculty scholarship and innovation.”

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Twenty 911�� researchers receive 4-VA funding for collaborative research

Katarina Benson — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 16:11:33 +0000

Twenty 911�� researchers receive 4-VA funding for collaborative research Katarina Benson Thu, 10/08/2026 - 12:11

4-VA@Mason, part of the 4-VA state network, has announced 20 collaborative research awards for 911�� faculty members for the 2026-27 academic year. The selected proposals were chosen from the largest number of submissions received since the program’s inception more than a decade ago.

4-VA is a statewide consortium of nine Virginia higher education institutions that encourages collaboration and relationship-building across the humanities and sciences and provides seed funding for novel research projects. The program provides a foundation that builds on the strengths of each institution, reduces the redundancies of working in silos, and affords opportunities for student experiential research.

Robotics are a vital part of the 4-VA projects this year. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

“Our 4-VA program is a wonderful example of how supporting cross-institutional efforts can improve higher education and boost faculty and student research, which benefits our state and beyond,” said Janette Muir, 4-VA@Mason campus coordinator and vice provost for academic affairs.

In addition to 911��, the other members of the 4-VA consortium are Christopher Newport University (CNU), the College of William and Mary (W&M), James Madison University (JMU), Old Dominion University (ODU), Radford University (RU), University of Virginia (UVA), Virginia Military Institute, and Virginia Tech (VT).

Listed below are 911�� faculty acting as lead principal investigator (PI) for collaborative research grants this cycle and collaborating institutions:

Breana Bayraktar, Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning, A Cross-Institutional Study of AI-Influenced Feedback Practices (UVA, JMU, W&M)
Sungsoo Ray Hong, College of Engineering and Computing (CEC), Multi-Robot Video Sensemaking for Urban Missing Person Search in Public Safety Operations (VT)
Emily Ihara, College of Public Health (CPH), Opening Minds Through Art in Virginia (JMU)
Jennifer Salerno, Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center (PEREC), Characterizing the influence of the coral microbiome on coral resilience and restoration potential of American Samoa’s reefs (ODU)
Daniel W. Smith, CEC, Disinfection Byproduct Formation Mechanisms and Toxicity at the Solid-Liquid Interface of Chlorocyanurate Tablets (VT)
Monique van Hoek, College of Science, Breaking Down Silicate Like Sea Sponges: Using Bacteria to Produce a Biocatalyst for Rare Earth Element Extraction (VT)
Allison Ward, College of Education and Human Development, Virginia Coaching Collaborative: Improving Clinical Practicum Experiences for Reading Specialist Candidates (JMU, RU, UVA)
Xuesu Xiao, CEC, Agile, Proactive, and Autonomous First Responder Robots (UVA)

Additionally, partner 4-VA institutions have called on 911�� faculty for their expertise and experience in a wide variety of areas to act as co-PI in research efforts at other schools. These faculty members have received supplemental funding known as complementary grants:

Lab work in action. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Tanvir Arafin, CEC, ANCHOR: Analog–Cyber Sensing for Secure Energy Infrastructure (UVA)
Karen Grace, CPH, Sexual Violence and Reproductive Coercion Among College Students with Disabilities (UVA)
Moinul Hossain, CEC, Machine Learning-Driven Predictive Secure Beamforming for NextG UAV Networks (JMU)
Brittany Johnson-Matthews, CEC, Beyond Chat: Generative User Interfaces (UI) for AI-Guided Developer Onboarding in Large-Scale Codebases (VT)
Mirae Kim, Schar School of Policy and Government, Leading Change Conference 2027: Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Leadership Studies (JMU) and Scaling Up Nonprofit Health and Resiliency Assessment in Virginia Funding Proposal (JMU)
Yi-Ching Lee, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Understanding Autistic Adults’ Needs with Executive Functioning Support Apps (UVA)
Cynthia Smith, PEREC, EcoQuests: Reconnecting Youth with Nature through Digital Exploration of Urban Greenspace (VT)
Chaowei Yang, COS, AI-Enabled, Stakeholder-Integrated, Context-Sensitive Data Center Planning Framework (VT)
Ziyu Yao, CEC, Improving Safety in Large Language Model Responses Targeted at Youth (UVA)
Xiaokuan Zhang, CEC, Building Trustworthy Audit Systems via Hardware Security Primitives (UVA)

Additionally, 4-VA@Mason will be supporting an extension of a 2025-26 project:

Quentin Saunders, CEC, Restoring Functional Grasp in Stroke Survivors: A Semi-Autonomous Hand Exoskeleton with Coordinated Thumb-Finger Sequencing (UVA).

“Quentin and his team have made exciting advances in the development of a hand exoskeleton for stroke victims, which has been very well received in testing. However, with just a little more work, they believe the exoskeleton can be expanded for a much broader range of tasks for use in activities of daily living,” Muir said. “It’s just this type of project that 4-VA can bring to life.”

The next cycle of proposals for the academic year 2027-28 will open mid-December 2026 and will be found on the 4-VA@Mason website. Questions can be directed to mason4va@gmu.edu.

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One mission, many paths: 911�� senior advances youth mental health through research and outreach

sbrown79 — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 19:36:02 +0000

One mission, many paths: 911�� senior advances youth mental health through research and outreach sbrown79 Tue, 10/06/2026 - 15:36

911�� senior Mehmood Shajih has built his college experience around one goal: creating better mental health outcomes for young people.

That mission has shaped both his academic path as a psychology major in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and his long-running internship with Prince William County (Virginia) Schools (PWCS)—a unique opportunity that was created specifically for him.

Mehmood Shajih. Photo provided.

Shajih, who is also part of 911��’s Honors in Psychology program, first became interested in developmental psychology in high school. As a student in the biomedical science program at Osbourn Park High School in Manassas, Virginia, he completed a year-long research project on how parents influence children’s behavior. He also worked with AlphaBEST, a before- and after-school care program, where he saw firsthand how early mental health and education challenges can affect children.

And when he wasn’t studying students’ behavior, he was advocating on behalf of it. As a member of his high school student senate, Shajih represented his peers to county leaders and built relationships with school system officials. That’s how he met Anaid Shaver, former PWCS administrative supervisor of career counseling.

“When he reached out to inquire about an internship, his background and clear interest in child psychology and youth development aligned directly with the office’s mission,” Shaver said.

There was only one problem.

“There were no internship positions in her office; she had never had an intern before,” said Shajih. “But we spoke about my interests and career goals and basically developed the role that I eventually took on together.”

That initiative made an impression on Shaver.

“Rather than taking on pre-defined tasks, Mehmood actively developed and implemented the College and Career Student and Alumni Ambassador Program from the ground up,” Shaver said.

For Shajih, who immigrated to the United States in 2016, the work is personal. He said he faced challenges navigating the college application and financial aid processes.

“My parents and I were unfamiliar with the post-high school graduation processes in America, so I was learning about that process all on my own,” he said. “Now, I really want to help students facing the same issues that I faced before.”

Shajih and psychology professor Sabine Doebel at the 2026 OSCAR Celebration of Student Scholarship and Impact. Photo provided.

As an intern with PWCS, Shajih supports initiatives designed to help students think about their futures early and often. “There is a level of preparation that can be instilled no matter where you are in life,” he said.

Shajih has assisted with college and career fairs, helped develop school-based college and career clubs, and created systems to support long-term program success. He also developed a standard operating guide for the clubs and introduced pre- and post-surveys so school staff could better assess student outcomes and program effectiveness.

He also helped organize PWCS’s broader focus on career exploration. The district offers specialty programs in areas such as nursing, biotechnical, biomedical, firefighting, and auto tech, among others.

“They’re a great way to get students interested in these fields early on and keep them on track,” said Shajih. “Students can change their mind at any point, but at least they are gaining knowledge about different fields.”

Shajih said the work he does for his internship, which was funded by the Honoring Our Community Fellowship Program, a paid fellowship program for Honors College students, was heavily reinforced by his academic experience at 911��, where he worked on child developmental research with his mentors—911�� psychology professors Jennifer Brielmaier and Sabine Doebel.

Mehmood's intellectual curiosity and enthusiasm for learning stood out early on during his time in the Honors program,” said Brielmaier. “I saw tremendous growth in Mehmood. Not only did he improve his analytical, writing, and oral presentation skills, but he became a leader within his Honors cohort.”

Shajih’s research focused on the marshmallow test, an assessment of children’s ability to delay gratification. Over three semesters, he worked closely with his mentors to complete and defend his honors thesis. He later developed that meta-analysis into a research paper, Why Wait? A Meta-Analysis of Task and Sample Moderators of Children’s Performance on the Marshmallow Test, which was published in the Journal of Cognition and Development.

Shajih presents his research: "Why Wait? A Meta-Analysis of Task and Sample Moderators of Children’s Performance on the Marshmallow Test." Photo provided.

“Meta-analyses are much more methodologically sophisticated and labor-intensive than the projects undertaken by most of our Honors students,” Brielmaier said. “Mehmood was involved each step of the way, from designing the study to screening abstracts for inclusion to developing the code for data analysis.”

At the spring Office of Student Creative Activities and Research (OSCAR) Celebration of Student Scholarship and Impact, Shajih was one of six students recognized with a 2026 OSCAR Excellence Award for his research.

Looking ahead, Shajih said he plans to attend medical school and hopes to build a career that combines clinical care with research, particularly in work involving children and adolescent mental health. He sees his research and internship experiences as a foundation for that future.

“The research and internship experiences that came from my time at 911�� were priceless,” Shajih said. “They’ve helped me start a dedicated career to do more for the children in my community.”

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GCI Catalyst Project aims to tackle human rights issues with help of AI

Katarina Benson — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:45:10 +0000

GCI Catalyst Project aims to tackle human rights issues with help of AI Katarina Benson Thu, 09/10/2026 - 13:45

Cher Weixia Chen hopes being mindful of human rights will one day be just as automatic as looking both ways before crossing the street.

The 911�� professor is spearheading an innovative project she hopes will give educators and students, along with NGOs, government, technological, and business leaders, the tools to better approach human rights issues.

Cher Weixia Chen. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Chen, a professor in the School of Integrative Studies in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, serves as the principal investigator of one of seven 911�� Grand Challenge Initiative (GCI) catalyst research projects: “AI-Powered Human Rights Education for All: Toward a Better World.” Collaborating with faculty from the College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) and the Costello College of Business, her team is creating an AI‑driven virtual human rights classroom prototype that will provide access to practical, personalized tools to learn and apply human rights principles in daily life.

“If someday this concept could be so with us, that whenever we make a decision that affects another person, our first instinct is to ask, ‘Is this respectful of their dignity and rights?’ Then we could at least inch closer to a better world,” said Chen, who is the founder of the 911�� Human Rights and Global Justice Initiative and was recently named the 2026 Faculty Member of the Year by the 911�� Alumni Association. “So that is the idea, and I feel like the emergence of AI makes this possible.”

The 18-month project began this summer with the team recruiting a graduate student and two undergraduate students through the Office of Creative Student Activities and Research (OSCAR).

Using a built-in Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) toolkit, users of the classroom will explore interactive scenarios and receive personalized guidance to help them navigate real‑world dilemmas and assess the impact of human rights decisions, policies, and technologies.

Helping with the project’s design is a trio of professors from CEC: Ziwei Zhu and Antonios Anastasopoulos from the Department of Computer Science and Sungsoo Ray Hong in the Department of Information Sciences and Technology. CEC faculty will provide expertise in artificial intelligence, natural language processing, trustworthy AI, and human-AI interaction.

“Together, we will help develop a platform that is technically robust, reliable, culturally responsive, and easy for both students and educators to use,” Zhu said. “The project could make high-quality human rights education more accessible, personalized, and engaging for learners well beyond a traditional classroom. Over time, it can help people better understand how decisions in technology, business, government, and other sectors affect human rights, supporting more informed and responsible decision-making.”

Lei Gao, an associate professor of finance in Costello, believes human rights are impacted just as much by the decisions made in boardrooms and financial markets—through supply chains, investment choices, labor practices, and the design of new technologies.

Gao will pilot the HRIA toolkit prototype with students in his finance courses, FNAN 444 Socially Responsible Finance and FNAN 483/MSF 683 Ethical and Professional Standards in Finance. He said targeting students is key as they represent “future analysts, managers, and entrepreneurs who will actually be making these decisions.

“Some of the most consequential decisions affecting human rights are made in boardrooms and financial markets,” Gao said. “This project helps the next generation of business leaders treat human rights as part of sound decision-making, not an afterthought—and gives them a practical tool to do it.”

Also contributing input in a consulting role will be renowned human rights educator Felisa Tibbitts, who served as co-editor with Chen on the book, Disciplinary Frontier of Human Rights in Higher Education. Tibbitts is currently the UNESCO Chair in Human Rights and Higher Education at Utrecht University in the Netherlands and will serve as consultant on the project.

In addition to reaching higher education audiences, the toolkit can also apply to educators and students at the K-12 school levels. Chen said she aspires to work with the Department of Modern and Classical Languages in CHSS to translate the toolkit for other languages. The team is looking beyond the business and technological industries, hoping to later reach international organizations, NGOs, nonprofits, and government and private sectors.

“Using human rights education as a tool, and now with the help of this, new technology—AI—it seems possible and plausible to make human rights reach as wide an audience as possible around the world,” Chen said. “This project essentially highlights the transformative power of these three factors: human rights, education, and AI. For all of us, this is something new and I think it’s worth trying. And for me, the most exciting part of this is it’s doable, it’s scalable, and it’s adaptable.”

This initiative supports the Advancing 21st-Century Education for All solution of 911��'s Grand Challenge Initiative

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Students examine the global impact of the 9/11 attacks in 911�� course

sbrown79 — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 14:11:49 +0000

Students examine the global impact of the 9/11 attacks in 911�� course sbrown79 Thu, 09/10/2026 - 10:11

On the first day of class, 911�� history professor Meredith Lair asked her students a simple question: Where were you on 9/11?

As the nation marks the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Lair is providing students with a chance to examine the event, not just as a turning point in U.S. history, but through the lenses of public memory, media literacy, commemoration, and civic responsibility.

For most of Lair’s students, the answer to her question is not a memory, but an act of historical reconstruction. Only five students in the history special topics class are old enough to remember the attacks. The rest were born later and only know the event through archives and public memory.

Meredith Lair, associate professor in the Department of History and Art History in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, teaches a course on the history and memory of the Sept. 11 attacks. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

History major Peter Fadel came into the course knowing about 9/11 mostly through family stories, including those of an uncle who went into the city to help with cleanup efforts.

“I was hoping to learn more about the events and how the world was before 9/11,” said Fadel, a Lebanese American who grew up in Ohio. “I also wanted to learn about the circumstances that led to this tragedy, as well as hear the stories and perspectives of my older classmates. I’m lucky to be at 911�� having these conversations and learning about the “why,” which I think is very important going into this course.”

Barbara Kyriakakis, a retired 911�� staff member, was working on campus that day and remembers the attacks vividly. She lost a neighbor who has aboard United Airlines Flight 93.

In an ABC News interview, Kyriakakis said, “We watched a little girl grow up without her father.” But what she also remembers is that “the whole United States came together.”

Now 83, Kyriakakis is one of the older students taking Lair’s course, and that generational range is part of the reason Lair teaches the course and hopes to continue doing so every five years—coinciding with the five-year anniversaries.

"I wanted to create a space that would be a kind of bulwark against forgetting,” said Lair, an associate professor in the Department of History and Art History in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The course, cross-listed HIST 389 Topics in U.S. History and HIST 387 Topics in Global History, examines the attacks themselves, as well as their long aftermath: the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the expansion of the national security state, anti-Muslim sentiment, memorialization, and the persistence of misinformation and conspiracy theories.

“What historians do is teach skills about information handling—collecting, processing, and sharing data. I think that serves democracy, because we want educated citizenry,” Lair said. “I want students to learn how to ask good questions and to get used to doing real research, not doomscrolling on YouTube as research.”

This emphasis aligns with 911��’s commitment to strengthening trust and engagement in democracy by preparing students to weigh evidence, evaluate sources, and think critically about how knowledge is produced.

Lair said she wants students to leave the course with more than a set of facts.

“I want them to appreciate, understand, and remember,” she said. “I’m hoping to connect them to what happened, so they see how much it impacted people who still walk amongst them, and the changes that the event made on the world.”

The course also highlights 911��’s own contributions to preserving the history of 9/11. Lair is incorporating materials from the September 11 Digital Archives, created by the university’s Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, one of the earliest large-scale efforts in the country to collect personal stories, images, and reflections from the attacks and their aftermath.

“[The center] has always been ahead of the curve in terms of digital history internationally,” said Lair. “They wanted to seize on the immediate aftermath of 9/11 and allowed people to record their experiences.”

Students will use the archive for their final project, “A Legacy of 9/11,” which asks them to research one of the event’s enduring effects.

Lair’s commitment to remembrance goes beyond the classroom: Each year, she marks the anniversary by releasing monarch butterflies from a conservation project she maintains as a symbol of hope.

Lair, the daughter of a career Army veteran, said she considers this course as her way of “cleaning up my little corner of the world,” and hopes the course gives students historical perspectives, but also something more personal: a deeper understanding of resilience, community, and what people owe one another in times of crisis.

“The American people really showed up for each other that day and I find that very inspiring and steadying,” Lair said. “That’s a lesson young people really need today.”

This research supports the Grand Challenge Initiative's goal of Strengthening Peace, Trust, and Engagement in Democracy

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College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department of History and Art History

9/11 anniversary

GCI-Democracy

Students

A New Pathway for Mental Health Professionals

Katarina Benson — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 18:32:20 +0000

A New Pathway for Mental Health Professionals Katarina Benson Thu, 08/13/2026 - 14:32

As behavioral health shortages grow nationwide, 911�� is training students to bring evidence-based, culturally responsive care to the communities that need it most.

When Gracie Pak, MSW ’26, sat down with clients at the Inova Cares for Women and Children clinics, she quickly learned that healing begins with trust.

Some of her conversations with young patients required translators. Others required patience, cultural sensitivity, and the ability to listen carefully for what was left unsaid.

911�� alumna Gracie Pak said the fellowship fundamentally expanded her understanding of adolescent mental health. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

“Therapy is an extremely vulnerable experience, and there’s a lot of open communication involved,” Pak says. “It’s very difficult for a lot of people to be honest, especially if they come from a cultural background where therapy is stigmatized.”

For Pak, who completed her master of social work degree at 911�� in May, those moments became some of the most meaningful parts of her fellowship experience. Pak was part of a training program designed to address one of the country’s most urgent public health needs: the shortage of behavioral health professionals serving children, adolescents, and young adults.

911��’s Interprofessional Behavioral Health Training Program for Youth Serving Professionals, funded through a four-year grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration, prepares graduate students to work in communities where mental health services are often hardest to access. Through clinical placements, interdisciplinary training, and community partnerships, the program is building a pathway for professionals who are equipped to meet the growing demand for youth behavioral health care.

That demand is staggering. Nationwide, there is roughly one mental health provider for every 340 people in need, according to Mental Health America. In Virginia, the ratio is even higher.

“This grant opportunity was a perfect fit,” says Christy Esposito-Smythers, director of 911��’s Center for Evidence-Based Behavioral Health (CEBBH) and the program’s principal investigator. “Our center is dedicated to increasing access to evidence-based behavioral health care in community settings through research as well as behavioral health workforce training and consultation for emerging and licensed behavioral health professionals.”

In addition to CEBBH, the program brings together multiple 911�� academic units and centers, including the Center for Community Mental Health in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Center for Health Workforce in the College of Public Health, led by Robyn Mehlenbeck and Caroline Sutter, MSN ’01, DNP ’12, respectively, who are also co-investigators.

To further improve outcomes, this program also draws on the expertise of community leaders working to strengthen the interdisciplinary behavioral health workforce and improve access to care through such organizations as the Virginia Mental Health Access Program, the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority, Claude Moore Opportunities, and the Inova Kellar Center.

The program’s design reflects a broader shift happening across health care, one that emphasizes integrated, collaborative models of treatment. Students in 911��’s clinical psychology, nursing, and social work degree programs train together, mirroring the team-based environments they will enter after graduation.

Each year, 10 fellows like Pak complete supervised practicum experiences within partnering primary care clinics, including Inova Cares for Women and Children, the university’s Mason and Partners (MAP) Clinics, Capital Area Pediatrics, Fairfax Pediatric Associates, and the Pediatric Group, among others.

Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

“[When choosing fellows] we look closely at who the applicants want to serve,” says Debora Goldberg, associate professor in the Department of Health Administration and Policy and co-principal investigator. “Their goals and prior experiences help us place them in primary care settings where they can grow and make the greatest impact.”

In addition to advanced training, fellows receive a stipend, which may come with tuition support, to help remove financial barriers to participation. They may also earn micro- and macro-badges recognizing demonstrated competencies as they transition into the workforce.

For many students, the experience is transformational both personally and professionally.

Learning to Meet Patients Where They Are

Pak arrived at the training program with years of experience working with children. She volunteered in classrooms, worked as a substitute teacher, and even gave horseback riding lessons—an experience that sparked her interest in equine-assisted psychotherapy.

Still, she says the fellowship fundamentally expanded her understanding of adolescent mental health. “This experience brought a whole new perspective for me on a much broader level and the challenges that [teens] go through,” Pak says. “A lot of their situations force them to live in survival mode and grow up faster than they should have to.”

Just as valuable as the clinical training was the interprofessional collaboration. “Being in the fellowship with diverse medical personnel was really beneficial for learning how to communicate with one another,” Pak says. “Social work is very unique, so figuring out how to work alongside other medical personnel was essential.”

That collaborative spirit is central to the program’s design. Fellows don’t simply study behavioral health in isolation; they learn how psychologists, nurses, social workers, and physicians work together to support patients and families navigating complex emotional and medical challenges.

Pak is carrying those lessons into her new role as a child and adolescent behavioral health therapist with Healthy Minds Therapy. “I am taking everything I’ve learned throughout the fellowship and the practicum and applying it to my real-life job as a professional therapist,” she says.

From Cameroon to Community Care

For doctoral student Luther Achu Njweipi, MSN ’21, serving as a fellow in the training program strengthened a career already rooted in service.

Njweipi immigrated to the United States from Cameroon after attending schools in underserved communities, an experience that shaped both his worldview and his approach to health care. Today, as a nurse practitioner, he works as a clinical manager at Caregivers Home Health Services in Northern Virginia, supporting patients and families through hospice and palliative care.

In addition to earning his doctorate, Luther Achu Njweipi hopes to become a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

“I saw a need in my line of work that required some behavioral counseling with families that are going through a difficult time with a loved one in serious condition,” says Njweipi, who is working on a doctor of nursing practice degree at 911��.

In hospice care, conversations often center on grief, uncertainty, and loss. The training program helped him develop new tools to guide families through those moments with empathy and clarity. “It is difficult talking to the family about the dying process and about their expectations going forward,” he says. “No matter how many times I’ve gone through this, it impacts me every time.”

Njweipi’s fellowship placement was at the MAP Clinic in Falls Church, which serves uninsured and economically vulnerable patients across Northern Virginia. There, he witnessed how integrated care models can help close gaps for patients who might otherwise go without services. “I saw close to 10 to 15 people a day in this free clinic that accommodates individuals and families who don’t have any health insurance but are in dire need of health services,” he says.

The training in motivational interviewing and behavioral health assessment broadened the way he thinks about patient care. “Everybody needs mental health counseling at some point because we all go through crises,” Njweipi says. “I really appreciate that our training focused on services across the board—for different ages, cultures, and illnesses.”

Now, in addition to earning his doctorate, he hopes to become a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner.

Paying It Forward

The training program aligned perfectly with doctoral student and fellow Irene Regalario’s academic and clinical interests. “My focus is at the intersection of mental health and physical health—caregiver health, chronic illness, or chronic health conditions—so this integrated, interdisciplinary component was such a perfect opportunity for me,” says Regalario, BSN ’18, MA Clinical Psychology ’21.

Working at the MAP Clinic in Manassas Park, Regalario strengthened her patient consultation skills while learning how culturally responsive, evidence-based care can improve outcomes and build trust. “Those [skills] really helped me to build patient rapport, which makes up a good portion of the treatment,” she says. “I loved being able to reassure [my patients] that we’re here to help and protect them and gain that trust and respect in return.”

As a PhD student in clinical psychology, Regalario says one of the program’s most important lessons has been the value of mentorship and shared learning. Faculty supervisors helped her sharpen her clinical instincts, while at the same time she had the opportunity to mentor undergraduate nursing and social work students at the MAP Clinic.

“We’re still training and learning, so it helps me figure out if I have any blind spots,” says Regalario. “To be a supervisor and mentor to some of the undergraduates and to be able to give them perspective in behavioral health training has been such an amazing experience.”

That cycle of mentorship—students learning from clinicians while preparing to guide the next generation themselves—is exactly what the training program hopes to create.

“A main thing that I’ve learned in this program is how to problem-solve with my peers,” says Regalario, who began a residency at Augusta University in Georgia this fall. “We’re asking what we can learn from each other so that we leave here as better medical professionals to make the greatest impact possible in our fields.”

At a time when behavioral health systems nationwide are stretched thin, programs like this one for youth-serving professionals are doing more than training future clinicians. They are helping shape a workforce prepared to deliver compassionate, culturally responsive evidence-based care in the communities that need it most.

“This is really a beautiful academic community partnership that we're developing here,” says Esposito-Smythers. “Consistent with 911��’s core value of ‘thriving together,’ through collaborative efforts we are increasing access to behavioral health services in primary care settings, which in turn, may improve outcomes for youth and families within entire communities.”

Learn more about CEBBH

Fall for the Book’s Writers in the Schools reaches more than 1,000 students

Katarina Benson — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 12:45:43 +0000

Fall for the Book’s Writers in the Schools reaches more than 1,000 students Katarina Benson Wed, 08/12/2026 - 08:45

Last year, Fall for the Book’s annual Writers in the School series reached nearly 1,200 K-12 students in the Fairfax County Public Schools with their Writers in the School series. The program, organized by the 911��-based festival, is designed to introduce students to authors and encourage interest in reading and writing.

Misako Rocks! taught students how to draw manga. Photo provided.

Last fall Japanese writer and artist Misako Rocks! visited Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax to show students how to draw manga. Misako Rocks! has published many graphic novels including Bounce Back, winner of the American Library Association’s 2021 Best Graphic Novels for Children. She also conducted a manga drawing workshop and signed books during 2025 Fall for the Book Festival.

"Having Misako visit was such a joy for the Robinson community. It can be difficult to secure school funding for author talks, and we were so fortunate to receive this opportunity through Fall for the Book. It was really a special day and truly enriched the learning of the 250 students who were able to participate,” said Michael Van Wambeke, Robinson Secondary School Library.

Local author Ann McCallum Staats visited Mosaic Elementary School, also in Fairfax, to teach students about botany with the help of her book Fantastic Flora: The World’s Biggest, Baddest, and Smelliest Plants.

Award-winning writer and professor of English at William Paterson University Marina Budhos visited Manassas Park High School to discuss teenage life and immigrant families. Her recent book, Tell Us We're Home, follows three eighth-grade girls in Massachusetts.

Author Ann McCallum Staats at Mosaic Elementary School. Photo provided

“We worked with the schools to create meaningful, immersive activities to connect the featured books with their current schoolwork,” said Kara Oakleaf, director of Fall for the Book and a faculty member in 911��’s English Department. “For many of these children and teens, it was their first time seeing an author speak in person.”

Engaging with authors allows students to learn more about the writing process, increases interest in reading, and improves literacy outcomes.

At this year's festival, which runs October 6-10, authors will again visit schools.

Cassandra James, international bestselling author of fantasy epics for teens, will visit Chantilly High School. Her debut duology, Capitana and Libertad, has been translated into multiple languages and was chosen for the Junior Library Guild Gold Selection.

Marcie Flinchum Atkins is a teacher-librarian and the author of When Twilight Comes. The author of several nonfiction books for children, she will speak to Mosaic Elementary students about crepuscular plants and animals active in summer in Virginia. Atkins’s debut historical YA novel, One Step Forward, is about the youngest suffragist imprisoned at Occoquan Workhouse.

Based at 911��, Fall for the Book is an independent nonprofit literary arts organization that promotes reading by sponsoring a variety of year-round events and activities on the 911��’s Fairfax Campus and throughout Northern Virginia.

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College of Humanities and Social Sciences

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College of Humanities and Social Sciences

2026 Celebration of Distinction honors alumni leaders from across the university

Read More Alumni Stories

Topics

Ferrer wins 2026 New American Voices Award

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Topics

911����’s Alumna of the Year champions education and opportunity

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Student and faculty researchers team up to drive societal change

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Twenty 911���� researchers receive 4-VA funding for collaborative research

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One mission, many paths: 911���� senior advances youth mental health through research and outreach

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GCI Catalyst Project aims to tackle human rights issues with help of AI

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Students examine the global impact of the 9/11 attacks in 911���� course

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A New Pathway for Mental Health Professionals

Learning to Meet Patients Where They Are

From Cameroon to Community Care

Paying It Forward

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Fall for the Book’s Writers in the Schools reaches more than 1,000 students

Related Stories

Topics

911��’s Alumna of the Year champions education and opportunity

Twenty 911�� researchers receive 4-VA funding for collaborative research

One mission, many paths: 911�� senior advances youth mental health through research and outreach

Students examine the global impact of the 9/11 attacks in 911�� course