GW paid Forbes Magazine more than $30,000 dollars to be featured in an insert highlighting businesses and universities in Northern Virginia, University officials confirmed last week.

Chief Academic Operating Officer for GW’s Virginia Campus Craig Linebaugh said GW paid $33,600 for three placements in an insert, featuring local businesses and three universities in Virginia – GW, George Mason and the Virginia Tech.

The insert, which combines advertisements with an article written by a Forbes reporter, features an essay from President Knapp and advertisement formatted like an article about research being conducted at the Virginia Science and Technology Campus.

The decision to advertise with Forbes started when a GW Board of Trustees member presented the idea to the University, something Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Don Lehman called an “opportunity.”

“We have such an importance presence in the state of Virginia and we thought it was important for us to be part of it,” Lehman said.

He added, “GW is constantly advertising for its undergraduate and graduate programs,” saying the insert was just another advertisement.

Linebaugh said the Northern Virginia Technology Council, which GW is a member of, “was the primary driver behind an insert in Forbes magazine,” and the Council hoped the insert would “provide a forum for Northern Virginia institutions and businesses to inform a vast number of sophisticated Forbes readers about their organizations.”

He added that GW decided to participate only after the University reviewed the consequences of the insert.

“After a careful analysis of the potential impact of contributing to the insert, it was decided that GW would participate,” Linebaugh said.

Linebaugh did not say what the “potential impact” could be.

Linebaugh cited the Northern Virginia Technology Council, which said the insert reached approximately 5.5 million individuals.

The insert is not available online and Forbes did return a request for comment.

Kerri Cardoza, administrative assistant to the vice president of university relations at George Mason, said GMU did pay to be part of the insert but declined to share GMU’s cost.

“George Mason University chose to participate in the Northern Virginia Technology Council’s Forbes insert because of our commitment to serving the region and our many partnerships with the technology community in Northern Virginia,” Cardiza said. “This kind of advertising fits our mission, supports our brand, and was directed at a key stakeholder audience for Mason.”

The Director of Marketing and Strategic Communications at Virginia Tech Melissa Richards declined to comment on Virginia Tech’s involvement.