John Carroll Weekend, an annual event where graduates, faculty and friends connect for tours, lectures and excursions, welcomed members of the Georgetown community in person for the first time in three years.
This year’s John Carroll Weekend was held in Nashville, Tenn., from March 31 to April 3. The conference featured museum tours, music, awards and panels over the course of four days. The McDonough School of Business (MSB) hosted two panels highlighting Jesuit values, prominent research and ongoing programs at Georgetown.
The first panel, titled “Creating Pathways for Returning Citizens,” discussed the Georgetown Pivot Program, which aims to provide formerly incarcerated individuals with access to education and employment opportunities.
Engaging in social impact enriches Georgetown’s education efforts, according to Pietra Rivoli, panelist, Georgetown professor and co-executive director of the Pivot Program.
“A Jesuit business school should be addressing social issues,” Rivoli wrote in an email to The Hoya. “We think that companies that are serious about DEI as well as racial justice need to engage with the criminal justice system to both access and develop the tremendous talent of those returning home. Creating employment pathways benefits both companies and communities and represents the potential for business to be a force for good.”
Panelist Tyrone Walker, a Pivot Program graduate and director of re-entry services for the Georgetown Prisons and Justice Initiative, said that the panel highlighted the program’s connection to Georgetown’s Jesuit values.
“The richness of speaking with so many alumni is an experience that I will forever hold dear,” Walker wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Our panel fit into the weekend nicely, so many alumni were engaged and surprised about some of the work Georgetown is doing for people who are currently and formerly incarcerated. The panel really highlighted the core values of the Georgetown community.”
Having been incarcerated himself, Walker said that the weekend’s discussions about issues of social justice and incarceration were valuable for graduates.
“This topic was chosen because people on the planet from all walks of life are being faced with family members who have been impacted by the legal system,” Walker wrote. “Most don’t know how to approach the subject and some are afraid to talk about it because of their social status so Georgetown is bringing this topic to the public and encouraging others to participate.”
The second panel at the John Carroll Weekend, titled “Sustainability in the Built Environment,” featured panelists Matthew Cypher, professor and director of the Steers Center for Global Real Estate, and Vishal Agrawal, professor and director of the Sustainable Business Initiative. The panel included a tour of the Music City Center along with a discussion about sustainability and interdisciplinary thinking at the MSB.
According to Lauren Apicella, the MSB’s associate director of alumni relations, the MSB chose to highlight sustainability initiatives in one of the weekend’s panels because many centers within the school focus on the environment, like the Business of Sustainability Initiative, which prepares future leaders to find business solutions that positively impact the earth.
The MSB showcased their commitment to the programs that are important to the school and Jesuit values at the various panels, according to Apicella.
“Several of the JCW themes this year fit in with our work and research at McDonough, including Jesuit/Catholic Identity and Environmental Challenges and Sustainability,” Apicella wrote to The Hoya. “Georgetown’s Jesuit Values are imbued in everything we do at Georgetown McDonough, including the Georgetown Pivot Program, which provides formerly incarcerated individuals with leadership and professional development through business and entrepreneurship.”
