From its beginnings as a small University of Virginia branch campus on Route 123 in Northern Virginia to becoming the largest public university in Virginia and the youngest R1 research institution in the country, the rise of George Mason University in both growth and achievement in such a short period is unprecedented. 1 2 3 University draws on the archives in the University Libraries and its online history of Mason project to describe the twists, turns, and innovations along the path to George Mason's fiftieth anniversary, relating the compelling story of a university that is "all together different.