Conference Reaches Out to Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurs
Some 500 minority business entrepreneurs attended “Access to Success,” the second annual multicultural business conference sponsored by the Mason Enterprise Center (MEC), the Arlington Small Business Development Center (SBDC), the Business Development Assistance Group and GMU.

Doctoral Student Wins $10,000 Research Award
Shaoming Cheng one day hopes to use what he has learned as a doctoral student to create regional development policies in his native China. But for now he has a more immediate goal – to figure out how to spend the $10,000 dissertation research award he recently received from the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. and the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area.

Professor Publishes Commentaries about Problematic Trend in Governance
In two recent publications, Associate Professor of Public Policy Janine Wedel warns that the outsourcing crucial government functions to private individuals and companies is an alarming trend.

Hirst Professor Links Creativity to Economy
Two years ago, Hirst Professor Richard Florida shed light on a new way to rebuild cities with his best-selling book, The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It’s Transforming Work, Community Leisure and Everyday Life. As he embarks on his first semester as a public policy professor at George Mason, Florida remains at the forefront of the urban revitalization debate.

Professor Emeritus Shares Work with Mason Students and Faculty
John Warfield, professor emeritus of public policy and integrative sciences, visited George Mason over the summer to share his latest work with faculty members and students. The creator of “Systems Science,” Warfield presented his research on “Basing Strategic Planning and Policy Development in Systems Science: Two Recent Applications.”

Professor Tours China with Virginia Trade Mission
When Stuart Malawer, professor of law and international trade, accepted an invitation to participate in Virginia Gov. Mark W. Warner’s China Trade Mission last June, he expected to witness a country bursting with growth. Since China’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the country has become the world’s biggest recipient of foreign direct investment, attained the world’s highest economic growth rate and developed a surging demand for imports. Despite the obvious changes, Malawer thought he’d find the land familiar because he had visited it in 2000.