University President John J. DeGioia praised Georgetown’s rich traditions and sense of community in the State of the School address Tuesday evening.
DeGioia spoke of changes on campus since the events of September. “After Sept. 11, what had the most meaning for me was the sense of community. I never felt that depth or sense of urgency before,” DeGioia said.
DeGioia specifically praised the senior class’ leadership before outlining the challenges the University currently faces. Campus tradition and character have never been more alive, according to DeGioia, who has been at the University for 26 years.
“I’ve been here a long time. I’ve not seen a class with a responsibility or community like this,” DeGioia said in regards to the senior class. The leadership and community achieved by the seniors is a challenge to underclassmen, said DeGioia. He spoke of a fragile community that must be maintained.
“Traditions are living, breathing things that are constantly evolving. Your experience as an undergraduate student here is going to be different than mine,” DeGioia said.
Civic engagement is essential to fostering a national community, DeGioia said. Generations of students have not had a comparable opportunity to impact the nation since World War II, according to DeGioia.
“I think there’s great hope and great promise. Your generation has the chance to rebuild social capital and infrastructure,” DeGioia said.
Georgetown is committed to helping students reach their full potential, he said. The University must be as competitive as possible by attracting the best students and providing them with the best teachers, DeGioia said. He said that 35 new professors will be coming to Georgetown next fall, compared with an annual average of around 15. Applications for admission to the fall 2002 semester are up although there are no plans to expand enrollment, he said.
Georgetown has an admissions policy that is more selective in comparison to universities with much larger endowments, DeGioia said. Georgetown is in the middle of a $1 billion dollar fundraising campaign.
“We’re going to be at this as long as I’m in the job,” DeGioia said, in reference to the fundraising campaign.
DeGioia said that he is committed to Georgetown’s financial aid policy, which is based on need-blind admissions, and on the University meeting a student’s full demonstrated need. “There aren’t many [universities] left in America that are still committed to this,” DeGioia said.
Other priorities for DeGioia are new campus facilities, including the construction of a new performing arts center that will begin this summer. A new location for the business school, a new science center and a new athletic facility are all plannedfor the near future, he said.
“Three-thousandths of a percent of the world’s population gets to go to a place like this. The idea is that you will make a disproportionate impact. We want to ensure this,” DeGioia said.
