George Mason The Pulse

SCHAR SCHOOL AND HUNGARY’S LUDOVIKA UPS FORGE INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP Í me egy jó hír*: The Schar School has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Ludovika University of Public Service (UPS) in Budapest, Hungary. The MOU formalizes the relationship between the two schools and will facilitate collaboration among the respective faculties and student bodies. “We are delighted to form this new partnership with the Ludovika University of Public Service, which already has resulted in a visiting faculty lecture there,” said Schar School dean Mark J. Rozell, referencing a lecture there by adjunct professor Charles N.W. Keckler. “We anticipate many more intellectual exchanges among our respective faculties and students.” Ludovika UPS was founded in 2012. The school’s 6,200 students are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate degree programs focusing on public administration, law enforcement, and military affairs. * Here is good news. —Buzz McClain FELLOWSHIP HONORING OPPENHEIMER BIOGRAPHER GOES TO RODRIGUEZ S char School assistant professor J. Luis Rodriguez was honored with the inaugural Martin J. Sherwin Fellowship by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Rodriguez, who specializes in global governance and nuclear arms control, is one of the first faculty members appointed to the Schar School’s new undergraduate International Security and Law bachelor of arts program. Sherwin’s biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer—with coauthor with Kai Bird—won a Pulitzer Prize in 2006 and inspired the 2023 Academy Award-winning film by Christopher Nolan. He was also a University Professor of History at George Mason from 2007 until his death in 2021. Rodriguez was recognized by the Wilson Center as “a rising star in the field of nuclear proliferation research … Luis’ project centers on issues dear to the work and legacy of the late Martin J. Sherwin and will strengthen the center’s focus on one of the most important international security threats and its deeper, global history.” —Buzz McClain

@GEORGEMASON

SHARK COWRITES BOOK ON AI WITH AI S char School Associate Professor Alan R. Shark’s latest book is called Artificial Intelligence—A Primer for State and Local

“ AI helped with organizing thoughts, creating outlines, and seeking sources,” Shark said. “The book was edited twice using AI—so it was AI checking on AI.”

Governments: Everything You Need to Know Since Yesterday , a self-description that pretty much sums up the contents. The 164-page book was cowritten by ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Perplexity AI. Wait. What? Did the professor use AI to write a book about AI? In fact, he did. — Buzz McClain

SCHAR SCHOOL’S ALY RAYLE NOMINATED FOR NCAA WOMAN OF THE YEAR S char School student athlete Aly Rayle is the first Schar School student to be nominated for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year Award. The acknowledgment capped a standout college career for the Global Commerce and Policy master’s graduate. Rayle was an all-star pitcher on George Mason’s softball team, which won its first-ever Atlantic 10 conference championship in 2023. She was named A-10 Pitcher of the Year and helped the team to the championship with a 19-9 record, posting a 2.01 ERA. She set the all-time single-season strikeouts record and became the only Patriot pitcher to have

struck out 200 batters in a single season. She led the conference in overall strikeouts (242) and looking strikeouts (72). She finished the A-10 tournament with a 4-1 record, pitching 33 innings and recording 39 strikeouts to earn the A-10 Championship’s Most Outstanding Player award. Rayle also was a leader in the softball program’s community relations efforts, donating countless hours of to a variety of causes, including mentoring students at a local elementary school. — Buzz McClain

J. LUIS RODRIGUEZ

CORREA-CABRERA AWARDED A FULBRIGHT TO EXPLORE BORDER SECURITY AND IMMIGRATION S char School Professor Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to conduct research and teach in Mexico as part of the Fulbright-García Robles Social Sciences and Humanities Program. The highly competitive fellowship program has been awarded to 62 Nobel Laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize winners, and 80 MacArthur Fellows. She is one of eight George Mason faculty members to be awarded Fulbrights this year. Correa-Cabrera will reside at El Colegio de a Frontera Norte (El COLEF) in Tijuana, Mexico, where she will teach topics related to border issues as well as conduct research on the phenomenon of human smuggling and its impact on immigration policy and border security. “This opportunity is very important to me professionally,” she said. “It represents the closing of a period of very intense field research for me,” adding that she is finishing a book that will “identify the main actors facilitating human mobility through illicit forms, their social networks, and the systems they form.” — Buzz McClain

VA LEGISLATURE HONORS MALAWER T he Virginia Legislature passed Senate Joint Resolution No. 80, recognizing the contributions of Professor Stuart S. Malawer upon his retirement from the Schar School. With a career spanning 46 years at George Mason (and a total of 55 years in academia), Malawer’s impact extends far beyond the classroom, as recognized by the lengthy Senate resolution. A Mason Distinguished Faculty Member of the Year awardee, Malawer said he considers his years at Mason “as public service of the highest order. My students over the years have

been from all areas of the commonwealth and the world, and they have been simply outstanding. They have greatly enriched me and opened my eyes to many things globally.” —Buzz McClain

STUART MALAWER

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