George Mason University

George Mason University

Motto	Freedom and Learning
Type	Public university
Established	October 1, 1949
Endowment	$198 million (06/2016)
President	Ángel Cabrera
Provost	S. David Wu
Academic staff	2,893
Administrative staff	5,598 total (3,545 full-time; 2,053 part-time)
Students	33,917
Undergraduates	21,324 (Fall 2013)
Postgraduates	11,873 (Fall 2013)
Location	Arlington, VA, US; Fairfax, VA, US; Front Royal, VA, US; Prince William, VA, US; Songdo, South Korea Coordinates: 38°49′51″N 77°18′27″W / 38.8308°N 77.3075°W / 38.8308; -77.3075
Campus	Suburban, 854 acres (3.46 km2) total across 4 campuses 677 acres (2.74 km2) Fairfax Campus
Colors	Green and Gold
Athletics	NCAA Division I – A-10
Sports	22 varsity teams
Nickname	Patriots
Mascot	The Patriot (formerly "Gunston")
Affiliations	APLU ORAU SURA
Website	www.gmu.edu

George Mason University (also Mason), located in George Mason in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, is the largest public research university in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The university was founded as a branch of the University of Virginia in 1949 and became an independent institution in 1972. Today, Mason is recognized for its programs in economics, law, creative writing, computer science, and business. In recent years, George Mason faculty have twice won the Nobel Prize in Economics. The university enrolls 33,917 students, making it the largest university by head count in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The University of Virginia in Charlottesville created an extension center to serve Northern Virginia. "… the University Center opened, on October 1, 1949..." The extension center offered both for credit and non-credit informal classes in the evenings in the Vocational Building of the Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Virginia. The first for credit classes offered were: "Government in the Far East, Introduction to International Politics, English Composition, Principles of Economics, Mathematical Analysis, Introduction to Mathematical Statistics, and Principles of Lip Reading." By the end of 1952, enrollment increased to 1,192 students from 665 students the previous year.

A resolution of the Virginia General Assembly in January 1956 changed the extension center into University College, the Northern Virginia branch of the University of Virginia. John Norville Gibson Finley served as director. Seventeen freshmen students attended classes at University College in a small renovated elementary school building in Bailey's Crossroads starting in September 1957. In 1958 University College became George Mason College.