Ron Carmichael now serves as the Director of Administration and Operations (DAO) for George Mason University’s Science and Technology (SciTech) Campus.  He is responsible for all short and long term planning for operational matters regarding strategic planning and development for the campus.  His responsibilities include managing or coordinating all components of campus operations to include academic support, auxiliary support services, community relations, university life, safety, police, facilities management, vendors, and contractors.  He serves as Mason’s representative on the executive boards for the Freedom Aquatic & Fitness Center and the Hylton Performing Arts Center, as well as serving on the SciTech Campus Advisory Board.   Additionally, he serves on numerous other University boards and committees representing the campus and serves as the campus representative on the Emergency Operations Team.  Finally, he has served as an adjunct faculty member for the School of Recreation, Health and Tourism, College of Education and Human Development, where he taught an undergraduate course on the planning, design and maintenance of recreation and leisure facilities and/or recreation management, programming, and marketing.

Ron joined the university in 1999 as the first General Manager for the Freedom Aquatic & Fitness Center, a tri-partite partnership with Prince William County, the City of Manassas and George Mason University, where he served for 8 years prior to accepting duties as the first Executive Officer of the SciTech Campus, formerly known as the Prince William Campus.  Subsequently, his duties were expanded to Director of Operations for Regional Campuses providing operational oversight and management of the Arlington Campus and Loudoun Instructional Site, as well as the SciTech Campus.  Due to a significant increase in the development of SciTech, he assumed his current duties as DAO and focuses his efforts solely at the SciTech Campus.

Prior to joining the Mason team, Ron served for 24 years on active duty in the US Army.  During his first 14 years on active duty, he served as an Armor Officer and Aviator (helicopter pilot), then his later assignments involved community support and recreation management.  Following retirement, he worked as the Recreation Director at the Armed Forces Recreation Center in Garmisch Germany; as the Director of Soldier Support Services for the Multinational Force & Observers (Peacekeeping) on the Sinai peninsula in Egypt; and finally as the Program Manager for the Business Operations Directorate at the Department of the Army Headquarters.

EDUCATION: 

Ron has earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Ohio University and a Masters of Science in Industrial Relations from West Virginia University.  He has also completed successive levels of leadership, management and personnel training while on active duty, including the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and numerous business, recreation, and personnel management training courses and seminars.