The global challenges of the coming decades, from climate change to the growing strain on water and food resources, will require innovative scientific research. The continuing global relevance of American colleges and universities rests heavily on their ability to break new ground in confronting these problems. The promise of adding 35 new science faculty and the construction of an entirely new science center show an encouraging commitment to the sciences, but Georgetown must do more to support a field that is increasingly crucial to the direction of the world’s economic, social, and political future. Specifically, the University should commit to renovating the outdated Reiss science building and give greater attention to the sciences when allocating its limited resources.
Beyond the structural woes one would expect from an almost 50-year-old building, the Reiss Science Center does not have the humidity and temperature controls or even adequate space necessary to facilitate groundbreaking work at what is ostensibly a top-tier research institution. The new science center will solve many of these problems, but it will not be able to accommodate any future growth of the science department. If new science faculty are brought to Georgetown, many will find themselves working in Reiss. This underscores the importance of renovating the existing research buildings to supplement the construction of new facilities.
The members of Georgetown’s science department deserve praise for bringing prestige and attention to the University. Every month, research done by Georgetown’s science faculty ends up in science journals across the country, bringing recognition to Georgetown in a field that it is not traditionally known for. Georgetown researchers also pull in millions of dollars every year to sponsor their research. This year a Georgetown physics major was named a Mitchell Scholar. With successful faculty, substantial outside funding, and top students it seems that all that is lacking is sufficient facilities.
Georgetown has a proud tradition of anticipating the innovations and ideas that shape global society. Edmund A. Walsh, S.J., founded the School of Foreign Service in 1919, before the U.S. Foreign Service was even organized. He saw that the rise of the U.S. in foreign affairs warranted educating a class of talented people who would have the know-how to represent an emerging power. Today, if Georgetown wants to continue to be a globally relevant university, it must recognize that the cultivation of quality researchers is just as important as the training of future diplomats and global businessmen to maintaining a stake in the future of this country and the world.
Did it occur to you that, perhaps, Reiss would be renovated sometime AFTER the science center is done (and when GU has some money to spend on such a thing)?
This is a really silly editorial.