Academic Rituals and Community

Universities, especially those founded long ago, have rituals. These events, repeated each year, often signify passages of one sort or another. They are sometimes highly orchestrated, with each action prescribed in a fixed order.

Some such events are designed to highlight individual accomplishments (e.g., commencements for graduates, teaching and research awards for faculty). Others are well-established invited lectures, for which luminaries convey messages to the university faculty, students, and staff.

Georgetown just experienced such an annual event – the Spring Convocation. At this event, those faculty and staff with 20 years or more of experience at Georgetown are honored with Vicennial Medals. New inductees into the 1789 Society, honoring our most generous benefactors, are presented. In addition, a major address reflecting on a life of learning is given.

This was a particularly wonderful event this year. I appreciated the opportunity to stop the deluge of day-to-day transactions that are part of modern life, to detach from the ever-present electronically communicated demands, and to take a few moments to remember why we do what we do.

For the vicennial medalists, a video is presented. The medalists tell their story of what Georgetown has meant to them. These comments often mention the strength of bonds with colleagues, the appreciation toward mentors throughout their career, and the mission that motivates them. They comment on how much students have taught them over the years, how much pleasure they derive from the intellectual and spiritual growth they observe in students over time.

The 1789 society is a diverse group of individuals. Some have given back to Georgetown in appreciation of what they gained from the University as students. Others represent organizations or nation-state agencies that seek to help the University achieve its goals. Their generosity makes many important activities of the institution possible.

This year’s reflection by Professor Tom Beauchamp was a tour de force highlighting the value of multi-disciplinary collaboration in revolutionizing the ethical treatment of human subjects of research.

The juxtaposition of these two groups – faculty of long standing and benefactors of the institution – reminds one of the importance of sustaining a vibrant community for a university. Administrators come and go; students come and go; the faculty are the heart of a university. Those faculty who devote large portions of their career to one university are key to defining the culture of the institution. They pass on from cohort to cohort the meaning of the mission of the organization. They define norms of social interaction and collegiality.

The benefactors of a private university are its lifeblood. They supply the means by which faculty can enjoy an environment that supports their work. The combination of benefactors and faculty permits excellent teaching, deep scholarly work, and service to the social common good.

This ritualized event has meaning. Such gatherings of the “tribe” remind us all of the power of collectivity. They display the strength of the intellectual diversity of a university. They prompt attention to our dependence on the generosity of others. They force us to reflect on the value of time in the building of community, the very foundation of the work of Georgetown.