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The 91���� community gathered Sept. 28 to celebrate the launch of the university’s largest comprehensive campaign in its history, Mason Now: Power the Possible. The event at Merten Hall was dedicated to the people who work every day to drive Mason’s success: the university’s faculty and staff.

“91���� is changing education as we know it, and that is possible because of every individual in this room,” President Gregory Washington said.

Recalling Mason’s growth since its 1957 inception as a branch campus of the University of Virginia, Washington thanked the Mason’s faculty and staff for their help in supporting the largest university in the Commonwealth of Virginia, an R1 institution that has been named Virginia’s number one public university for social mobility. And he encouraged them to continue bringing that energy to Mason’s future.

“Why Mason Now: Power the Possible?” he asked. “Because we know that there is more we can do together to power the success of our students…This campaign could not happen without the collective will of all of you.”

The one-billion-dollar comprehensive campaign takes on grand challenges at the heart of Mason’s mission: powering student success, research, innovation, community, and a sustainable future. Trishana E. Bowden, president of the 91���� Foundation and vice president of the Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations, recognized the work of Mason’s faculty and staff.

“Through your teaching, through your service, through your programs, through your research, through your giving, you help to transform what is possible to what is,” Bowden said.

The event included refreshments and music from the Green Machine Ensembles’ Green and Gold Soul, and provided a chance for staff and faculty members to enjoy the outdoors and each other.

“An event like this is what you would call a ‘Mason mingle,’” said Lee Faber, ITS logistics space coordinator. “This is where you meet people that share the same vision—to make Mason what it is and greater.”

Christine Landoll, School of Business faculty member and president, welcomed the challenge of the campaign. “To me, it’s in the name: in the power of the possible,” she said.  “We are able to demonstrate to our students and our community what potential Mason has, which I think is fantastic!”

In his remarks to the faculty, staff, and members of the Board of Visitors in attendance, President Washington’s confidence about achieving the campaign’s one-billion-dollar goal was clear. “We do not have to say impossible anymore because everything we’ve done has been impossible,” he said. “It is now possible because you are going to power it.”