George Mason University launches Race, Politics, and Policy Center

George Mason University’s Race, Politics, and Policy Center launched Monday. American philosopher, author and political activist Cornel West will be its inaugural spring lecturer on April 14.

GMU’s Schar School of Policy and Government professor Michael Fauntroy founded the center after returning to GMU from Howard University this year. The center will advance student learning, enlighten public discourse and inspire civic engagement, he said in a statement, and students will be able to conduct research and work on center projects.

“We hope to be able to energize the university community,” he said in a statement. “It’s going to be a dynamic place, one that’s working at this intersection of theory and practice.”

West will lecture on April 14 at GMU’s Center for the Arts. He has focused on the role of race, gender and class in American society.

“He’s a profound man, and we want to give him an opportunity to share his wisdom with the audience,” Fauntroy said in a statement.

In January, Howard University professor Keesha Middlemass, the author of “Convicted and Condemned: The Politics and Policies of Prisoner Reentry,” will speak on ex-offender reentry policies. In April, Providence College professor Tony Affigne will discuss Latino politics.