University President John J. DeGioia outlined three broad new programs he expects Georgetown administrators to develop and enact over the next few years during a speech at Tuesday’s Faculty Convocation.
DeGioia’s proposed initiatives include a new institute to develop inter-religious political dialogue, reforms to the undergraduate academic process and a program to involve Georgetown faculty and students in public affairs.
DeGioia said the new proposals, which are still in the early planning process, will attract more funding, further Georgetown’s Jesuit tradition and increase the university’s visibility as a major academic center.
“Because these programmatic areas are deeply intertwined in the learning experiences of undergraduates and graduate students alike, Georgetown can make a unique contribution not only to the work of scholars who are here now, but to the education of future generations of leaders and scholars as well,” DeGioia said.
The president’s plan for a new Institute for Religion, Politics and Peace drew praise from Theology Department Chair Chester Gillis, who has played a key role in the development of the initiative.
Gillis said he hopes the institute will bring Georgetown’s religious and government studies together.
“The intention is to make Georgetown an international center for the promotion of understanding among religions, an understanding that has political dimensions and that can foster peace between nations,” Gillis said.
He added that students and professors of theology and religion do not necessarily interact with those who study government.
“Both groups could learn from those who devote themselves to the theoretical and concrete work for peace,” he said.
College Dean Jane McAuliffe, who is overseeing the institute’s development efforts, said the institute will be a positive influence on Georgetown’s academic environment. She pointed to a prominent international conference on religious pluralism and democracy the university plans to host in April as an example of programs the institute will seek to initiate and coordinate.
“Georgetown is a university that takes religious discourse seriously, that is willing to let that discourse be shaped by the best research in the humanities and social sciences and that can bring to bear the insights of many disciplines on the issues of religious pluralism and public policy with which this country, and many others, are currently grappling,” McAuliffe said.
DeGioia also outlined a new initiative that he referred to as “reflective engagement in the public interest.” Plans call for a center that will develop projects to involve Georgetown’s academic community in various public policy issues.
Initial ideas developed by a steering committee for the program include a project on HIV/AIDS workplace intervention in Africa, genetic research to improve health issues in the U.S. and a study of educational and employment difficulties for young minorities.
Law Center Dean T. Alexander Aleinikoff, who has led the effort to develop the program, said it was too early in the planning process to specify what the initiative would look like in its final form.
Aleinikoff said he hoped the plan, which he said was originally proposed by DeGioia, would help raise Georgetown’s profile and give its students and faculty a better understanding of public policy.
“I think there are huge challenges facing the university, the country and the world, and I think that as a leading research university we’d have an important role in those discussions,” he said.
Aleinikoff also said one of his major goals was to enrich students’ classroom experiences by “bringing to the classroom real-life issues for consideration.”
The administration is now considering how to develop the initiative’s structure and goals, and is examining funding options, Aleinikoff said. He expects a proposal to be drafted by the end of the academic year.
DeGioia said he also plans to implement new ideas concerning undergraduate education. He proposed the development of new programs for freshmen, a revised four-year framework for supporting undergraduate research and new ways to combine off-campus experiences with on-campus academic studies.
Some students were receptive to the new ideas but expressed concern about adding new spending to Georgetown’s budget in a time of financial difficulties for the university.
Tim Fallon (COL ’08) said he would like to see Georgetown expand its presence in national policy issues, but not before the university has settled its budgetary problems.
“I think that before Georgetown branches out to create all these outside programs it should make sure it has a solid foundation at home,” Fallon said.
University spokeswoman Laura Cavender sought yesterday to assuage concerns about new spending for DeGioia’s proposals. Cavender said money would only be allocated to the initiatives as part of a larger capital campaign, so that any new spending would be part of a broad fundraising program.
Cavender also said funding for the initiatives would be one part of a funding drive that will place a greater emphasis on such issues as student aid and curricular development.
“Make no mistake,” Cavender said. “The fundamentals of the next campaign will be fundraising for financial aid, academic facilities, faculty positions, new resources to strengthen services for students and the development of the sciences on the main campus.”
The costs of the proposed initiatives are not yet known, administrators say, because the programs are based on broad conceptual ideas with little specific detail. Faculty members will work with the administration over the upcoming academic year to develop specific structures, goals and funding resources for the initiatives.
Anne Heffernan (COL ’07) said that if administrators can develop a strategy for funding the programs without substantially increasing costs, she believes the new public policy initiatives will be a boon to students.
She cited homelessness and HIV/AIDS as areas in which the university could become more involved and conduct research.
“There are so many issues that are open to new research and new initiatives that if Georgetown can get involved in any of these, that’d be fantastic,” Heffernan said.