Our Leadership
Mason Korea
Dr. Robert Matz is the Mason Korea Campus Dean. He is responsible for leading and managing all aspects of Mason Korea’s programs and operations in close coordination with Mason’s Fairfax Campus. A faculty member at George Mason University for over twenty-five years, he has previously served as Chair of the George Mason English Department, as Senior Associate Dean of George Mason’s College of Social Sciences, and as Interim Dean of the college. He brings to Mason Korea this experience in academic leadership, his commitment to excellence in teaching and research, and his dedication to the opportunities for international exchange that Mason Korea offers.
An expert on English Renaissance literature, Dr. Matz received his Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University in 1986 and his Doctor of Philosophy from Johns Hopkins University in 1993. He has published essays on Shakespeare and on Renaissance poetry and poetic theory, as well as two books, Defending Literature in Early Modern England: Renaissance Literary Theory in Social Context and The World of Shakespeare’s Sonnets: An Introduction, which was selected as a 2008 Choice Outstanding Academic Title. His edition of two English Renaissance marriage sermons was published in 2016. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Association of Departments of English, and on the Executive Committee of the Folger Institute of the Folger Shakespeare Library. He teaches courses on sixteenth and seventeenth-century English literature, and on Renaissance drama, including Shakespeare.
Jim Pait is the Associate Dean for Finance and Administration at Mason Korea where he oversees a broad set of strategic functions, including finance, HR, IT, and facilities.
Pait joins Mason Korea after three decades of broad expertise in finance and administration, with over 15 years in the education sector in the US and internationally. Most recently, Pait served as the founding Director of Project Management at the Carle Illinois College of Medicine at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His international roles include establishing the Project Management Office at Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar, and serving as the founding Head of Budgeting and Planning at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia.
Before his tenure in the Middle East, Pait was the Chief Financial Officer for Duke Eye Center and the Department of Ophthalmology at Duke University School of Medicine. He also has over 10 years of experience in corporate finance and sales with IBM, Home Depot, and UPS.
Pait received his Bachelor of Science in accounting from Palm Beach Atlantic University and his MBA from Meredith College. Additionally, Pait obtained his PMP certification from the Project Management Institute.
Dr. Shannon Davis serves as Associate Dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs at George Mason University, Korea.
Previous administrative experience includes service as chair of Mason’s Faculty Senate, as co-chair of Mason’s 2019-20 Presidential Search Committee, as interim senior associate dean in Mason’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and as director of first undergraduate and then graduate studies in sociology in Mason’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology.
Dr. Davis began her career at Mason as a faculty member in sociology in 2006. She received her BA in sociology in 1997 with distinction as an Undergraduate Research Scholar from the University of North Carolina at Asheville and her Ph.D. in sociology in 2004 from North Carolina State University. She also spent two years as a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Carolina Population Center before coming to Mason. She has won several awards for her teaching and mentorship, including a Teaching Excellence award from Mason.
The co-author of four books and numerous articles, Dr. Davis’ research focuses on gender and the family. Other recent research has examined the processes through which inequality is reproduced or undermined in higher education with an eye toward understanding the role that undergraduate research can play in changing the future of the professoriate.
At Mason Korea, Dr. Davis is responsible for guiding and developing Mason Korea’s curricula, as well as advancing its student success and faculty excellence. Along with her colleagues on the Korea campus, she works in close coordination with Mason’s Northern Virginia Campuses to achieve these goals.
Angela Kang is an Associate Dean of University Life at George Mason University, Korea. She earned a Master of Arts in Education in 2005 and a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Studies in 2003 from the University of Connecticut. Angela began her journey as a student affairs professional while serving as a resident assistant at the University of Connecticut. As a peer mentor, she enjoyed helping students navigate university life while becoming the best version of themselves.
During her career, Angela has worked in public, private, and four-year and two-year higher education institutions in Massachusetts, New York, Arizona, Minnesota, and Missouri. Her experiences are in residence life, student activities, first year experience, new student programs, student conduct. Before joining Mason Korea, Angela served as the Director of Student Life at St. Charles Community College in Missouri. She was responsible for student activities, conduct, mental health services, and student support programs.
Angela thrives on helping students become the best version of themselves. She enjoys seeing students grow and create a future that is meaningful both personally and professionally. Angela also enjoys building strong relationships with campus and community partners to have the best resources and support for her students.
Kelley E. Chung boasts over 16 years of experience working in admissions, with over 13 years of experience working in college admissions. Before joining us, she served as an associate director of admissions at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business, Columbia University, and Loyola Marymount University.
Kelley earned her bachelor’s degree in government at the University of Redlands and her master’s degree in organizations and leadership at Columbia University’s Teachers College.
George Mason
Gregory Washington became the eighth president of George Mason University on July 1, 2020. He is the former dean of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), and former interim dean of the College of Engineering at Ohio State University.
In his seven years at UCI, Washington expanded undergraduate and graduate enrollment in the engineering school and recruited and hired one of the most diverse engineering faculty cohorts in the country. In addition, he established the University of California’s first student makerspace and launched the OC STEM Initiative, one of the nation’s first STEM ecosystems, in Orange County, California.
Washington created new graduate and undergraduate programs with the UCI business and humanities schools and led the development of the Horiba Institute for Mobility and Connectivity to advance next-generation advanced mobility systems.
The first African American dean of engineering at any University of California campus, and the first African American president at Mason, Washington established an Office of Access and Inclusion at UCI to enhance campus life for all students and chaired the Task Force on Ensuring a Positive Climate for the Campus’ Black Community.
Washington began his academic career in 1995 as an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Ohio State University and served as interim dean of the engineering school from 2008 to 2011. Washington received the Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching, the Harrison Faculty Award for Excellence in Engineering Education, and the Lumley Research Award. He also received the National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award.
A first-generation college graduate, Washington is a New York City native. He earned three degrees in mechanical engineering, including his PhD, at North Carolina State University.
Dr. Kenneth Walsh serves as the interim provost and executive vice president of George Mason University, the largest public research university in Virginia and a Carnegie Research One (R1) institution. He joined Mason in 2020 as vice president for strategic initiatives and chief of staff in the Office of the President. He also currently serves as a professor in the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering at Mason. Dr. Walsh began his tenure as interim provost on October 30, 2023.
Dr. Walsh's career spans several decades as a professor, civil engineer, and skilled administrator. He has published extensively in the areas of lean construction and construction process improvement, residential construction, and the design-construction interface for geotechnical infrastructure. He has served as scientific chair and conference chair for the International Group for Lean Construction and the Construction Research Congress. In addition, he has lectured and presented at over 100 conferences, seminars and other educational meetings and professional development events, both within the United States and internationally.
Prior to joining Mason, Dr. Walsh served as senior assistant dean and chief of staff at the Samueli School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine. He was also a professor and chair of civil engineering at San Diego State University (SDSU), where he held the AGC-Paul S. Roel Chair in Construction Engineering and Management. Dr. Walsh was responsible for raising industry partnerships and external funding to support the J.R. Filanc Construction Engineering and Management Program, which launched hundreds of careers and transformed the recruiting landscape for construction in San Diego.
While at SDSU, Dr. Walsh was the founding dean of San Diego State University-Georgia in Tbilisi. This innovative program pulled together U.S. and Georgian government funding along with philanthropic support to transform STEM higher education in this democracy emerging from the former Soviet republic.
Dr. Walsh began his academic career at Arizona State University, after a career as a consulting foundation engineer in the Phoenix, Arizona, municipal area. He holds a BSE, MS, and a PhD in civil engineering from Arizona State University.