Clip Monster

Senior Dennis Savonarola is a popular guy.

“You do end up getting a lot of calls,” Savonarola said. “They say, ‘Oh, I’m having this computer problem. You’re IT, so you must know how to fix it.’”

As an information technology major, Savonarola may find that he is just as in-demand with employers as he is with his friends.

And he’s in good company. Information technology has become the most popular major on campus, according to George Mason University’s Office of Institutional Research and Reporting. With an increase in enrollment of 46.5 percent over the past five years, IT is one of the fastest growing degree programs at Mason. That doesn’t surprise Savonarola.

“I think a lot of people look at it as, ‘I’ll be able to get a job with this,’” Savonarola said. “There’s a bunch of things you can do with it. Pretty much everybody needs IT.”

It just displaced biology from the top spot. That program has grown by 17.5 percent over the past five years. The third-most sought-after degree, curriculum and instruction, is in the education department. Communication and government round out the top five.

On the other hand, the largest program in the art department, art and visual technology, is down by 40 percent from what it was in fall 2007. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the recession began in December of that same year. Theater majors are down 20.8 percent, philosophy 21.7 percent, and English 10.6 percent.

“Certainly in the recessionary times [students] are looking for ways to ensure that they will get a job when they graduate by choosing majors with a clear career path,” said Janette Muir, associate provost for undergraduate education.

So what are employers looking for? According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, business, computer science and engineering. Unemployment is lowest among health-care and education degree-holders, according to Forbes. Post-graduation unemployment is highest among architecture majors, presumably because of a bust housing market.

One outlier is the School of Management. Although they are highly employable degrees, management is down 72.2 percent and marketing is down 62.2 percent. According to Alison O’Brien, associate dean of undergraduate programs within the School of Management, that’s because the requirements have been tightened for those programs.

“The perception is that we have higher standards in the School of Management. Is the curriculum rigorous? Absolutely,” O’Brien said. “But it’s preparing students for the rigors of the workforce.”

For those discouraged by the recent trend of college students being funneled into career-specific majors, some like Muir, still come to the defense of a well-rounded education. The skillsets that come from a liberal arts diploma are still highly valued.

“A lot of students don’t understand why they have to take the general education classes,” Muir said. “[But] More and more employers want to see strong critical thinking skills, the ability to work collaboratively in groups, [and] they’d like to see strong communication skills, both written and speaking.”

In an economy where unemployment is 22.9 percent among people with only a high school education — according to the National Bureau of Economic Research — a college diploma is more valuable than ever.

According to the Office of Institutional Research and Reporting website, the total enrollment at Mason is up 9.9 percent from five years ago. Jointly, enrollment for economics majors is up 38 percent since the beginning of the recession. Maybe it’s not a coincidence.

George Mason University alumna Danielle Wyman was walking through Whole Foods in Vienna when she spotted the recycling centers at the entrance. She thought, if a grocery store can have something like this, why can’t Mason?

So, after receiving permission from the store, she took pictures and did an in-depth examination of the bins. 

When that particular Whole Foods location underwent renovation, the management team remembered Wyman and how curious she had been about the recycling center. They offered to donate it to George Mason University.

Wyman partnered up with Intergrative Studies major Jen Beidel, an undergrad who was recently hired as an intern at the Office of Sustainability, to build more of the recycling centers.

To fund their project they applied for a grant from the Patriot Green Fund. They will use the grant to build 10 additional recycling centers in the Johnson Center and The Hub.

“It’s not only important that we increase recycling on campus, but also that students and staff can take what they learn here and be able to put it into action at home,” Beidel said.

“It’s about both environmental impact and teaching good habits.”

Of the 22 proposals that were submitted in October 2011, the Patriot Green Fund Committee approved seven projects for grants, according to the PGF website.

They share the $50,000 endowment for this semester between them. The goal is to make the campus more environmentally friendly and to educate students, faculty and staff on sustainability.

“A lot of these things are at the interface of operations and academics,” said Dann Sklarew, fellow of sustainability studies and member of the PGF Committee.

The PGF was approved last year by the school administration. It is the result of a joint effort between the Environmental Action Group and the Office of Sustainability at Mason.

It will give $100,000 each year to fund student and faculty projects that support sustainability research and projects.

“The Patriot Green Fund is contributing to the facilitation of my efforts to combine teaching with research,” said Changwoo Ahn, associate professor of environmental science and policy, who received a grant from the PGF to build a model wetland.

Ahn will use the funds to educate his students on the role wetlands have in reducing carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.

He will also be able to research how man-made wetlands can be constructed to make up for those that have been lost due to overdevelopment and pollution.

Another beneficiary, Kathleen Curtis, executive director of the Dean’s Office in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, is working with engineers from campus planning to construct beehives.

“The coursework is focused on the scientific and practical management of honey bee hives in an urban setting,” Curtis said. The beehives will be used for educational purposes and to improve the diversity of the local landscape.

The PGF is helping Mason get closer to the goals of the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, which President Alan Merten signed in 2007.

This was an agreement that Mason would be climate-neutral by 2050.

“We have a second round of proposals which will be submitted later in the semester,” Sklarew said. “It was actually kind of lucky … we thought we would fund all the proposals that seemed to meet our goals. And that worked out to be about half.”

The remaining $50,000 will be awarded to the winning proposals from the second phase of selection. They will be chosen in April