Sally L. Merten
Sally L. Merten has made a significant contribution to the life of each community in which she has lived. The wife of George Mason University’s president, Alan G. Merten, she has a long history of volunteerism in the arts, education, and health services.
With a BS in nursing from Avila College in Kansas City, Missouri, Mrs. Merten joined the U.S. Air Force Nurse Corps in 1965. She served at Andrews Air Force Base and Travis Air Force Base where she treated the wounded returning from Vietnam. It was during her service at Andrews that she met Dr. Merten, who was an Air Force officer at the time. She later taught at St. Mary’s Hospital School of Nursing in Madison, Wisconsin, and St. Joseph’s Hospital School of Nursing in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Mrs. Merten has had the challenge of raising a family in various states and countries as Dr. Merten’s career has progressed. Through it all, she has nurtured her love of the arts, contributing her time by serving on the boards of community arts organizations, and given her time and talents to other community service organizations.
While living in Gainesville, Florida, Mrs. Merten was on the board of the Florida Arts Celebration, serving as a liaison between the organization and various school systems and promoting many artists in the schools program. She also was a trustee for public television station WUFT and a volunteer for the Hospice of Northern Florida, and she served on the board of the Florida Museum of Natural History.
In 1990, the Mertens moved to Ithaca, New York, where Mrs. Merten joined the board of the Community School of Music and the Arts, as well as the Hangar Theatre, a summer professional theater that provides educational programs. She worked closely with area schools to provide special children’s productions.
On May 21, 2005, Mrs. Merten received The George Mason Medal, which is designated by the George Mason University Board of Visitors to be the university’s highest honorary award. The medal is bestowed upon those who have a record of service to their community, state or nation consistent with the level and quality of George Mason’s public service in this own time.
Currently, Mrs. Merten is a trustee of WETA public television and radio stations, and chairs the Development Committee. In addition, she is a member of the advisory board of the Medical Care for Children Partnerships and the Women in Military Service for America Memorial. She also serves on the boards of Fall for the Book Inc., the Gunston Hall Plantation advisory board, and the Fairfax County Library Foundation. She also serves on the advisory boards of the community council of the Theater of the First Amendment and the College of Health and Human Services at George Mason University. Previously, she served on the board of the Virginia Opera and was a member of Mason's Women's Advisory Board, where she was instrumental in raising scholarship funds.
She has two children, Eric and Melissa, and three grandsons.