Made for This Moment

Our vision for the next 50 years

Retro Mason

Looking at the past that propelled us into the future

Show your Mason Pride!

Shop commemorative 50th Anniversary shirts, mugs, watches and more.

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We’ve Always Been Green and Gold...

and Now We’re Golden

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From George Mason University's origins as a branch campus of the University of Virginia to its current status as Virginia’s largest, most inclusive, and most innovative university, George Mason has experienced 50 remarkable years of growth and achievement.

“Mason at 50” represents an inflection point for this university, as we look to the half century ahead and focus on the university we are becoming, the students we are graduating, and the world we are helping to shape.


 

Mason at 50

Celebrate with Us

Throughout 2022, the George Mason University community will celebrate Mason’s first 50 years as a university with a series of programs called “Mason at 50.”

Photo of the Enslaved People Memorial on Wilkins Plaza, Mason's Fairfax campus
Memorial Dedicated

Several hundred people assembled at the Fairfax Campus on April 4, 2022, for the dedication of the Enslaved People of Mason memorial in what Mason President Gregory Washington called “a landmark day for the university.”

Photo credit:
Photo credit
Evan Cantwell, Mason
Mason's Green Machine playing at a game
April 7: Mason Vision Day

 

Mason Vision Day is an opportunity for our community to come together and support the Green Machine!

 

Upcoming 50th Events:

A University is Born

In 1972, Virginia Governor A. Linwood Holton Jr. signed the bill separating George Mason College from the University of Virginia. With the stroke of a pen, George Mason University, as we know it today, was born. Read more about how Mason will mark 50 years.

Mason Trailblazers

Celebrate Mason Trailblazers—faculty, staff, students, and alumni—who helped make a difference in our community and beyond.

Get Inspired by more Mason Trailblazers

We're just getting started

Mason, at 50, is at an inflection point, as we celebrate the accomplishments that got us here and and focus on the university we are becoming, the students we are graduating, and the world we are helping to shape.

Retro Mason

James M. Buchanan's Nobel Prize Press Conference 1986

On October 17, 1986, the media descended upon George Mason University when economist James M. Buchanan won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his work on public choice theory. 

Photo credit:
Photo credit
Carl Zitzman, George Mason University

 


 

Get Your 50th Mason Gear

We are celebrating Mason’s first 50 years as an independent university by featuring a limited-time line of merchandise offering commemorative 50th Anniversary logos and designs. The collection includes t-shirts, glassware, wine, home furnishings, and more! The entire collection is available in stores or online from the following retailers.

Mason at 50 merchandise

 

It's Mason's Time
Happy looking woman in hard-hat observes the sunset while standing in front of the U.S. Capitol rotunda.

Mason’s network of 210,000+ alumni power the Northern Virginia economy. Creating a lifelong connection.

Researcher uses test tubes and pipette in a lab environment

Mason has one of the fastest-growing research portfolios in the country with faculty working on urgent societal needs. Learn about our research.

Technician works with server and/or networking rack.

Mason is the largest producer of tech talent in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Learn more about tech talent at Mason.

Students gather around easels and canvas for a studio art critique session

Mason’s arts centers and cultural offerings are an indispensable contributor to making Northern Virginia a vibrant place to live and work. Visit CVPA.