Despite protests from both students and faculty about the creation of her position, newly appointed Special Assistant to the Vice President Mary Dluhy said that she is confident that she is both needed on campus and qualified to work with Georgetown students.
The position of Special Assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs was created by Vice President for Student Affairs Juan Gonzalez last March to address the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students on campus. In October, Gonzalez announced that the position would no longer focus solely on the LGBT community, but would instead work to diffuse tension between student groups on campus. He stated he intended to appoint Dluhy to the position. Gonzalez created another position, Coordinator of LGBT Resources, to fulfill the responsibilities of the original LGBT position.
The creation of Dluhy’s half-time position drew criticism from some students and faculty members involved in the hiring process. Assistant Dean of the Business School Sean Robinson said in an interview at the time that many people felt Dluhy was not qualified for the position due to her lack of experience with college students and the large generation gap between Dluhy and college students.
Dluhy, however, said that she is qualified to handle issues facing college students.
She noted that the creation of her position was an outgrowth of the interviewing process for the original LGBT resource position.
“Discussion went forward and the administration decided that it would be helpful to have a person with my expertise and background to work with group relations,” Dluhy said.
Dluhy said she is particularly interested in working on a college campus and that since she has worked on group relations before, she is prepared to work with diverse groups.
Before coming to Georgetown, Dluhy ran a private psychotherapy practice, and chaired both the Washington School of Psychology group therapy program and the board of trustees of the Clinical Social Work institute. Since her position at Georgetown is part-time, she is able to continue these activities.
Since taking office on Jan. 1, Dluhy has been involved in the search for a new director for the Women’s Center and a new Coordinator for Sexual Assault Resources.. She has also joined the LGBT Working Group and the Sexual Assault Working Group.
According to Dluhy, her role on campus will be to foster a dialogue between conflicting groups on campus and to bring together people with diverse background.
“I plan to facilitate and mediate any way I can in order to help groups decrease tension,” she said.
Dluhy noted the positive atmosphere of Georgetown’s campus, stating she could feel an “environment of cooperation.”
“I’ve been in positions where I’ve had to do much more coaxing and urging than I’ve had to do here. Students want to listen and be listened to,” she said.
