Georgetown University - A Global Institution

Last November President DeGioia spoke about Georgetown’s role as a “global institution.” In the integrated world in which we live today, he recognizes that universities are in a unique position to leave a world-wide footprint. Increasingly, Georgetown has made it a priority to promote a dialogue among nations, universities, Jesuit groups and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) around the world. In a speech at the State Department DeGioia asserted that human engagement is “embedded in our very mission.” To accomplish this, Georgetown has created the Initiative on International Development. As its website states, the initiative’s intention is to “to mobilize the university’s diverse resources towards the goals of fighting poverty and ending human suffering.” Students travel abroad; faculty conducts research and teaches classes promoting international awareness, and alumni have become practitioners in the field of international development. All members of the Georgetown community play a role in expanding the university’s international reach.

Georgetown University should be given credit for its commitment to international development, but it is the students who take the resources and generate change. Aside from the variety of clubs that focus on different aspects of global development, certain individuals have expanded beyond the Georgetown community and directly impacted the lives of those halfway around the world.

Jessica Rimington (SFS ‘09) founded the One World Youth Project just out of high school and has continued to expand her organization throughout her time at Georgetown. One World Youth Project seeks to promote awareness of and action towards achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals among middle and high school students. The organization works in countries such as Cameroon, China, the Czech Republic, Haiti, Peru and numerous others. Rimington is just one example of the many Georgetown students who have pledged a commitment to global development and advancement. Students like her contribute to Georgetown’s well-known reputation as a globally conscious university.

When speaking in Gaston Hall, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recognized this reputation when she said “You are America’s best and brightest. You are America’s future…. I want to ask you personally, consider a role in diplomacy, in development, in the exciting times in which we’re engaged historically to bring the blessings of prosperity and liberty across the world to people who’ve never enjoyed them but who I assure you want them just as much as you do. When you have a chance to look back on your life, I hope that it will have included service to a cause higher than yourself, so in what will be an unabashedly very clear commercial: come join us at the State Department.”

Not only do students pursue international opportunities here in Washington D.C., but Georgetown has an exceptionally high number of students who study abroad either during the academic year or the summer. These students enhance their passion for international development by traveling and studying in the developing world in particular. For example, Georgetown offers a study abroad opportunity in Argentina where students not only take classes, but also participate directly in biomedical research that focuses on the clinical effects of viruses that cause respiratory infections in infants and children.

Another way Georgetown merges horizons is by encouraging students, professors, and researchers from other countries to come to Georgetown and share their experiences and talents with us. According to the Office of International Programs, over 2,000 individuals from 130 countries come to Georgetown to teach, study, and research. Creating these bridges between cultures allows individuals to gain a greater understanding of the world around them. This valuable knowledge allows Georgetown students to make the greatest impact in the global community.

According to its website, one of the primary goals of Georgetown’s Initiative on International Development is “expanding Georgetown’s development curriculum to provide future practitioners with the necessary background to become leaders in the field.” Just a quick glance through the undergraduate course catalog reveals the success of this objective. Courses such as “Ethics, Globalization, and Development,” “China and India as Emerging Global Technological Powers,” “Refugees and Displaced Persons in International Relations,” “Sweatshops and Home and Abroad” and “Iraq: History, Society, Politics”, provide ample opportunities for students to obtain crucial knowledge about global development in numerous contexts and from a variety of angles.

The faculty here on the hilltop contributes to furthering Georgetown’s position in the international arena. Certain professors, in addition to teaching classes in alignment with the initiative’s aims, perform research outside of the classroom that accompanies their course material well and adds to the prestige of the university.

On February 16, the Office of Communications released information about the event Compassion in Action held at the White House in order “to address the role of religious and community organizations in helping control malaria in Africa and addressing global health issues.” DeGioia, a speaker at the event, described Georgetown’s desire to respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic plaguing sub-Saharan Africa. Assistant Professor in the Department of Nursing, R. Kevin Mallinson, is working with a $1.5 million dollar grant to expand the capabilities of nurses working in Africa to deal with HIV/AIDS. Mallinson, also in attendance, said that Georgetown, with its connections to faith-based organizations in Africa has been “instrumental” in working on this project.

Imagine witnessing firsthand—or even being a victim yourself—the devastation that epidemic diseases are having on your country, friends and neighbors. With the epidemics that are currently ravaging the African continent, victims need not only aid for their physical illnesses but also for their emotional distress. In this capacity, Georgetown has an opportunity to fill a unique role as both an international and a religious institution. Laura Bush closed the event by recognizing that faith-based institutions “heal the sick and suffering with the faith, love and hope that governments can’t provide.”

Another notable faculty member who specializes in international development studies is Dr. Carol Lancaster. Professor Lancaster is an Associate Professor of Politics in the SFS and is the Director of the Mortara Center for International Studies and the previously mentioned Initiative on International Development. She is a leading scholar of the politics of poverty and foreign aid in Africa. She has had jobs and appointments in governmental and non-governmental positions including the State Department, the U.N. and the World Bank.

When asked what Georgetown does to aid in international development, Dr. Lancaster responded in a surprising way. She emphasized that by educating students on the problems that the world faces, Georgetown is creating a new generation of practitioners. And she is right.

Georgetown produces the second largest number of Peace Corps volunteers of all private colleges and universities in the country—second only to Boston University. Additionally, a significant number of graduates also turn to the Jesuit Corps as an option—an organization similar to the Peace Corps but religiously based.

It is clear that as the world becomes increasingly connected, Georgetown is doing what it can to keep with the times. From students to faculty to graduates, members of the whole university population are actively involved in international development efforts.

- Jenna Kelly and Leslie Hotchkiss

Source: The Georgetown Independent

February 27, 2008