UPDATED Saturday, December 6, 12:18 a.m.

Chester Gillis has a strong connection to Georgetown – he has been a professor of theology for 21 years; he has also served as the Amaturo Chair in Catholic Studies and a senior fellow in the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs; and last year, he watched his daughter graduate from the university.

“For the past 20 years, my world has revolved around Georgetown,” Gillis said in his message on the college Web site. “I `bleed Hoya blue’ in every sense of the phrase.”

In March 2008, Jane McAuliffe announced her departure as Dean of the College to become the President of Bryn Mawr College – bringing her nine years as head of Georgetown’s largest undergraduate school to a close. Four months later, she left her Georgetown post.

In July, Gillis started as interim dean of the College.

Gillis said the university did not have enough time to conduct a search for a permanent replacement, so University President John J. DeGioia appointed Gillis as the interim dean for 2008-2009.

While Gillis admitted that he has not set many long-term goals due to the interim nature of the position, he believes he can do much in his new role to continue the work and the legacy of McAuliffe.

“For my part, I will strive to continue Dean McAuliffe’s legacy at Georgetown College: one of intellectual rigor and vitality, global reach and sustained dedication to service,” he said in a letter on the college Web site.

Gillis is not new to the spotlight, as he has filled many leadership positions and even appeared on multiple media sources for his expertise in religion. He has served as both the former theology department chair and director of the Doctor of Liberal Studies, and has spoken on “Meet the Press,” “The News Hour,” “Nightline” and “Good Morning America” as a specialist on religion, according to his biography on the college Web site.

In the first five months on the job, Gillis said he feels that, while he has a wealth of experience to draw upon, nothing quite prepared him for this time-consuming leadership role.

“My teaching experience in the theology department with its daily contact with students helped me to appreciate the multiple talents of students,” he said. “My experience as a fellow at the Berkley Center introduced me to a world of ideas and connections inside and outside of the university. My experience as a department chair prepared me, at least to some degree, for administration. All of that said, the job has dimensions that I had neither anticipated nor been completely prepared for by my previous experience.”

Even so, he said this semester has been a great experience.

“I am enjoying [the job] very much. It is challenging but interesting,” he said. “I am interacting with multiple constituencies, some in new ways – for example, students, faculty and other administrators – and some more regularly than ever before – example, alumni, parents and donors.”

cAuliffe said she and Gillis worked closely together during the summer in order to insure a seamless transition. According to University Provost James O’Donnell, Gillis has been a productive and valuable member of the university’s academic leadership this semester.

“I very much enjoy working with Dean Gillis,” O’Donnell said.

In September, O’Donnell formed a search committee, consisting of 12 faculty members, two administrators and two students, to locate a permanent replacement. John McNeill, a professor in the history department, is leading this committee and said that a permanent dean should be in place by July 2009.

“This coming week we will hold our search committee meeting to select roughly 10 to 13 candidates for interviews,” McNeill said. “So far we’ve only reviewed files.”

cAuliffe said she strongly believes it is important for Georgetown to have permanent dean in place.

“I certainly think that the position of dean must be a long-term one,” she said. “Interim service is never ideal. It takes time and stable leadership to do the kind of work that really moves the College forward and takes it in new directions.”

Although Gillis is only in his role until the end of this academic year, he said he would be open to assuming the position as permanent dean if it was so offered to him.

“Yes, I would [consider being a permanent dean]. That decision, however, is not mine to make,” Gillis said. “It rests with the search committee, the provost and the president who are charged with the responsibility to find the most capable leader for the position.”

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