George Mason University Fairfax Campus
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George Mason University's Fairfax Campus is the largest campus of George Mason University, with approximately eighty buildings spread over 677 acres in Fairfax, Virginia. Fairfax also has the largest student population of the campuses, with approximately 17,000 students regularly attending classes.
The Fairfax campus is served on the Washington Metro by the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU station on the Orange line. The CUE bus, free for students with a Mason ID card, serves the students through routes from the Metro station to the University.
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[edit] History
In the early 1960's four buildings were constructed around a lawn in Fairfax which include the East Building, West Building, Krug and Finley Hall. The first four structures, today dubbed "The Original Four," "around a lawn" were understood as a clear reference to the buildings around The Lawn of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. In addition, in the words of the architects, the architecture of the buildings was meant to reflect Jeffersonian influence through the use of red brick with buff colored mortar, white vertical columns, and sloped shingled roofs.
Master plans were developed to incorporate further development, which saw new additions such as Fenwick Library and Lecture Hall. By 1979 master plan development was handled by the firm of Sasaki & Associates, which continued to work alongside the university in the years that followed. Student housing first became available in 1977. The 1980's saw the biggest expansion with new buildings being added on each year including the Patriot Center.
Recent years have seen the most activity on campus. Innovation Hall, a new academic building began usage in 2003. Housing units (Liberty Square, Potomac Heights) were opened in 2004 to accommodate an unprecedented amount of demand from students. The fall of 2005 saw the number of residential students surpass 4,100. The Sandy Creek parking deck was recently opened, while a research building is scheduled to open in June of 2006. Research I will be a four-story 100,000 square-foot facility that will include faculty offices and instructional and research laboratories. It will include a semi-detached tower that will house the Astronomy Department’s rooftop telescope.
[edit] Northeast Sector Development
However, the university unveiled an ambitious plan in 2005 for the largest development to date on campus; the Northeast Sector. Work has begun and buildings are scheduled to open in phases, but all should be completed by 2008. Planned and executed as a design-build effort, the 450,000 square-foot mixed-use development consists of:
- Five multistory residence buildings, at 5 to 6 floors each, supporting a total of 1,030 beds.
- Exhibition-style dining facility with a capacity to seat over 500 diners.
- Fitness center with cardio, weight training, and indoor basketball and racquetball courts.
- Retail operations that will include a coffee house/convenience store and wood-fired pizza and pasta restaurant.
- Various recreation and office spaces.
[edit] George W. Johnson Learning Center
The 320,000 square-foot George W. Johnson Learning Center is located in the center of the campus and was built in 1995 at a cost of $30 million. It was named after University President of 18-years, George W. Johnson. It was established to be the hub of the "new quad." It includes a 100,000 square-foot library, movie theater, ballroom, restaurant, food court, bookstore, retail outlets, group meeting rooms, learning labs, STAR computer labs, Copy Center, the Copyright Office, a Credit Union, an Information Desk, Johnson Center and Student Unions Operations, The Office of Events Production, Student Academic Affairs, the Student Government Offices, Johnson Center and University Life Programming, as well as the Paul Robeson Resource Room. Also in the Johnson Center is Admissions, Alumni Affairs, University Scholars, the African American Studies Research and Resource Center, Global Education, the Mason Media Lab, Math Tutoring, the Women's Studies/ Women's Research and Resource Center, the Center for Library, WGMU Radio, Computer Labs, and the Student Technology Assistance and Resource Center (STAR).
[edit] Patriot Center
The Patriot Center is a 10,000 seat arena for the Men's and Women's basketball team. The arena was built in 1986, and is being added onto and renovated at a cost of $10 million, to be completed in October 2007. The renovations will include the concord area, main storage, food service facilities, offices for basketball coaches, basketball team rooms and lockers.
[edit] Fenwick Library
Fenwick Library was originally built in 1967, with additions in 1974, a tower in 1983, and renovations in 2005-2006. It was named for Charles Rogers Fenwick, one of George Mason's founders. Fenwick Library is the main research library at George Mason. Its resources include: most of the university's books, microforms, print and bound journals, government documents, and maps. Electronic resources include networked and stand-alone CD-ROMs, the libraries' online catalog, a number of databases available through the libraries' membership in various consortia, and Internet access. Another important collection of research materials housed in Fenwick is the Government Documents collection. This collection includes both federal and Virginia state documents. Both sets of documents contain items from the administrative, legislative, and judicial branches of government, and constitute an invaluable source of primary source materials for students and faculty in political science, public policy, sociology, business and other fields.There is also a special GIS center in Fenwick Library which conducts GIS drop-in sessions every week.
George Mason is a member of the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area, granting it access to resources of thirteen other libraries in the Nation's capital.
[edit] Aquatic and Fitness Center
The 68,000 square-foot Aquatic and Fitness Center opened in 1998 at a cost of $11 million. The center includes an Olympic size swimming pool containing eight 50-meter lanes, twenty-two 25-yard lanes, two movable bulkheads, and a diving area equipped with two 1-meter and two 3-meter spring boards, a Warm-water recreational pool, Locker rooms, a whirlpool, a coed sauna, and a family changing room. It also offers Wet and dry classrooms, a 3,500 square-foot fitness gallery, containing treadmills, stair climbers, exercise bikes, elliptical trainers, Cybex-strength training equipment, and free weights.
[edit] Center for the Arts
The Center for the Arts includes a 2,000-seat Concert Hall built in 1990. The concert call can be converted into a more intimate 800-seat theater. Most Center for the Arts events take place here, including operas, orchestras, ballets, and musical and theatrical performances. The Box Office, which distributes tickets for all performances, is located in the Grand Atrium. The Terrace gallery on the third floor also includes an outdoor patio. Students who are enrolled at least half-time receive free admission to most performances at the Center for the Arts.
[edit] Housing
Fairfax is the only campus of George Mason University with on-campus student housing. There are nine housing areas housing approximately 4,000 students: President's Park, DUCC (Dominion Hall, University Commons and Commonwealth Hall), TAP (Townhouses, Student Apartments, Patriots Village) and YRC (Liberty Square and Potomac Heights). A tenth housing area is currently under construction to house an additional thousand students. About 5,000 more students live off campus in housing adjacent to the University. All on-campus housing includes free local phone service, free voice mail, cable TV, high speed internet, central air-conditioning and heating, furniture, and common bathrooms and lounges.
[edit] Presidents Park
President's Park opened in 1989 and is the largest housing area, with more than 1,000 students living in two, three, or five person dorm rooms. President's Park is exclusively for freshman. There are thirteen residential buildings, all named after past U.S. Presidents: Adams, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Kennedy, Lincoln, Madison, Monroe, Roosevelt, Truman, Washington, Wilson, and Eisenhower in the center, with a diner, movie theater, vending areas, study lounge, and TV lounge. In addition, free laundry service is available in Adams, Harrison and Lincoln Halls. There are also basketball and sandpit volleyball courts in the area.
[edit] DUCC
Dominion Hall, University Commons and Commonwealth Hall, or DUCC, houses approximately one-thousand students, including some freshmen, sophomores and primarily upper-class students. Dominion and Commonwealth Hall were built in 1981 and are five-story buildings offering double-occupancy suite-style rooms for upperclassmen. University Commons was built in 1986 and is comprised of eight buildings: Amherst, Brunswick, Carroll, Dickenson, Essex, Franklin, Grayson, and Hanover in the center. Hanover features a commons area, TV-lounge, laundry area, and a common kitchen.
[edit] TAP
Townhouses, Student Apartments, Patriots Village, or TAP, houses approximately 1,000 upperclassmen. The townhouses and student apartments became available in 1987, and Patriots Village which has modules from 1984 through 1988. There are 35 two-bedroom townhouses located 1/8th of a mile north of the campus on State Route 123 (Ox Road), which include a living/dining room, full-sized kitchen, two full bathrooms, free laundry services with a washer and dryer, full furnishings, and all utilities paid for. Student Apartments were renovated in 2002 and are located inside Patriot Circle, just west of the main quad. They are comprised of nine three-story buildings of one, two, and three-bedroom units. Apartments include a kitchen, bathroom, and living and dining areas. Patriots Village consists of dozens of permanent modulars located outside of Patriot Circle, just east of Ox Road, offering modular and suite-style units. The modular units are designed for seven residents in two double rooms and three single rooms and contain a common living room, study area, and two bathrooms. The suite style units are designed as a double bedroom connected to a single bedroom with a shared full bathroom.
[edit] YRC
York River Community, or YRC, includes Liberty Square and Potomac Heights, built in 2003. YRC houses approximately 1,000 upperclassmen combined, with about 500 at each development. Both are fully furnished apartments in two, four, or six-person units. Each apartment has at least one bathroom for every two students, a full kitchen, including a refrigerator, electric stove and oven, microwave oven, garbage disposal and dishwasher, and a living area. YRC apartments are rented out on nine and twelve-month leases.
[edit] External links
- MasonStudents.com - George Mason Student-Run Discussion Forum
