Honors Link

The Honors College is pleased to welcome Dr. Ben Mason to a new assistant dean position in the college. Professor Mason – an associate professor in the School of Civil and Construction Engineering – will support student research and leadership opportunities in the college, overseeing a variety of programs, including the DeLoach Work Scholarship, which supports faculty/student research experiences; faculty-student research matching receptions and the final-stage honors thesis workshop.
Additionally, Mason will develop new programs in the Honors College that specifically support underserved students.

For Mason, this is an opportunity to work with talented, motivated students from across Oregon State’s colleges. “The privilege of being a faculty member is interacting with talented students, and
this is particularly true when interacting with Honors College students. I am motivated to help students with their theses, to make sure they are successful and to find them research mentors across campus. More than anything, I look forward to learning from students about their research topics.”

Mason also brings personal experience as a student to this role, particularly to the task of developing new programs.

“I was the first member of my immediate family to attend a large, research-focused, four-year university, so I aim to contribute to the success of first-generation students, given my background and understanding of some unique challenges,” he says.

After earning a BS at the Georgia Institute of Technology and MS and PhD degrees in civil and environmental engineering at the University of California at Berkeley, Mason came to Oregon State in 2011. His research is in natural hazards engineering, particularly geotechnical earthquake engineering and soil-fluid-structure interaction.

As assistant dean, Mason will continue the dedication to Honors College students he has already shown as a professor. Mason was nominated for the Honors College Outstanding Professor of the Year award in 2016 for his honors engineering course, and he is also serving as a co-leader for the HC London program.

“I would like to inspire students to cherish their time at the university and then go forth and accomplish their goals,” Mason says. “I look forward to continuing to be awed and inspired by students.”