Core Themes/Inital History of George Mason

The core theme of this exhibit is to highlight the evolution of George Mason. Initially, the campus was opened to expand public education for those throughout Northern Virginia. The board members of Fairfax and city council approved the idea, and opened up a sub branch of UVA, which would later come to be known as George Mason University. The campus started small, but overtime began expanding and planning for more buildings to facilitate growing student and faculty enrollment. With more students enrolling, and the lack of a lively campus, students and faculty alike began to change that. It began with the start of Mason Day in 1965, an annual campus wide celebration that fosters school spirit. But overtime with the rapid expansion and modernization of the campus, student life began to become more emergent, allowing students with more activities, engagement with fellow peers, and opportunities for further growth outside of their academic journey. The core theme of my exhibit overall is to emphasize how George Mason University was initially built and expanded, as well as how it fostered the general student and campus lifestyle. The attached items are specific examples from the special holdings archive to further help understand the initial beginning of the campus to how it became the George Mason we know today.