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Mason Appoints New Director of the Center for Regional Analysis

By Buzz McClain

George Mason University has named Terry Clower as the new director of the Center for Regional Analysis. Clower was previously the director of the Center for Economic Development and Research at the University of North Texas.

The Center for Regional Analysis, housed at Mason’s School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs, is the premier university-based regional economic research center in the Washington, D.C., area. The center was led for 20 years by Stephen Fuller, who is now senior advisor and director of special projects.

Clower’s extensive experience in economic development and transportation broadens the center’s traditional research areas of regional economic performance, housing, and assessing the impacts of public and private development investment.

“We’d like to expand on the historic mission of the center,” Clower said.

That will involve research on a statewide, regional, national and international level, he said.

“It’s important that the Washington, D.C., region relies less on being the political capital and becomes a global business capital. Similarly, many of the best economic development opportunities for Virginia’s highly diverse regions will be based on international commerce. To that end, we need to measure trends and assess our economic competitiveness on a global scale.”

Clower said he is looking forward to working with communities, organizations and businesses across the Washington, D.C., region and throughout Virginia.

“Regional cooperation and building on the connections among regions is key to economic success in the 21st century. What’s good for Northern Virginia is good for the commonwealth and vice versa,” he said. Terry Clower can be reached at tclower@gmu.edu or 703-993-8419.