What do camping and coal mines, and energy audits and activist art have to do with one another?

They are all part of a new wave of Mason courses incorporating sustainability concepts. Such courses began dotting the pages of the university’s course catalog this past term.

Being a scientist is hard work. You have to deal with equipment failures, time constraints and problems with your colleagues — and that’s all before lunch period.

That's what sixth graders at Manassas Park Middle School in Manassas Park, Va., are discovering this year.

Michael Behrmann Receives Award

Michael Behrmann, director of the Kellar Institute for Human disAbilities and professor in the Graduate School of Education, has devoted his career to generating new ideas and concepts in technology, improving services to children and developing innovative personnel preparation programs.

Imagine being one of the nearly 600 million people in the world living with a disability. Your day-to-day life could be very different from those around you, and it’s quite possible you feel misunderstood by others who have preconceived notions about what it means to be a person with a disability.

The Tom Haggai and Associates (THA) Foundation was founded by Dr. Thomas Haggai with the purpose of providing assistance “so young people would be prepared to help the youth of our country.” As a recipient of various scholarships and grants to fund his education, Dr.

Mason researchers Jean B. Moore and Carol Kaffenberger have each spent a large part of their careers trying to make life better for children with cancer. Now they have joined forces and are working on the Student Reentry Project, which examines how students who have cancer and their school systems are affected.

In 2006, the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) adopted five core values on which to focus: collaboration, ethical leadership, innovation, research-based practice and social justice. Jeff Gorrell, dean of CEHD, is recruiting national scholars to work with faculty to advance each core value over the next few years.

With the help of international grant coordinator Susan Graziano, Mason recently received two separate grants that will strengthen already-existing foreign language programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

One of the grants will enable students to pursue an 18-credit minor in Arabic language and culture.

In Burundi, a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Africa, a lack of basic necessities is common. Emerging from more than 12 years of civil war, the country also lacks educational resources.

The Arc of Northern Virginia, a disability organization that advocates on behalf of Virginians with intellectual, cognitive and related developmental disabilities and their families, will present awards Michael Behrmann, director of Mason's Helen A.

News

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) immersion team of the Instructional Technology program won an award at Mason's annual Innovations 2007 Expo for “Most Effective Corporate/Community Interaction.” This award was sponsored by the Business Alliance of George Mason University.