The White House’s Situation Room is one of those real-life places that, because it plays such a key role in historic moments but is so rarely seen by outsiders, takes on an outsized air of mystery. And while it’s recently captured the public’s imagination again, thanks to the Netflix film A House of Dynamite, the Situation Room is just one point in a complex web of government security and intelligence operations.

On this episode of Access to Excellence, President Gregory Washington is joined by Larry Pfeiffer—director of George Mason University's Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security, and expert consultant for A House of Dynamite—to discuss his experiences in the Situation Room: both in the White House and on the sound stage.

George Mason University proudly proclaims that we are All Together, Different. We are a school where non-traditional students are traditional students. And though they face unique challenges, these students bring important perspectives and experiences to our classrooms. Nowhere is this clearer than with our population of students connected to the military.

On this episode of Access to Excellence, Senior Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education and Professor of Psychology Keith Renshaw joins President Gregory Washington to discuss the role George Mason plays in providing service members, veterans, and their families the means to find community, purpose, and fulfillment beyond their military service.

Oceans cover 71% of our Earth. Formed over 3.8 billion years ago, these vast depths could hold some of the answers to our questions about Earth’s long and mysterious history, as well as offer predictions for the future of our planet. And the key might be found in, of all places, rocks.

On this episode of Access to Excellence, President Washington speaks with Geoffrey Gilleaudeau, associate professor in the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Sciences Department in the College of Science, about the past, present, and future of Earth’s oceans according to the physical and chemical characteristics of sedimentary rocks.