Hazel has been a significant supporter of George Mason University going back to the institution's early years in the late 1950s as the Northern Virginia branch of the University of Virginia. Along with other community leaders, he helped acquire the land for school's main campus in Fairfax County. Appointed to the university's first Board of Visitors, he served in that capacity from 1972 to 1983, and later as the BOV's rector from 1976 to 1978 and 1982–83. Hazel also was a leader in the formation of the George Mason University Foundation in 1966. He served on the Foundation's Board of Trustees for 32 years, including six as chair.