Georgetown has a lot of adjusting to do. With the Board of Directors’ decision to elect Senior Vice President John J. DeGioia the new president of Georgetown University, the biggest adjustment isn’t going to be the fact that DeGioia isn’t a Jesuit.
The media is quick to point out that Georgetown is the first Jesuit school in the country not to be directly run by a member of a religious order. The point is symbolically important, but practically speaking DeGioia is as likely as any Jesuit to tow the party line and as likely as any Jesuit to piss off the conservative Catholics, the Cardinal or the Pope.
As he is quick to point out, DeGioia is a product of a Jesuit education, and he understands what it means to run a Jesuit school.
The biggest adjustments Georgetown will have to make are the usual ones. While DeGioia is certainly a Georgetown insider, he is not a familiar face?not many administrators are. While he certainly has an advantage in terms of his working relationship with administrators, he is going to have to go through the same process of getting to know Georgetown’s students that any president would go through.
One of the easiest mistakes DeGioia can make in the coming months is to become complacent with his image as a Georgetown insider?the man already familiar with the school. While DeGioia may be familiar with the school, many at the school are not familiar with him. A criticism frequently leveled at University President Leo J. O’Donovan, S.J., was that he failed to have frequent and meaningful contact with the average student at Georgetown. True or not, that perception is one that DeGioia will also have to face.
Perhaps the biggest adjustment Georgetown is going to face actually does stem from DeGioia being a lay person. Rather than being an issue of religion, this issue is one of practicality. Georgetown hasn’t been equipped for a lay president.
Unlike many of Georgetown’s “peer” institutions, our school has no house for our president. The mass of the holy spirit has never needed a priest who was not also the president. Georgetown has never had a presidential spouse.
Theresa DeGioia (CAS ‘89), Jack’s wife, may prove to be one of the University’s greater assets. Her commitment to Georgetown is as strong as her husband’s, and she has the potential to help out with many of the activities that O’Donovan was forced to do alone?mingling with students, hosting events, raising funds.
DeGioia’s record at Georgetown does not please everyone. As Dean of Students he angered conservative students and alumni with his initial decision to fund a pro-choice group on campus. He angered liberal students when he withdrew support soon after.
DeGioia played an integral part in the MedStar takeover of Georgetown’s Medical Center, a move that ensured Georgetown will stay financially solid in the future. Although this move was arguably one of the most important developments in recent years, his handling of personnel issues involved with the MedStar changeover has drawn fire from dozens of faculty members who felt they were treated unfairly and not taken seriously.
Still, DeGioia seems excited about his new job and committed to Georgetown. He has the potential to make an extraordinary president.
