Fr. David Collins, S.J., will be the new chair of the Georgetown University department of history, pending approval by the university president.

The department unanimously elected Collins, an associate professor of history, in fall 2024 after his nomination by a three-person search committee. Collins will serve a three-year term once the dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and the interim university president officially approve him, as expected by the head of the search committee.

Collins, who specializes in medieval European history, said he is looking forward to representing the history department as chair amid leadership changes on the Hilltop. 

“There’s a lot of administrative fluctuation right now — an interim provost and president,” Collins told The Hoya. “I view that as an exciting prospect, to be here as new people come into those jobs. I’m looking forward to being a representative of the history department, which is a big and vibrant representative of the humanities on campus.” 

“As a Jesuit, I bring a deep commitment to the humanities as something that is at the heart of the university,” he added.

Tommaso Astarita, a history professor and head of the search committee, said Collins stood out as a candidate for his strong leadership skill.  

“It was nice this time to have someone who would clearly be good at and willing to do the job,” Astarita told The Hoya. “He has a firm but thoughtful temperament, so I think he will be good at the kind of people management skills that are a part of the job.”

Collins previously directed doctoral studies in the history department and served as the director of the Catholic studies program. He also chaired Georgetown’s Working Group on Slavery, Memory and Reconciliation, which explored the university’s relationship with slavery, outlined recommendations and issued a report to guide future efforts. He said his administrative experiences at Georgetown have prepared him to be history chair.

“There’s a set of procedures that I would say I’m familiar with. I have some experience with the budgetary side,” Collins said. “The chair plays a role in the department’s hiring and recruiting, which involves knowing the department really well, but it also means being engaged with the higher administration.”

Meredith McKittrick, director of undergraduate students for the history department, said Collins’ experience prepares him for the demanding position, which requires close relationships with faculty and administration.

“We have about 40 faculty, we play a central role in the university’s overall curriculum and we have a robust graduate program,” McKittrick wrote to The Hoya. “It’s important to have a chair who is organized and attentive to the important details, who has good relationships with his colleagues and the wider university administration and who understands how the university works. In that sense, Fr. Collins is the perfect candidate for chair.” 

Rachel Miyamoto (CAS ’27), who has taken two classes with Collins, said Collins constantly engages with both faculty and students.

“I’m not too surprised about his election because he’s such a fantastic faculty member who supports students as well as other faculty,” Miyamoto told The Hoya. “Fr. Collins is very personable. He gets along with everyone.” 

Collins said department chairs play an intermediary role, a lesson he learned in directing the Catholic studies program. 

“The department chair straddles two worlds: the department faculty itself and the higher administration of the university,” Collins said. “The primary roles of the chair are to coordinate the functioning of the department and then coordinate a set of interactions between the higher administration and the department.”

Margaret Green (CAS ’25), who also took two courses with Collins, said she believes Collins will positively impact the history department as chair. 

“I am sure the position comes with a lot of responsibility for communications with various people, and Fr. Collins is a great person to trust to lead those important discussions,” Green wrote to The Hoya. “I think Fr. Collins will make a great chair because of his ability to make all students feel heard and encouraged.”

McKittrick said she is optimistic Collins will make an ideal chair even though he will be spending less time in the classroom. 

“Father Collins’ dedication to his colleagues and his students, and his experience directing Catholic Studies, makes him the perfect person to lead our large and complex department,” McKittrick wrote. “The only downside is that he’ll have less time to spend in the classroom, where he’s one of our most popular professors.”