And so we begin: a message from Fernando Miralles Wilhelm

Dear Mason Science community: 

I start my tenure as the third Dean of the College of Science just like many of our students do on their first days with us, with a feeling of excitement, with a hopeful look to the future. 

I start this new chapter in my professional life with the conviction that never before has impactful science been more important.

We’ll meet this new chapter in our history as a college ready to share bold and innovative ideas to challenge the curiosity and engage the intellect of both the current and next generation of scientists. 

I am thankful for the efforts of Dr. Ali Andalibi and all of you across the college who have helped us navigate through the unprecedented challenges for our college, our university, our nation, and our world during this transition. 

I am thankful for the opportunity to lead this great science community at George Mason University. I look forward to meeting with you, learning from you, and setting a trajectory we will together achieve.

Let us turn the page into our next chapter!

Yours truly,

FMW

PS: I lost my father on Sunday to a long battle with cancer… He (himself a Dean at a university back home) was very excited about my start at Mason. He frequently told me that if I waited for the perfect conditions to take on a new challenge, or if I waited until I felt I was ready for it, I would never do it. Those words of wisdom have never been so meaningful to me as they are today.