Alan Merten is President Emeritus of George Mason University. He served as president from 1996 to 2012, and remains a member of the faculty. In recognition of his contributions and record of outstanding service, Alan was bestowed the title of Distinguished Service Professor. George Mason University, located in Northern Virginia and within the. Washington, DC metropolitan area, is a doctoral granting institution with an enrollment of over 33,000 students.. Alan was previously the Dean of the Johnson Graduate School of Management of Cornell University. He was Dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of Florida and Associate Dean for Executive Education and Computing Services at the University of Michigan.. Alan 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.. Alan 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 Northern Virginia Technology Council, the Inova Health System Board of Trustees, a real estate investment trust, a mutual fund trust, a private sector educational company, and on several technology companies’ advisory boards. He is also a Trustee of First Potomac Realty Investment Trust and Legg Mason Partners Fixed Income Mutual Funds, among other advisory roles.. Alan 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, and as a leader of the Greater Washington, DC business community. He has also been recognized for promoting volunteerism and service to the community, and for his contributions to the use of information technology in the federal government.. In 2006, he was recognized for outstanding community service and dedication to improving the quality of life in the region and as one of the most powerful people in the National Capital Region in 2007.. He and his wife, Sally, have two children and four grandsons.
