��ɫ��Ƶ

Congratulations to the ��ɫ��Ƶ faculty and staff retirees from October 2024 to April 2025. The list below includes retirees, the department from which they retired, and years of service.

��ɫ��Ƶ’s Outstanding Achievement Awards celebrate the hard work and accomplishments of faculty and staff in support of the university's values and mission. Awards are sponsored by Human Resources and other university departments. A ceremony honoring this year’s awardees was hosted on the Fairfax Campus on Tuesday, April 15.

��ɫ��Ƶ’s Potomac Science Center on Belmont Bay is a destination for environmental science research within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Slightly inland from shore, on a recent day in early March, the retention pond next to the center needed to be emptied to make changes to the drainage system. The Mason Nation was ready to rescue some of the creatures affected.

��ɫ��Ƶ's new Life Sciences and Engineering Building at the Science and Technology Campus (SciTech Campus) in Manassas, Virginia, supports the university's growing need for highly specialized instructional labs, classrooms, and support spaces.

In a perfect world, student-athletes have everything they need to reach their potential on the court or field, in the pool, or on the mat. ��ɫ��Ƶ staff like CJ Minteer support their success and training. As the director of procurement for George Mason Athletics, Minteer carefully manages and supports the equipment needs of student-athletes across the university.

Since the arrival of Steve Pulis, purchasing manager in Facilities, ��ɫ��Ƶ has earned more than $1 million in surplus property sales—including furniture, equipment, and more. Pulis started working at George Mason in 2017 and has helped the university add money to its general fund by effectively managing the commonwealth’s surplus sales process.

As director of contracts and special projects for Auxiliary Services and Operations at ��ɫ��Ƶ, Buz Grover has managed a variety of recurring and innovative projects. Outside work, as a volunteer with the Cave Research Foundation, Grover explores caves on federal lands, mapping the unknown twists and turns of the earth’s darkest—and coolest—corners.

Cindy Smith, a professor in ��ɫ��Ƶ's Department of Environmental Science and Policy, took her EVPP 302 Biomes and Human Dimensions students to a composting facility last fall to give them a front-row seat for food and yard waste recycling.

Nandini Koka joined ��ɫ��Ƶ in April 2023 as executive director of Student Health Services, where she leads a staff of nearly 50 that includes doctors, nurse practitioners, counselors, and nurses. As a medical doctor with training in family medicine and urgent care, she is passionate about helping patients get better quickly and enhancing access to care. At the largest and fastest-growing public research university in Virginia, Koka has found a place where the need for that care continues to grow.

Cold and flu season is here—again. Nandini Koka, medical doctor and executive director of Student Health Services at ��ɫ��Ƶ, is ready to help. Follow Dr. Koka’s self-care steps to stay healthy this respiratory season.