University Sustainability’s Greenhouse and Gardens Program hosted the Residence Hall Cooking 101 as one of the Earth Month 24 events. The event took place Friday, April 19th, and provided students with cooking tutorials on making meals in residence halls.
Human Resources’ Faculty and Staff Engagement team members volunteering at one of the outdoor donation collection sites during Patriot Packout 2024 on April 18 are pictured from left to right: Adrianne Jones, Andrew Lane, Stacey Ellis, Diane DiPietro, and Tamira Colbert.
Photo credit: Colleen Regan
Patriot Packout (PPO) is George Mason University’s annual, end-of-the-year donation initiative and it’s back from April 15 – May 10 at the Fairfax, Science and Technology, and Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation campuses.
PPO collects new, like-new, and gently used donations during move-out and redirects them for free into the hands of Mason students, faculty, staff, and community members who need them.
PPO is a success – year after year – because of volunteers. More than 45 volunteers collected, sorted, organized, and freely redistributed 5,700 pounds of donated items during PPO 2023!
Human Resources’ Faculty and Staff Engagement Team (HR FSE team) chose to volunteer during this year’s PPO to highlight how faculty and staff can participate. “Taking the time to step outside of our normal work tasks, to volunteer, allows us to feel an increased sense of connection to the larger Mason community," said Diane DiPietro, Faculty and Staff Engagement Assistant "It’s an opportunity to enhance our community well-being, further supporting our workplace engagement.”
HR FSE team volunteers began their shift outside of Piedmont Hall, a residence hall with an indoor drop-off location, where they were greeted by Colleen Regan, Zero Waste Specialist with University Sustainability and Facilitator for Patriot Packout 2024.
“I’ve seen an increase in faculty and staff volunteer participation during the past two years of Patriot Packout,” said Colleen. “This is crucial support that makes PPO’s free redistribution to Mason Patriots and on-campus resources possible since students are often not able to volunteer due to finals, move-out, and Commencement.”
Colleen provided the team members with a brief overview of what to expect and then the group departed. The volunteers traveled on a pre-assigned route, checking PPO 2024’s residence hall lobby drop-off donation locations and outdoor drop-off donation locations. Volunteers collected donated items, organized donation boxes and bins, and added additional PPO promotional materials.
Stacey Ellis, Faculty and Staff Engagement Program Manager shared that “Patriot Packout (PPO) is a testament to Mason's commitment to sustainability and community. By diverting usable items from the landfill and redistributing them to those in need, PPO empowers every Mason Patriot to make a meaningful impact, turning the busyness of move-out into an opportunity for generosity and environmental responsibility."
Like the HR FSE team, faculty and staff members are encouraged to speak with their supervisor about volunteering during their work hours after referencing volunteering guidance.
“We encourage Mason teams to volunteer together to support various initiatives on campus. It’s great quality time spent as a team while also giving back,” stated Andrew Lane, Director of Performance Management and Employee Engagement.
Students and local community members are also invited to volunteer during PPO 2024. If you’re a student and you need to earn service-learning or volunteer hours, volunteering with PPO 2024 will count!
All Mason Patriots are invited to donate or volunteer during Patriot Packout 2024! But you don’t have to volunteer or donate to make an impact.
Here are some ways everyone can become Patriot Packout supporter:
Explore Patriot Packout 2024’s webpage to learn more about accepted donations, donation locations, and volunteer opportunities: https://go.gmu.edu/PatriotPackout
Patriot Packout 2024’s Mason partners include the Patriot Pantry, Trans Clothing Closet, Art Supply Sharing Closet, the First Gen+ Center, Parking and Transportation, INTO Mason, Mason Innovation Exchange (MIX), and Mason Dining’s collaboration with Move for Hunger, among others. Local community partners include the Committee for Helping Others, Food For Others, Immanuel’s Hope, Shelter House (Katherine Hanley), Women Giving Back, and the Fairfax County Animal Shelter, among others.
Story by: Kelsey Naupari, Patriot Green Fund Coordinator
Data Centers are crucial to information management and technology infrastructure, yet many struggle with outdated energy monitoring systems. A team of forward-thinking undergraduates from Mason’s College of Engineering and Computing have stepped up to address this issue. Their Senior Design project, the Data Center Power Monitoring System, aims at enhancing energy efficiency in older data centers by introducing an advanced, user-friendly monitoring solution that provides real-time insights into power consumption at the individual server level.
Driving this innovative initiative are Fuad Fatani (BS in Electrical Engineering ’24), Nicolas Green (BS in Electrical Engineering ’24), Ethan Vo (BS in Electrical Engineering ’24), Benjamin Adams (BS in Computer Engineering ’24), Luis Niño Walder (BS in Computer Engineering ’24), and Vi An Nguyen (BS in Computer Engineering ’24). This team of six is not just addressing a technical challenge, they are contributing to a future where data center efficiency and sustainability go hand in hand, demonstrating the power of collaborative innovation to drive meaningful change in the tech industry.
Delving deeper into the project, the inception of the Data Center Power Monitoring System was sparked by an AWS initiative, as the students mentioned: “Originally, AWS approached our faculty supervisor, Dr. Tolga Soyata, for a project about a monitoring system for a data center at a more precise level for older data centers.” Despite lacking direct access to a data center, the students developed an emulation environment, creatively overcoming this limitation to meet the project’s goals.
On the projects impact, the students emphasized its potential for sustainability: “Data Centers are notoriously expensive, power and cost wise, and any help in reducing their consumption would not only save money, but emissions too.” Their system aims to enhance efficiency and quicken the identification of power issues, offering a significant step toward energy and cost saving that has the potential to influence beyond the University’s campus.
Navigating the projects' technical demand and complexities, the students encountered challenges, especially in the hardware integration phase, which involved a network of 20PCs and 60sensors. They shared how intricate the process was, noting, “We faced countless issues with wiring and integration.” Their solution to overcome this obstacle— utilizing Ethernet cables to power and ground the sensors— showcasing their abilities and commitment to innovate under constraints, to carry out their project.
External support for the team’s research initiative played a crucial role in ensuring their projects success. The team gratefully acknowledged the role of the Patriot Green Fund, stating, “PGF’s support was instrumental to this project’s success, as without it, we would not have the main two sensors of the project and the main ‘brains’ of our system, the Raspberry Pis.” With PGF’s $750 funding, the team was able to acquire crucial equipment, supporting the project’s journey towards its ambitious goals.
As the team wraps up their implementation phase, the team shared some wisdom for those interested in pursuing and executing their sustainability projects: “Start early!” they emphasized. Their advice highlights their experience, demonstrating that proactive planning and time management are crucial for the success of any project.
Human Resources is excited to announce the 2024 Outstanding Achievement Awards recipients! Please join us for the awards ceremony on Tuesday, April 16 from 10 AM - 11:30 AM in Dewberry Hall.
The ceremony was by GMU-TV and a link of the recording is on the Outstanding Achievement Awards website before the event. As we enter awards season at Mason, it's important to us at Mason Facilities to recognize our fellow Patriots for their success. Congratulations to the following award winners with Mason Facilities!
Goldie and Dianne Hattery Award for Excellence
Patriot Pathbreakers Award
Sustainability Hero Award
OLLI Mason Scholarship Award
Photo Credits: Zachary Lane, Isabella Jones, Nura Behgoman
Story by: Kelsey Naupari
As Mason’s commitment to sustainability grows, so does the ambition of its students to contribute to this vital journey. A group of visionary students, known as the Trash Pandas, is taking steps towards researching composting in a campus residential setting. Their sense of collaboration and deep commitment to sustainability is simple and yet offers an opportunity for students to turn their trash into treasure through composting.
In their EVPP 480 class, taught by Dr. Jen Sklarew, students – Zachary Lane (BA in Environmental and Sustainability Studies ’24), Isabella Jones (BS in Environmental Science and Public Policy ’25), and Nura Behgoman (BA in Communications ’24)— reached out to the Patriot Green Fund, securing $500 in support for their composting pilot. This funding was instrumental in acquiring the necessary materials to kickstart their initiative, along with the approval of the housing office in the Northern Neck residence hall.
The focus of their initiative, on the 5th floor of the Northern Neck residence hall, included:
For this project team, this initiative was about more than building a waste reduction strategy; it’s an experiment designed to deepen the university’s understanding of student engagement with sustainability and to evaluate the practicality of residential composting.
The Trash Pandas state, “by focusing on a single floor, we aim to provide a baseline for a successful system that can be expanded, demonstrating that composting is a viable, effective, and convenient sustainable direction for our campus.”
Their efforts represent a direct engagement with the campus community, educating, and equipping residents with the tools and knowledge to adopt simple composting practices.
Bringing to life their project did not come without its challenges. They faced the challenge of scaling their vision within a semesters time, learning to adapt and focusing their efforts on a targeted, impactful approach. To them, the PGF’s support was more than financial; it was a source of “guidance and advice throughout our projects development,” offering a foundation upon which they built their initiative.
As the semester wraps up, the Trash Pandas shared a few encouraging words to those looking to bring to life their sustainability visions:
“ Start with a larger issue and then narrow down the focus of your work to begin at the local level. This is manageable for college students, and big changes come from smaller steps.”
Through this residential composting pilot, the Trash Pandas hope to inspire a shift towards more sustainable living, illustrating how small actions can lead to significant environmental benefits.
Learn More about Composting Locations & the PGF
Congratulations to Jacob Shin, HVAC III Technician, for being recognized as the April 2024 Facilities Employee of the Month! Jacob was nominated by Dwain Wise-Spain, Supervisor, Zone 5.
“I am pleased to nominate Jacob Shin, HVAC III staff, for the Facilities Employee of the Month recognition award.” Said Wise-Spain. “Jacob provides outstanding service to our staff and customers. Providing true professionalism when working with his co-workers and while servicing the needs of this university community”
Jacob has been known to work collaboratively and is a great mentor to his fellow team members. He has gone above and beyond his regular HVAC responsibilities by promptly completing plumbing orders and all of his additional orders with no callbacks.
Interested in submitting a GMU Facilities Employee of the Month nomination? Check out the new process here!
Patriot Packout returns from April 15 – May 10 to support a sustainable move-out!
Patriot Packout (PPO), George Mason University’s annual end-of-the-year donation initiative, is back from April 15 – May 10 at the Fairfax, Science and Technology, and Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation campuses.
PPO collects new, like-new, and gently used donations during move-out. Donated items are redirected away from the trash and placed into the hands of Mason students, faculty, staff, and community members who need them for free. 82% of all PPO 2023 donations were redistributed for free to individual Mason Patriots and Mason’s on-campus resources.
PPO 2024 will accept donations of clothing and shoes, non-perishable food and hygiene supplies, books and textbooks, art supplies, school/testing supplies, bikes, scooters, skateboards, small appliances, electronics, small furniture, and household goods.
In partnership with Housing and Residence Life (HRL), PPO 2024 will feature 10 residence hall lobby drop-off donation locations and 7 outdoor drop-off locations in centralized areas near residence halls at the Fairfax Campus. At the Science and Technology Campus, donations will be collected at an outdoor drop-off tent in the Beacon Hall Parking Lot in collaboration with Parking and Transportation, HRL, and University Life at SciTech. Donations at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation will be collected in the lobby of the G.T. Halpin Family Living and Learning Community residence hall in collaboration with HRL and SMSC Facilities staff members.
PPO’s primary goal is to support the basic needs of Mason Patriots. PPO 2024 donations will be redistributed directly to Mason students, faculty, and staff for free. On-campus resources that support Mason Patriots’ basic needs, like the Patriot Pantry, Trans Clothing Closet, First-Gen+ Center, and many others, will also receive donations from PPO. Any remaining donations will be freely redistributed to local community resources that support folks’ basic needs.
All PPO 2024 donations will be collected and transported for temporary storage to the Gillespie Gallery of Art, a space generously provided by the Mason Exhibitions. The Gallery will serve as PPO’s hub during the summer when donated items are redistributed to Mason Patriots and on-campus resources. PPO will transform the Gallery into a ‘free store’ this June, and host special events for Mason Patriots to ‘shop’ the store and select any items they need for free.
Although PPO donations divert usable items away from trash during move-out, a large volume of waste is still generated at the end of each spring semester. The Mason Facilities Housekeeping and Waste and Recycling team members work hard and long hours during move-out to keep the university's facilities clean while also collecting, transporting, and disposing of all trash, recycling, and compost.
Every Mason Patriot can support the hard-working Housekeeping and Recycling team members by reviewing Zero Waste Mason guidance and disposing of waste appropriately at move-out trash and specialty waste streams designated outdoor drop-off locations. Responsibly sorting and disposing of waste protects Mason workers from harmful exposures, facilitates efficient waste hauling to prevent overflowing bins, and maximizes the recovery of waste resources by diverting them away from incineration through recycling and composting.
PPO is a university-wide initiative made possible by Mason Patriots’ collective participation. You can make PPO 2024 a success by signing up to volunteer! Mason students can volunteer during PPO to earn service-learning and volunteer hours for classes, Fraternity & Sorority Life, and registered student organizations (RSO). Mason faculty and staff are encouraged to speak with their supervisor about volunteering during their work hours after referencing volunteering guidance.
PPO 2024 invites all Mason Patriots and local community members to participate by donating or volunteering! Together, we can support Mason Patriots’ and local community members’ basic needs while making Mason even more sustainable!
Explore Patriot Packout 2024’s webpage to learn more about accepted donations, donation locations, and volunteer opportunities: https://go.gmu.edu/PatriotPackout
Patriot Packout 2024’s Mason partners include the Patriot Pantry, Trans Clothing Closet, Art Supply Sharing Closet, the First Gen+ Center, Parking and Transportation, INTO Mason, Mason Innovation Exchange (MIX), and Mason Dining’s collaboration with Move for Hunger, among others. Local community partners include the Committee for Helping Others, Food For Others, Immanuel’s Hope, Shelter House (Katherine Hanley), Women Giving Back, and the Fairfax County Animal Shelter, among others.
Story by Doni Nolan
George Mason University has seen increasing numbers of students facing food insecurity since the pandemic, with estimates as high as 36%. To support food-insecure students, the campus food pantry has produced innovative, short-term solutions that are not sustainable to address demanding staff and inventory needs. Many students are working relentlessly to make a difference to address hunger in their college community, but they cannot do it alone.
After a meeting with the Mason Sustainability Council to pitch the launch of the Flora, Fauna, and Food Task Force, it became obvious that the need to address hunger on-campus was a priority amongst the team of staff, faculty, and student leaders. There was so much passion and demand for that branch of the Task Force that it became obvious to start the launch with those efforts. Staff within the University Sustainability team, namely, Doni Nolan, in charge of the Greenhouse & Gardens Program, worked to gather all the people associated with food insecurity efforts at Mason to plan an event where they could all discuss the barriers and potential solutions to feeding hungry students, and to encourage collaboration amongst them.
The group has since been coined the Food Justice Working Group, and the Food Justice Workshop was its first annual in-person meeting. Almost two dozen food justice leaders joined on September 13, 2023, in the Johnson Center for several hours to collaboratively develop solutions and new partnerships to address pressing food-related challenges and scale Mason’s ongoing actions in addressing food insecurity.
About half the attendees were devoted and passionate students, many of them holding multiple titles, such as roles within Student Government and Patriot PIRG (Public Interest Research Group). Two of the students, Zoe Vozick and Kacey Chung, Environmental Sustainability studies who were taking environmental course: Sustainability in Action, spoke out about their determination to reestablish the Food Recovery Network, formerly known as Campus Kitchens. The Food Recovery Network (FRN) is a US-based nonprofit that unites students on college campuses to fight food waste and hunger by recovering perishable food that would otherwise go to waste. The GMU chapter has been inactive due to the lack of a faculty advisor.
During the meeting, Zoe and Kacey announced a request for faculty or staff membership who could fill this role to allow them to reactivate the GMU branch as a formal registered student organization (RSO). Since the workshop, Zoe and Kacey have found the advisor they needed, in fact they found three faculty to share the role, and as of Spring 2024, a group of student leaders have officially registered as a student organization. They are already posting volunteer shifts to pick up leftover food from the dining halls to donate to those in need.
In support of their efforts was Mason Dining, who also had several representatives at the workshops, including their dietitian, Brooke Tresch, who has helped lead many cooking events in collaboration with the Greenhouse & Gardens Program, and who recently launched the Teaching Cooking. One major barrier to healthier and more affordable eating habits for students is learning how to prepare meals from raw ingredients. There have already been multiple events this semester that aim to inspire and educate students on making affordable food in their dorms and homes.
Tresch and Sophia Nelson, Mason Dining’s marketing specialist who was also at the workshop, have been heavily marketing their Swipe4Change initiative, which allows students to donate one guest meal, capped at 500 total per semester, to students in need, who can then swipe their own cards for free meals. Mason Dining continued their generosity of donating meal swipes to fight food insecurity with 1000 meal swipes per semester. Their donation, in addition to the Swipes4Change initiative, could provide 3000 meal swipes for food insecure students. Mason Dining also provided free catering for the workshop, which included beverages, cheese, and crackers to go with microgreens grown at the Presidents Park Greenhouse on-campus, and baked carrot skins, to exemplify how delicious cooking with scrap ingredients can be.
Of course, there were several staff from Mason’s SSAC (Student Support and Advocacy Center) within University Life, which houses the Patriot Pantry, our largest and most well-funded initiative to address hunger on our Fairfax campus. During the Fall 2023 semester, the Patriot Pantry distributed a record-breaking 11,000 lbs. of food to over 550 students. As the pantry continues to grow, the staff navigates challenges including space allocation, maintaining a stock to support high volumes of students, and various aspects of pantry management.
Receiving a larger space would allow for the Patriot Pantry to expand its services to support students experiencing food insecurity on a large scale. A space fitted with washing stations and proper electrical circuits for refrigerators and freezers would allow perishable items to be distributed to students. Mason's Facilities Administration was also more than enthusiastic to offer potential funding and construction support to make the installation possible, but Capital Strategy and Planning will need to be involved for space allocations.
Mason’s Auxiliary Services and Operations team was also there, being represented by Jonathan Elwell and Pascal Petter, who work to connect Mason with its contractors such as Mason Dining. They were both very eager to support efforts to address hunger at Mason. They currently have going the Mason4Change program that raised almost $2,000 for a grant to SSAC.
During the workshop, Petter also shared his knowledge about the legal requirements of donating leftover food from catered events and kitchens via the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act. Leftovers cannot be donated to individuals, but they can be donated to a non-profit, such as the Food Recovery Network. With everyone’s collaboration the Food Justice Working Group plans to create infrastructure opportunities to have a (walk-in) freezer installed so that leftover meals can be donated to the Food Recovery Network and offered to students through the Patriot Pantry. After the workshop, there were many clear paths forward and avenues of hope for everyone in attendance.
If you or someone you know would like access to free vegetables, fruit, leafy greens and herbs, the Greenhouse & Gardens Program offers them to anyone in the community willing to stop by and pick them up. Create an account on their Sustainable Sign-Ups portal to choose a time slot for Produce Pick-Ups, which continues year-round in their heated greenhouse and just started at the garden. Read more about Mason’s efforts to address food insecurity in this article.
Mason Facilities is excited to announce the completion and opening of the renovated Fairfax campus’ Field House locker rooms. Approximately 13,359 sq ft of existing space was remodeled to provide new shower and restroom areas for student-athletes and staff members. “The upgrades give new life to the spaces and will improve Mason's ability to recruit and retain student-athletes and coaches.” Said Christy Hogan, Sr. Director University Asset Management and leading project manager on this renovation.
In 2022, Capital Planning & Strategies launched its Small Capital Improvement Pilot Program, through which Athletics (ICA) requested to have the open shower areas at the locker rooms renovated to provide individual shower stalls for increased student safety and privacy. In addition to the showers needing a reconfiguration, the common areas of the locker rooms were also outdated, in poor condition, and in need of a refresh.
In total, the following changes were made to the male, female, and staff Field House locker rooms:
Special shoutout to:
Christy Hogan (Sr. Director University Asset Management), Jesus Sanchez (Construction Field Representative), Laura Bayr (Sr. Interior Designer), John Forgy (University Environmental Graphic Designer & Sign Program Manager), Andrew Lieber (Sr Assoc Athletics Director, Capital Planning, Facilities, and Events), Ryan Jones (Director, Facilities Services, Intercollegiate Athletics), Caleb Aiosa-Perrin (Assistant Director, Facilities Services, Intercollegiate Athletics), Additional Facilities Management support teams, CannonDesign, and Green Touch Builders.
Congratulations to Luis Longoria, Facilities IT Support Manager, for being recognized as the March 2024 Facilities Employee of the Month! Luis was nominated by Amy Millman, Admin Assistant to VP.
“Luis visibly covers a lot of ground across our division as a valuable resource and knowledgeable leader in our Facilities IT team. Luis genuinely cares about his work, is service-oriented and quickly responds to phone calls, FITS support tickets, and emails.” Said Millman.
In addition to being easily reachable, Longoria manages his job with a calm and steady approach. He’s consistently demonstrated his commitment and dedication to his work here at the University and effortlessly commits to the changing dynamics in technology. His contribution has left a positive impact on Facilities as well as the University as a whole.
Interested in submitting a GMU Facilities Employee of the Month nomination? Check out the new process here!
