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¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ has earned the Carnegie Elective Classification for Sustainability, becoming one of the first 14 institutions to receive the new classification for integrating sustainability across the curriculum, research, operations, career preparation, and community engagement.

What difference does a tree make? That’s what ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ researcher Luis Ortiz wanted to find out with his course, CLIM 759 Micrometeorological Modeling for Local Climate Action, in which students work individually with community groups to study their needs and model the outcomes of various interventions.

¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ is authorized to host the Virginia State Climate Office, thanks to a provision in the new state budget effective July 1, 2026. The office is charged with developing and delivering data, analyses, assessments, and expertise about Virginia’s weather- and climate-related impacts, risks, and risk management options to state and local government agencies, businesses, and communities across the commonwealth.

George Mason’s Virginia Climate Center (VCC) has unveiled the commonwealth’s first comprehensive, peer-reviewed climate assessment—a landmark report that provides science-based insights into Virginia’s changing climate and its impacts on communities, infrastructure, and the economy.

Mason scientists and partners will leverage their climate expertise and the university’s resources into broader societal implications, thanks to a $6 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The new Virginia Climate Center (VCC) at Mason is leading research on tackling climate-related challenges, such as energy, vector-borne illnesses, and extreme weather and flooding in Northern Virginia and throughout the commonwealth.

Mason is deeply committed to pioneering processes that can answer the grand challenges of water, its responsible management, and sustainability. In fact, the university’s interdisciplinary approach and cutting-edge research as part of its strategic direction, has turned Mason’s campuses into a Living Lab.

On June 28, Dean Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm, U.S. Representative Gerry Connolly, and James Kinter, director of Mason’s Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies, discussed how the Virginia Climate Center is helping communities increase resilience to the impacts of climate change.