Retro Mason

Created in 1984, the Clarence J. Robinson Professors Program embodies Mason's commitment to making high-quality education accessible to undergraduate students.

When the concept of the George W. Johnson Center was first proposed—combining a library, computer labs, a bookstore, a bank, and dining facilities in one building—the idea was met with skepticism.

In September 2009, Smithsonian-Mason Semester students took a during a behind-the-scenes tour of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

The Student Apartments, Mason's first on-campus housing, opened in October 1977 and housed 498 students.

George Mason University was the first university to host the World Congress on Information Technology in June 21-24, 1998.

After more than 10 years of fundraising and a few years of construction, the Center for the Arts Concert Hall opened on October 6, 1990, with award-winning composer Marvin Hamlisch serving as host on opening night.

In 2006, Robert DeNiro and Matt Damon came to George Mason University’s Center for the Arts to promote their film “The Good Shepherd” in a special taping of MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews.

Mason researcher Jenefir Isbister was awarded the university's first patent on August 27, 1996, for her invention of a test for microbial contamination.

Mason’s Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), known as “The Patriot Battalion,” began in 1982 and frequently conducts training with other universities throughout the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.

Mason alumni John Whalan, Elaine "Chipper" Petersen, and Bob Veenstra built the university's first telescope and observatory with $200 in start-up funds from the Physics Department.