George Mason University began in 1957 with 17 students as a two-year college of the University of Virginia. In 1959 the City of Fairfax donated 147 acres of land for the institution and by 1964 there were four buildings and 365 students. By 1967 enrollment had risen to 1,128 and George Mason College was transformed into a four-year degree granting institution. In 1970 graduate classes were added and an additional 442 acres of land were acquired. The institution gained independent university status in 1972. The Arlington Campus, housing the School of Law, was added in 1979 and the Prince William campus opened in the fall of 1997. By 1980 enrollment was 13,000. Enrollment has grown to over 28,000 as of fall 2003 and George Mason University is now comprised of 126 buildings on 806 acres of land at three campuses.

Routine, preventative and deferred maintenance are individually programmed, planned, tracked and executed. In-house staff handle most routine and preventative maintenance. Larger non-routine repairs and alterations are normally contracted out. Deferred maintenance projects are developed from inspections, life cycle analysis and consolidated from work orders received that identify larger facilities requirements. Deferred maintenance projects between $25,000 and $1,000,000 are incorporated into the Commonwealth of Virginia's Maintenance Reserve Program. These projects are developed, prioritized and submitted to the state for programmatic approval. Funding is provided by the General Assembly as part of our Capital Outlay (Construction) Program. Overall funding levels for the Maintenance Reserve Program are determined by a state formula that accounts for the age and replacement value of facilities.