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The University College of the University of Virginia opened in 1956 in Bailey's Crossroad -
The City of Fairfax purchased and donated 150 acres to the University of Virginia for the college's new site, which is now referred to as the Fairfax Campus. The Town of Fairfax completed the purchase of the land from Wilson Farr and Viola Orr on February 9, 1959, and deeded the land to the University the next day for the sum of ten dollars. -
In the Fall of 1964 the new campus welcomed 356 students -
During the 1966 Session of the Virginia General Assembly, Alexandria delegate James M. Thomson, with the backing of the University of Virginia, introduced a bill in the General Assembly to make George Mason College a four-year institution under the University of Virginia's direction. The measure, known as H 33, passed the Assembly easily and was approved on March 1, 1966, making George Mason College a degree-granting institution -
Dr. Thompson can be considered among the “founding fathers” of George Mason University as his work - both outside the university and as its chief executive – has had lasting effects on its development. What began as a one-year appointment as Chancellor of a branch college became a seven-year run, which culminated in his appointment as President of the newest university in the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1972. -
In 1972, Governor A. Linwood Holton signs H 210 separating George Mason College from the University of Virginia,Virginia and renamed it George Mason University. -
While at Mason, he helped bring archived materials of the Federal Theatre Project to campus and saw the groundbreaking of the university’s first student housing complex, the dedication of Robinson Hall, the opening of Student Union Building I, the creation of the Office of Extended Studies, and the initiation of more than 20 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in academic areas ranging from geography and international studies to nursing and public -
Robert Krug came to Mason in 1965 and held several key positions, including dean of what was then George Mason College, dean of the faculty and graduate school, provost, and vice president for academic affairs prior to his tenure as president. While president, Krug proved to be an effective lobbyist for funds from the Virginia General Assembly and was responsible for acquiring the university’s first computers. -
In April 1979, Mason acquired the International School of Law and of authority to grant Doctoral Degrees in Education and Public Administration and the new Arlington Campus was purchased in the Virginia Square sector in Arlington. -
In 1978, George W. Johnson was appointed to serve as the fourth president (Inaugurated in 1979). Under his eighteen-year tenure, the university expanded both its physical size and program offerings at a tremendous rate. -
Dr. Alan G. Merten was appointed president in 1996 (Inaugurated 1997). During his tenure, GMU hosted the World Congress of Information Technology in 1998, celebrated a second Nobel Memorial Prize-winning faculty member in 2002, & the Men's Basketball team in their NCAA Final Four appearance in 2006. Enrollment increased from 24,000 students in 1996 to approximately 33,000 during 2012, making Mason Virginia's largest public university and gained prominence at the national level -
The Science and Technology campus opened on August 25, 1997, as the Prince William Campus in Manassas, Virginia, on 134 acres. -
Between 2005 and 2009 the university had a campus at Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. -
GMU Men's Basketball team makes it to the Final Four -
The campus in Front Royal is a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and GMU. The primary focus of the campus is global conservation training -
Dr. Ángel Cabrera and the board were well aware that Mason was part of a rapidly changing academia, full of challenges to the viability of higher education. In a resolution on August 17, 2012, the board asked Dr. Cabrera to create a new strategic vision that would help Mason remain relevant and competitive in the future. -
The Songdo campus is in South Korea's Incheon Free Economic Zone, a 42,000-acre site designed for 850,000 people. It's 25 miles from Seoul. The Commonwealth of Virginia considers the Songdo campus legally no different from any other Mason campus, "... board of visitors shall have the same powers with respect to operation and governance of its branch campus in Korea as are vested in the board by the Code of Virginia with respect to George Mason University in Virginia ..." -
Mason Korea's first commencement class graduated in December 2017. -
Anne Holton served as interim president of George Mason University from 2019 to 2020. -
On February 24, 2020, the Board of Visitors appointed Gregory Washington as the eighth president. He started at George Mason on July 1, 2020. Washington is the university's first African-American president. -
