Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

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Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

Official Archives of George Mason University. Sharing manuscripts, rare books, digital records, and so much more!

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06/24/2026

[Part 4 of 4] Students from GMU Pride Alliance finish painting a bench, a long-time tradition at George Mason University for university-recognized organizations, in March 2002. The Pride Alliance, which was established in 1990, is a student-led LGBTQ+ organization dedicated to creating a safe, inclusive, and accepting space for people of all genders and sexualities. Image from the Broadside student newspapers (R0128) Mason Libraries George Mason University Alumni Association Mason's LGBTQ Resources Center University Life at Mason

06/17/2026

[Part 3 of 4] At their meeting on November 20 1996 George Mason University's Board of Visitors (BOV) BOV voted to not fund an LGBTQ center, but rather task Minority Student Services (MSS), a division of University Life with support for Mason's LGBTQ community. Here is an ad in Broadside, Mason's student newspaper advertising both Asian Heritage Month (April 2000) and Pride Week (April 17-21, 2000). In 2001 MSS was reorganized and renamed Office of Diversity Programs and Services. This new unit, located on the third floor of SUB I, created sub-units for Hispanic, Asian, and LGBTQ students. An LGBTQ Program Office was located in SUB I, Rm. 206. This office would become the LGBTQ+ Resources Center a few years later. Mason Libraries George Mason University Alumni Association Mason's LGBTQ Resources Center University Life at Mason

06/12/2026

Today in SCRC, we are highlighting a part of our collection, a selection of pulp fiction novels about the Vietnam War. Mass market paperbacks like these were produced on wood pulp (hence the name) and sold at a low cost. Due to their inexpensive production, these books gained a reputation for being "trash fiction" and often lacked literary ambition. Most Pulp fiction books, such as those on display here, were intended to be quick, exciting reads and were marketed accordingly. Each book also included advertisements for similar forms of "light reading".

This is just a small sample of the numerous pulp books we have in SCRC that focus on the Vietnam War. Some depict the action of war and include sweeping romances, while others take a more politically motivated approach to the conflict, whether in favor for or against American involvement. Pulp novels like these can serve as social documents of the time in which they were created, reflecting how people were thinking and writing about major events.

06/03/2026

[Part 1 of 4] The LGBTQ+ Resources Center at George Mason University has been in operation since 2002. It was first conceived in 1995 when Mason faculty, administrators, and student leaders proposed creating a Gay, Le***an, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) Resource Center. The proposal included funding for a part-time coordinator and a dedicated space where LGBTQ students could find support, information, and community. Initially, the proposal faced opposition from members of the Board of Visitors who stressed fiscal and administrative concerns, among others. At their meeting on September 18, 1996, the BOV voted to suspend funding until there could be further study of the plan and its the next meeting that November. This clipping is from Broadside, Monday September 23, 1996. Broadside student newspapers, R0128. University Life at Mason Mason Libraries George Mason University Alumni Association Mason's LGBTQ Resources Center

05/27/2026

George Mason University has grown exponentially since April 1975. Here we see Fairfax Campus as it looked from the air during that time. From left to right and bottom to top: Parking lots A, B, C and D. These lots have been replaced by Rogers and Whitetop residence halls, Peterson Family Health Sciences Hall, Merten Hall, and Rapahannock Parking Deck. Next are Thompson, Finley, East, West and Krug, Lecture Hall and Fenwick Library A-Wing. At lower right is the P.E. Building (now the RAC) under construction. Enrollment at that time was 5,785. Today Fairfax Campus has built out the entire right-hand part of this photo and has 107 buildings and total enrollment for all 4 campuses is 40,450. From the Broadside photographs ( ) George Mason University Alumni Association Mason Libraries Mason Facilities

05/22/2026

In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month for this month’s we’re highlighting the Through Women’s Eyes: Southeast Asian American Women’s Stories records, C0509, an oral history project completed during the 1990s. Follow the link below to search the full finding aid or make an appointment: https://aspace.gmu.edu/resources/c0509

05/20/2026

Back in 1974 George Mason University set up a one-stop-shop for students enrolling for the Fall Semester. The Registrar's Office (then located in today's Krug Hall offered in-person class registration (no other method existed at that time) and a pickup site for the Student Handbook and student identification cards. In these images from the Broadside photograph collection ( ), we see students in line to turn in an index card containing desired course sections to a registration worker. The worker would check a set of cards for the card for those sections to see whether the class was full or open. If open, the student would be admitted to the class. If full, the student would have had backup sections or classes written on their card to check in its place or would sit on the floor of the room rifling through the printed list of classes for Fall 1974 for alternatives. Once registered, a student would visit another room to pick up their ID card and Student Handbook. What a difference 52 years makes! Mason Libraries George Mason University Alumni Association

05/18/2026

Today in SCRC, we are highlighting a part of our rare books collection, the 1956 first English adaptation of Friedrich Dürrenmatt's play The Visit. If you'd like to learn more about this piece of theater history and how it changed aspects of the original play, checkout our new Vault 217 blog post where we talk about it in depth.
https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=11930

05/15/2026

Our latest blog preview includes an anti-theatrical broadside, transportation planning notebooks, records for a former University Institute, and more, all of which are now available for use in the Special Collections Research Center. Follow the link to learn more: https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=11912

05/13/2026

George Mason University will celebrate its Fifty-Eighth Commencement on Thursday, May 14, at 9:30 A.M. at EagleBank Arena on the Fairfax Campus. It will confer degrees upon 11,000 undergraduate, graduate and Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University candidates.
Mason’s first-ever commencement as a four-year, degree-granting institution took place on June 9, 1968 in the then just-completed Lecture Hall. The 52-member graduating class robed in the East Building before the ceremony and made the 25-yard procession from East to the Lecture Hall. The Fairfax High School Band played them into the auditorium with “Pomp and Circumstance” shortly before 3:30. A moment of silence was observed for Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated just three days earlier. The Reverend Kenneth C. Holmstrup gave the Invocation. Chancellor Lorin Thompson introduced the Platform Party, and Dean Robert Krug made some brief remarks. Dr. B. Prince Woodard, Chairman of Virginia’s State Council of Higher Education gave a 22-minute address entitled “Expectations”, in which he told the graduates that Mason would grow so fast that they would “need a map just to get around campus” at their ten-year reunion. The conferring of degrees for the fifty-two graduates took just eight minutes, and the ceremony was over at 4:22. After the ceremony, the entire graduating class was photographed against the north side of Fenwick Library (also recently constructed). By 4:30 all guests had gone, as it began to rain. Images from the George Mason University photograph collection ( ) and George Mason University Office of University Branding.
Mason Libraries George Mason University Alumni Association State Council of Higher Education for Virginia

Address

Fenwick Library MS 2FL, George Mason University
Fairfax, VA
22030

Telephone

(703)9932220

Website

http://scrc.gmu.edu/

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