We would like to extend an invitation to interested faculty, students and staff to join the newly-formed Mason Forum on Climate Change. The objective of the forum is to leverage the considerable activity and expertise at Mason into expanded opportunities for sponsored research, inter-disciplinary teaching, and high impact service and public engagement activities. Over the next two months we will be preparing a report for president Merten and provost Stearns detailing our recommendations and requests, which likely will include a recommendation to add climate change into the University's strategic plan as a "spire of excellence."

The Forum - an outgrowth of the Center for Science and Society, the Center of Excellence in Climate Change Communication Research and the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, includes faculty from the College of Science, College of Humanities and Social Science, School of Public Policy, ICAR, the Sustainability Council, Real Estate at Mason and is open to all others. It has been meeting every Tuesday over the past month to discuss, brainstorm, coordinate and collaborate on initiatives/research related to climate change.

A discussion board is open at http://science.society.gmu.edu/climateforum

The purpose of these weekly meetings is to highlight each department's goals and objectives vis-a-vis climate change and the resources/skills they bring to the table and to exchange ideas on how Mason-wide collaboration might advance those goals. Our potential aims for the forum include creating trans-departmental teaching opportunities, attracting new sources of extramural research funding, and creating translational research opportunities with government agencies, NGOs and businesses located in the Metro DC area.

Past presentations include: Lenna Storm, Mason's Sustainability Coordinator, who presented on Tuesday, February 12; Greg Hero, Executive Director of the Center for Real Estate Entrepreneurship, who presented on Tuesday, February 19; and Ed Maibach, Director of the Center of Excellence in Climate Change Communication Research, who presented on Tuesday, February 26. Chris Jones, Director of the Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center, will present on Tuesday, March 4 at 2 p.m.

After Mason's Spring Break (the Mason Forum is not meeting on March 11), we are planning on summarizing much of what has been discussed within the Mason Forum on Climate Change by generating three reports on present status: 1) one report summarizing all Mason curriculum/teaching related to climate change, 2) one report summarizing all Mason research related to climate change, and 3) one report summarizing all Mason public engagement related to climate change.

These reports will serve as a foundational and comprehensive overview of the entire Mason body's climate change focus as we prepare for a 1-2 day facilitated workshop to plot out possible Mason-wide strategies and points of convergence for the next 1-3 years. We have scheduled the following days and times to compile these three reports:

Tuesday, March 18
12 – 2 p.m.
Room: Research 1, TBA
Report Focus: Curriculum/Teaching

Tuesday, March 25
12 – 2 p.m.
Room: Research 1, TBA
Report Focus: Sponsored Research

Tuesday, April 1
12 – 2 p.m.
Room: Research 1, TBA
Report Focus: Public Engagement

We need your help to ensure that the appropriate faculty, researchers and outreach personnel are attending these report-focused meetings. If you know of faculty and/or staff with a teaching, research or public outreach focus, please point them in our direction as we want to ensure that all of Mason's expertise is represented in these reports to the President and the Provost.

Thank you for your time and we look forward to hearing from you.