It’s a wonderful time to be on a university campus. Unlike most organizational forms, which continue their activities in continuous fashion month after month, universities are disrupted each year by the summer. Summer is a time in which the degree-seeking university students turn their attention to things other than coursework. They move to internships or study abroad. Faculty jump on their scholarship and research activities with full-time attention. The campus takes on a very different feel.
Don’t get me wrong; there are tons of activities that fill the campus in the summer. But summer work has a different character.
Over the past few weeks, the atmosphere has slowly changed on the Hilltop. In the last few days, I could literally feel a heightening of energy. Last weekend, thousands of families moved their students back into their residences. Faculty feverishly prepare their course materials for introduction. Students renewed their friendships, with hugs and high-fives across the campus.
It seems as if my entire last two weeks has been spent welcoming new members of the Georgetown community. It’s all good feelings and lots of laughter. It began with an offsite retreat for new faculty members, where we tried to give them a sense of what’s it’s like teaching the students of Georgetown. A panel of Jesuits gave a mini-history of Jesuit education and how it motivates the environment at Georgetown. Current faculty discussed research support, tenure and promotion processes, and faculty governance. The new faculty were filled with the curiosity about resources to help them become better teachers and researchers.
I’ve met with the resident advisors in dorms, who are the front-line of Georgetown’s cura personalis care for the whole person. They’re the ones who help new students when they’ve locked themselves out of their own dorm rooms; they often first see the signs of homesickness or anomie; they are key in the social integration of students. They’re also students themselves and succeed in juggling many demands simultaneously.
We welcomed all the new students in the convocation on Sunday, a wonderful ceremony that expresses appreciation to parents for their trust they place in Georgetown to complete the formation process of their children. The new students take the honor pledge and then don their academic robes, signifying their membership in the intellectual community of Georgetown.
We had a welcoming event for graduate students, conveying key lessons of how to navigate a graduate curriculum. My aim was to communicate that most of their learning will take place outside of classes, in laboratories or research rooms, in study groups, and in journal clubs. Noting that they were all both learning material in more depth, but also joining a profession, I counseled them to jump in with both feet into professional networking.
On Tuesday, the Healy and Copley lawns were filled with tables of barbecue and other food for the welcoming lunch for all students; there were bands and entertainment groups. Within two hours the same lawn was used for the Mass of the Holy Spirit, with hundreds in attendance to launch the spiritual year. That night the students organized a vigil for Michael Brown, emphasizing the importance of intergroup understanding.
We just finished the dinner for new students interested in the activities of the Center for Multicultural Equity and Access, a key vehicle for dialogues and understanding. Copley Formal Lounge was packed to the gills.
During the day, Red Square is once again filled with student tables, hawking one student association after another. The Georgetown-related Twitter traffic has jumped noticeably.
The place is rockin’ once again, with the energy and excitement that young minds bring anew each fall. Nothing could be better.
I am very happy that the more elaborate and detailed new faculty workshop has been re-instituted. This is a great investment into future faculty and it is important that they — and the institution — get this sort of attention.