O’Donovan Deserves Standing Ovation

By Ron Palmese

Throughout the 1990s, Georgetown has not only sustained but also advanced its traditions of scholarship, faith and service. Whether through strengthening the Catholic and Jesuit identity or advancing teaching and research, Georgetown has repeatedly met and subsequently raised the standard of excellence among the nation’s premier universities. Over the past decade, University President Leo J. O’Donovan, S.J., is the preeminent individual who can be credited with effectively and loyally serving as the leader of Georgetown.

Since O’Donovan’s arrival on campus, Georgetown has been ranked among the top 25 universities in the nation every year. Georgetown’s students have continued to achieve distinction nationally, earning some of the most prestigious awards in higher education, including 11 Rhodes Scholarships, seven Marshall Scholarships and eight Luce Foundation Scholarships.

O’Donovan has funded faculty development grants for interdisciplinary research and course development and has made the creation of new endowed faculty positions a priority. In the past decade, the number of Georgetown’s endowed professorships and chairs has doubled.

In the area of scholarship, sponsored research and development, expenditures have increased by 231 percent between 1987 and 1997. Furthermore, Georgetown’s library holdings have increased by more than 25 percent in the past 10 years.

Under O’Donovan’s leadership, innovative academic and philanthropic planning has allowed Georgetown to create a number of new teaching and research initiatives, including the Center for uslim-Christian Understanding in the Walsh School of Foreign Service, the John F. Connelly Program in Business Ethics in the cDonough School of Business and Law Casa, a center for research on Latin American law and policy issues in the Law Center.

Admission into Georgetown has become increasingly competitive throughout the 1990s, as Georgetown accepts between 20 and 25 percent of its approximately 13,500 applicants each year. eanwhile, O’Donovan has worked to ensure the accessibility and affordability of Georgetown’s education, sustaining its need-blind admissions policy. He has increased the amount of university funding appropriated for scholarship aid from $14 million in 1989 to more than $31 million in 1999.

From its inception in 1789, Georgetown has been “open to citizens of every class and students of every religious profession,” as John Carroll had intended. O’Donovan has continually led Georgetown’s efforts to develop the spiritual dimension of Georgetown’s campus and intellectual life. Georgetown’s Third Century Campaign alone has set a target of $45 million for initiatives related to the university’s Catholic and Jesuit identity.

In 1995, O’Donovan initiated a university-wide dialogue about how the university could deepen its Jesuit and Catholic identity. Georgetown has maintained crucifixes in its historical classroom buildings and in each room of the Georgetown hospital. The university has never had a policy to remove crucifixes from any classroom, nor have any crucifixes been unintentionally removed from classrooms. There was never a decision not to put up crucifixes in the new classrooms; rather, crucifixes were simply not placed in them as they were added to the campus.

As part of the process initiated in 1995, O’Donovan charged a faculty-led task force to make specific recommendations about steps Georgetown could take to enhance its identity for the future. The dialogue was intended to be thoughtful, inclusive and consistent with Georgetown’s Catholic and Jesuit tradition. Since that dialogue, a wide variety of crosses and crucifixes were placed in all main campus buildings. In the spirit of Georgetown’s religious inclusiveness, the university will place rotating symbols of the various faith traditions represented on campus in coming months.

In October 1998, Georgetown formally launched its $750 million Third Century Campaign to support faculty, enhance facilities and financial aid resources and strengthen every area of the university. As of June 30, the campaign has already secured more than $450 million. The campaign effort will further bolster Georgetown’s endowment, which has already grown from $232 million to $719 million at the close of the 1999 fiscal year. O’Donovan has effectively brought in a leadership team that has orchestrated one of the largest capital giving campaigns among universities today.

In 1998-1999, Georgetown was the forum for major speeches from many prominent government, religious and business leaders. Among the major speakers were the Dalai Lama of Tibet, Secretary of State adeleine Albright, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Archbishop of New York John Cardinal O’Connor. Even Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt spoke at the university.

A sign of a healthy university community is the existence of an intellectual vitality in which all ideas are expressed and considered. Georgetown’s speech and expression policy certainly reflects our Catholic and Jesuit identity in its inherent inclusive nature: “A university is many things, but central to its being is discourse, discussion, debate: the untrammeled expression of ideas and information.”

Georgetown doesn’t exclude but rather promotes free speech for all individuals. As a Catholic institution of higher learning, Georgetown ensures that the opportunity for reflection and discussion on Catholic thought and teachings is made available through academic courses and programs, residence life, retreats and religious services. No secular university makes such a commitment.

The university’s appreciation for the diversity of the members of this community allows for a wide variety of clubs and organizations. As a Jesuit, Catholic university, Georgetown is committed to an understanding of education that comprises not only the transmission of knowledge and skills but also the cultivation of virtues and the formation of character respectful of the Catholic vision.

Throughout his presidency, O’Donovan has remained committed to the university. The development of Georgetown, comprised of its faculty, administration and students, is his priority. O’Donovan has made his mark on Georgetown, and it is clearly for the better. He has successfully enhanced the Catholic culture of his campus and has maintained our status as one of the nations best universities. For his continual efforts to safeguard Georgetown’s Catholic and Jesuit heritage, O’Donovan should be applauded.

Thank you, Father.

Ron Palmese is a senior in the McDonough School of Business and the president of GUSA.