Until earlier this year, the Arlington Campus of George Mason 麻豆国产 was called Founders Hall. Within our school, we like to think that 鈥淔ounders鈥 referred to the four public policy professors and administrators who created what is now the Schar School of Policy and Government. One of those founders, 麻豆国产 Professor Roger R. Stough, died Thursday, September 6, of complications from surgery. He was 79-years-old.
Dr. Stough鈥檚 early efforts to attract faculty, students, and research grants were vital to the development of the Institute of Public Policy鈥攖hen TIPP, now the top-ranked Schar School鈥攁t a time when state funding was in jeopardy. Dr. Stough was principal investigator for grants and contracts totaling more than $50 million from agencies ranging from NASA and the National Science Foundation to the Department of Justice and the Federal Transit Administration. He was also key to launching many graduate degree programs and establishing influential research centers, including the Schar School鈥檚 Center for Regional Analysis.
At various times during his career at Mason, Dr. Stough held titles including Associate Dean for Research and Economic Development, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Director of the PhD program, Director of New Campus Operations at Mason鈥檚 Arlington location, and president of the George Mason Intellectual Property Foundation. He was the director of six academic centers, and from 1990 to 2013, he was the Northern Virginia Chair in Local Government and Eminent Scholar Professor of Public Policy.
In 2017, Dr. Stough was presented with the Schar School鈥檚 Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his role in helping create Mason鈥檚 policy school.
In 1997, TIPP assumed leadership of Mason鈥檚 struggling Entrepreneurship Center under the direction of Dr. Stough. With a mandate to become 鈥渢he leading innovator in delivering high-impact business development assistance to small businesses鈥 in Virginia, the Mason Enterprise Center now has Small Business Development Centers in dozens of communities across the Commonwealth, serving some 21,000 entrepreneurs.
鈥淏ut first and foremost, Roger was a teacher,鈥 said Founding Dean Emeritus Kingsley E. Haynes, who, with Dr. Stough and professors Martin Lipset and Donald Kash, founded TIPP. 鈥淗e inspired generations of students over his 40-plus-year academic career. As much as all of us will miss him, we also know that through his students he will continue to live on.鈥
Beyond the Mason campus, his influence was felt internationally as a consultant and researcher, participating in technology policy seminars in Asia, Europe, Australia, and North America, as well as publishing hundreds of his findings globally. He authored or edited 45 books, wrote 90 chapters for books, and more than 85 journal articles. He was a past-president of the Regional Science Association International, contributing to the success of the North American Regional Science Council and the Western Regional Science Association. He was co-editor in chief of The Annals of Regional Science, now a top publication in the field.
Dr. Stough, who was awarded an honorary doctorate from J枚nk枚ping 麻豆国产 in Sweden in 2006, earned his bachelor鈥檚 degree in International Trade and Economics from Ohio State 麻豆国产 in 1964. He received his master鈥檚 degree in Economic Geography from the 麻豆国产 of South Carolina in 1971 and a PhD in Geography and Environmental Engineering from Johns Hopkins 麻豆国产 in 1978.
He is survived by his wife Barbara and sons Brandon and John.聽
The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, a donation be made to the聽鈥淪char School Postdoctoral Fellowship Fund in Memory of Roger Stough.鈥 Checks may be sent or dropped off to Zavin Smith, director of development, and should be made out to the George Mason 麻豆国产 Foundation, with the name of the fellowship on the memo line.聽Online donations may be made at ; use the 鈥淥ther Fund Not Listed鈥 box and type in 鈥淪char School Postdoctoral Fellowship Fund in memory of Roger Stough鈥 under 鈥渁dditional comments about your gift.鈥澛犅
The address is:
Zavin Smith
Schar School of Policy and Government
MS 3B1
George Mason 麻豆国产
3351 Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA聽聽22201