{"id":9145,"date":"2020-04-23T11:05:12","date_gmt":"2020-04-23T15:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=9145"},"modified":"2020-04-27T14:58:45","modified_gmt":"2020-04-27T18:58:45","slug":"presidents-series-1996-2012-alan-g-merten","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=9145","title":{"rendered":"Presidents Series: 1996 \u2013 2012 \u2013 Alan G. Merten"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

President Alan G. Merten.<\/p><\/div>\r\n

This post was written by Lana Mason, Processing Student Assistant. Lana has an Associate of Arts degree in Fine Arts from Piedmont Virginia Community College. She is currently studying Art History at George Mason University. Lana was the recipient of the University Libraries Student Assistant Scholarship<\/a> for the 2018-19 academic year.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

This is the fifth post in a six-part blog series exploring the campus culture of George Mason University through the lens of each of its six past presidents\u2019 tenures. The materials referenced in these posts are mainly derived from the George Mason University Office of the President records<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

When George W. Johnson retired from George Mason University (GMU) in 1996, he was succeeded by Alan G. Merten, who brought to the position a strong sense of vision for the up-and-coming university. Merten, who grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, came from a technology-focused academic background and held a decade\u2019s knowledge of and experience in academic administration. He was armed with a Ph.D. in Computer Science from University of Wisconsin\u2013Madison, and had worked for years as a professor, specializing in the applications of Computer Science within business. He had then served as dean of the School of Business at the University of Florida, and finally as dean of the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University before arriving at GMU. It was at Mason that Merten\u2019s skills and interests, owed to his unique background, became powerful tools for his administration to both refine and elevate the university.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n