In the twenty-plus years that Joyce Rose has worked at George Mason University, she has seen the College of Engineering’s research, educational programs, enrollment, and facilities experience tremendous growth. “The growth of the University has been astronomical.” She said, “It is exciting to see the variety of research our college is currently engaged in and the new labs and locations that CEC occupies.”
When she began as the executive administrative assistant to then Dean Lloyd Griffiths in 2003, both the college and the university were much smaller. CEC enrollment was less than half the size it is now, and most classes and activities took place in one building. Since then, the college has expanded its presence on all three Northern Virginia campuses. Joyce remembers the collegiality of working in the school and at the university and said opportunities to meet and work with people from different.
When Dean Griffiths retired, Joyce stayed on to work for Dean Ken Ball. However, the expanding facilities and ever-increasing demand for research equipment and furnishings provided a unique opportunity for Rose to take on new duties. In 2016, after more than 12 years in the dean’s office, Rose became the CEC operations manager. In this capacity, she oversaw the maintenance, space allocation, furniture design, and lab construction for the CEC while acting as the liaison between the university administration and the college’s faculty and staff for these changes.
“We were so fortunate to have Joyce serve in this role,” said Dean Ken Ball. “Her attention to detail, creative problem-solving and relentless advocacy for the college gave us a champion for many improvements to our classrooms, laboratories, and student spaces which enabled us to achieve efficient and effective use of space.”
As she plans life after retirement, she looks forward to spending time with her grandchildren taking them on adventures, and volunteering at an elementary school helping children learn to read and says she is also interested in taking classes in the arts and attending some of the many exciting seminars at the Smithsonian.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Mason and will miss all the wonderful people I have had the opportunity to work with over the years. It has been a pleasure learning about new cutting-edge research and working to build out labs that allow this research to come to fruition,” said Joyce.