Office of the Dean
Fall 2010
The Georgetown College experience is marked by intellectual vitality, a global outlook, and dedication to service. Our undergraduate identity is distinctive in the nation: academic excellence in the liberal arts combined with an inclusive Catholic and Jesuit mission, a decidedly international outlook and appeal, and an advantageous location in our nation's capital.
Our exceptional students and world-class faculty are the heart and soul of the university. The Georgetown College curriculum covers the full range of humanistic, scientific, and social-scientific disciplines and is further enriched by its Faculty of Languages and Linguistics and a wide variety of interdisciplinary initiatives. Students are introduced to ideas sustained through history and invited, and expected to think critically about the nature of the world and our unique place in it. Just as students of all nationalities come to Georgetown for its academic programs, the College encourages students to study worldwide. A majority of our students take advantage of study abroad at some time during their undergraduate years at Georgetown.
First year students are invited to apply to participate in one of 12 Ignatius Seminars, a unique educational program which enables students to delve into one-of-a-kind courses of study that illustrate the Jesuit educational theme of Cura personalis: educating the whole person. Seminars cover a wide range of topics in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. More important, they connect first semester, first year students to each other and to a professor by engagement with ideas, texts, and discussion.
Our beautiful campus on an urban hilltop is growing to meet our students' needs. In May of 2010, we broke ground for a new state-of-the-art science center, a teaching and research facility for our Departments of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, providing interactive classrooms and flexible labs for intensive student-faculty collaboration. The science building complements the 2005 Royden B. Davis, S.J., Performing Arts Center that houses our Department of the Performing Arts.
Georgetown is an integral part of the Washington, DC landscape. World leaders, cabinet members, ambassadors, and leading intellectuals are regular speakers on campus. Our students have the full advantage of our complex urban environment where international interests and national priorities intersect against a stunning backdrop of great affluence and greater need. Complementing our large full-time faculty, the College also draws faculty from Washington's many governmental and non-governmental agencies, cultural organizations, and research institutes. In turn, our students find internships, networks, and work opportunities ranging from inner city school mentoring programs to the offices of elected officials on Capitol Hill. Washington also provides a rich artistic and cultural life and many opportunities for community service.
Chester Gillis
Dean, Georgetown College
