Office of the Dean - Georgetown College

It is with a profound sense of gratitude that I say goodbye to Georgetown. On July 1, after nine years as Dean of the College, I will move to Philadelphia to become the president of Bryn Mawr College. Bryn Mawr is one of the nation’s finest women’s colleges, offering a comprehensive range of undergraduate degrees, as well as M.A. and Ph.D. studies in select fields and disciplines. 

I have loved every minute of being Dean of Georgetown College. The College is the heart and soul of a splendid University and the privilege of working with terrific students, a wonderful faculty, and dedicated administrative colleagues has been an abiding joy. Together we have done much in the last decade to renew and expand the College faculty, to enhance its curriculum, and to add new and renovated facilities. A special focus of the College for the last decade has been the arts at Georgetown. From Friday Music in McNeir to stirring performances on the Davis stages, from exciting student exhibitions on our gallery and office walls to the Lannan Program’s signature events, the visual, performing, and literary arts are flourishing at Georgetown College. With new undergraduate majors and minors, the first-year Ignatius Seminars, as well as new M.A./M.S. and Ph.D. programs, College faculty have created enriched curricular opportunities for our students. The inauguration of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs has united faculty and students across College departments for the promotion and study of interreligious and intercultural understanding. The initial stages of increased curricular and co-curricular connection with select Chinese universities are expanding the College’s international outreach. A successful collaboration with the School of Foreign Service has opened opportunities for College faculty to teach at our Georgetown campus in Qatar. Sustained and concentrated work by our science faculty has advanced our aspirations for a more ambitious curricular and research presence in the sciences to a long-sought threshold: we are poised to break ground on a beautiful new building for Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. 

In all of these ventures, it has been my good fortune to work with a talented team of dedicated administrative colleagues. They have skillfully managed the student advising, strategic planning, public relations, financial accounting, and philanthropic solicitation that are integral aspects and assets of our College operation. Surrounding, supporting, and strengthening all the combined efforts of College faculty and administrative staff is a vast network of alumni, parents, and friends. The continuous interest and financial backing of all of these good people has been a principal blessing of my decanal years. Pride of place among such wonderful supporters goes to the College Board of Advisors. No dean has ever had a more engaged, collaborative, and generous board. I have been blessed by their warm friendship, wise advice, and abiding love of Georgetown College.

While it will be hard to disengage from the exciting initiatives and projects currently underway in the College, I am delighted that they will enjoy strong and experienced leadership. Chet Gillis, professor of Theology, Amaturo Chair of Catholic Studies, and Interim Dean of the College for 2008-2009, is the embodiment of what it means to “bleed Hoya blue.” Chet, a former chair of the Theology department, has served on the faculty for more than 20 years. I am confident that he will creatively guide the College during this year of transition while the search for a permanent successor is underway.

Bryn Mawr is only 143 miles due north of Georgetown, so I will not be far, either physically or emotionally. Like so many before me, Georgetown is now lodged deep in my heart. I look forward to staying in touch with this wonderful University, and the truly remarkable people who comprise it, for many years to come.

With my deepest thanks,

Jane Dammen McAuliffe
Dean

• The Bryn Mawr College website

• The Hoya

Resources

• Biography of Dean McAuliffe
  
• Selected speeches by Dean McAuliffe
  
• College Mission Statement
  
• Dean’s Office Staff Directory
  
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