President,
Dr. Alan G. Merten

The reputation of George Mason University as a forward-thinking, innovative institution of higher learning has continued to gain in strength and scope under the presidency of Dr. Alan G. Merten. Since being named as the university's fifth president in March 1996, George Mason has gained recognition for a number of significant initiatives and achievements that range from its first-ever capital campaign and becoming the first university to host the World Congress on Information Technology to being named among the "most wired" universities in the nation and increasing its sponsored research expenditures. The results of these advancements include greater ties with the region, an enhanced academic reputation, and a steady growth in size during a time of budget-constraint throughout Virginia.

Prior to coming to George Mason University, Dr. Merten had served as the Dean and Professor of Information Systems at the Johnson Graduate School of Management of Cornell University (1989-96). In addition, he served as a professor of information services at Cornell.

He was Dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of Florida (1986-89), where he also served as a professor of information systems. From 1970-86, he worked at the University of Michigan, first as an assistant professor of industrial and operations engineering. During his tenure there, Dr. Merten rose to the rank of associate dean in the School of Business Administration and gained a full professorship.

Between 1970-86, Dr. Merten also was a visiting professor in residence at the Institute European d'Administratrion des Affairs in France, a visiting research scientist at IBM Research in San Jose, CA, and an expert in the United Nations Development Program in Hungary. Throughout his career, he has served on business and government councils and committees, holding several leadership roles.

Dr. Merten was chair of the National Research Council's Committee on Workforce Needs in Information Technology. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, the Center for Innovative Technology, INOVA Health Systems, three information technology companies and a mutual fund trust. Dr. Merten was a member of the Governor's Blue Ribbon Commission on Higher Education and served as program chairman of the 1998 World Congress on Information Technology held at George Mason University. He has been recognized for his contributions to the Northern Virginia technology community, as a leader of the Greater Washington, DC, business community, and for his contributions to the use of information technology in the federal government.

Dr. Merten has an undergraduate degree in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin, a master's degree in computer science from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. degree in computer science from Wisconsin. He has held academic appointments in both engineering and business, and academic and business positions in Hungary and France.

He and his wife, Sally, have two children, Eric and Melissa.