Influential People

Lorraine Brown was a Professor Emeritus of English who had 42 years of service at George Mason University. Brown, who retired from Mason in February 2009 and passed away in February of 2010, was a founder of Mason’s program in women’s studies, which is now known as Women and Gender Studies. Not only was Brown a valuable member of the English department, but she was also a long-time member of the Faculty Senate and a past president of the George Mason Chapter of the American Association of University Professors. Also of great significance is Brown's work related to the Federal Theatre Project. She helped to facilitate over 300 oral histories from people who participated in the Federal Theatre Project. She had B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland.

Eugenie V. Mielczarek was George Mason's first female physicist when she started working at the University in 1965 and helped found the Physics department. She was the head of the Physics department for 35 years. She had gotten her Ph.D. in Physics from Catholic University in 1963. She was an empowering figure in the Physics department, with that and her stature in the department helping to make women feel comfortable applying to university and that their superiors would treat them the same as their male cohorts. She worked with many women's professional organizations in the D.C. area. There are many accounts of her work for the organizations.

Vanessa Blair-Lewis is George Mason University's current women's basketball coach. She guided George Mason's women's basketball team to its first ever Atlantic 10 Championship, and an NCAA tournament appearance. She also led the team to a program record with 27 wins in the 2024-2025 season and finished with a 14-4 conference record. In her first season, she more than tripled the team's win total from the previous season. Vanessa Blair-Lewis’ impact has been recognized nationally, as she was named a finalist for the Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year by Her Hoop Stats two years in a row. When Vanessa Blair-Lewis took over the program four years ago, in 2021, the team hadn’t won a single game in the Atlantic 10 Conference the previous season.