The Provost Search Committee held an open forum Tuesday at the Georgetown University Student Association meeting in order to update students on the University’s search for the new provost.
The Committee is made up of faculty, students and administrators and has been charged with the task of recommending potential candidates for the position of provost to University President John J. DeGioia.
Chair of the search committee and biology professor Joseph H. Neale outlined the qualities the committee is looking for prospective candidates. Any potential provost must be recognized as a great teacher and scholar and must also have been in a position where he or she has been challenged administratively, he said.
Neale said that since there are as many as 1,700 Georgetown undergraduates working in the Washington area at any one time, a provost must also be able to maintain good relations with the University and the community at large.
The provost must be able to capitalize on existing University resources to keep the University abreast of technological advancement, Neale said.
The position also needs to simultaneously maintain the University’s cultural, ethnic and Jesuit identity, he said. According to Neale, this duality is particularly important in the provost’s recruitment and retention of new Jesuits.
“We want someone who is seriously intellectually prepared for the position and who understands what it means to be this particular Jesuit, Catholic University,” Neale said.
The issues raised at the meeting focused on the weight given to the institutional background of candidates in the selection process. Neale said that while a candidate does not necessarily have to be Jesuit or Catholic, he or she must understand the Georgetown’s tradition.
The search committee is looking for candidates who would be bring fresh experiences and methods from outside institutions. Neale pointed to the range of the applicant pool as proof of this.
“The breadth of candidates defies classifications. We would like to bring in experience from outside institutions. It would be an advantage to be from the outside,” Neale said.
The candidate must be able to work within an established plan for the school while also providing the vision and energy for future expansion, Neale said.
“We already have a defined plan for the campus for the next five years. The capital plan for construction is planned for the 10 years. The provost must shape the future in terms of defined priorities,” Neale said. “At the same time, the candidate must have vision and understand these elements,” he said.
Current Provost Dorothy Brown will retire at the end of this academic year.
