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Kellie S. Wilkerson is a public and applied sociologist who earned her bachelor's degree in applied sociology from the University of Tampa, her master’s degree in public sociology from Cal Poly Humboldt, and her doctoral degree in sociology from George Mason.

During the 2025–2026 academic year, the IIR launched Leaving and Belonging, a digital storytelling initiative developed as part of its arts, culture, and storytelling initiative. This project complements the IIR’s broader mission to generate and amplify relevant research on immigrants and immigration to the United States by pairing research on migration with community engagement, using storytelling to amplify personal narratives and highlight lived experiences. 

Holly Mason Badra recently published a multi-genre anthology showcasing the work of contemporary Kurdish women and nonbinary writers living all over the world. Sleeping in the Courtyard: Contemporary Kurdish Writers in Diaspora (The University of Arkansas Press, 2025) was recently featured in The Kurdistan Chronicle and elsewhere. 

The year-long series seeks to foster cross-disciplinary AI literacy, explore how AI shapes and is shaped by culture, ethics, history, and society, and provide opportunities for research incubation and exchange.

In this post for the Wilson Center, Dr. Lisa Gilman details the legal and economic instability displaced Syrians are facing in Turkiye. She describes: "Slowly, systematically, and silently, the breath is being squeezed out of Syrians in Turkiye..." Dr. Gilman is a Fellow at the Wilson Center and Professor of Folklore and English at George Mason. She is also a Faculty Affiliate of the Institute for Immigration Research.

Jonathan Schulz is an assistant professor in the Department of Economics. In addition to being affiliated with the Institute for Immigration Research (IIR), he works with The Center for Study of Public Choice and The Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Science at Mason.

This year's IIR Nobel Laureate Report focuses on Nobel Laureates in Economics. Dr. Sandip K. Sureka and Kellie S. Wilkerson write about the crucial role of immigrant economists in the discipline.

Mason's Commencement will be in-person on Friday, May 20, at 10:00 am. The college's Degree Celebration for the Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies, including the School of Integrative Studies, takes place May 20 at 2:00 pm; the Degree Celebration for the Social Sciences takes place May 20 at 6:00 pm.