Replacing outgoing Provost James O’Donnell, Professor Robert M. Groves has been named Georgetown’s next Provost and Executive Vice President, effective August 20. Groves has been the director of the U.S. Census Bureau since 2009, and prior to that he served as a professor at the University of Michigan for more than three decades.
His primary field of study, in contrast to O’Donnell’s classics background, is survey methodology. At Michigan, he was the direct of its Survey Research Center. Groves completed his master’s and doctoral work at Michigan after receiving a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth University.
“The depth and breadth of Bob’s experience and scholarship will make an extraordinary impact within our community,” President John J. DeGioia said in a statement. “We are excited to welcome his innovative leadership as we continue to strengthen our academic programs and fulfill our educational mission in Washington, D.C. and beyond.”
The choice highlights the priorities of the search process. At a town hall in January, the head of the search committee declared a commitment to Georgetown’s Jesuit identity as one of the committee’s three priorities in their considerations. Indeed, prior to Groves’ appointment, only one provost in University history was neither a Jesuit nor a Catholic. However, DeGioia’s email to the community making the announcement does not mention the University’s religious identity or Groves’ commitment to it. At the time of publication, Groves’ religious affiliation was not immediately known. The identities of the other two options the committee presented to DeGioia are unknown.
Earlier this semester, DeGioia targeted April for the completion of the search for a new provost. The August 20 start date is approximately fifty days after DeGioia’s expressed wish for the new provost to begin on July 1.
DeGioia’s complete email to the University community after the jump…
On the evening of Saturday, September 10, Georgetown Professor Christopher C. Joyner passed away at the age of 63 in a hospital in the Virginia Hospital Center. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Joyner, who was a professor in Georgetown’s government department for 22 years, was also an accomplished and recognized scholar in the field of international law. He oversaw the University’s Master’s degree in International Law and Politics, and was co-founder and co-director of Georgetown’s Institute for Law, Science, and Global Security with colleague Professor Anthony Arend.
“Chris was … a dear friend and mentor to me and so many, and a true son of Georgetown,” Arend wrote in a blog post on Sunday. He also noted that Joyner’s passing was “peaceful,” and came as the result of a “short illness.”
Executive Vice-President and Provost James J. O’Donnell will conclude his ten-year term as a member of Georgetown’s administration at the end of the 2011-2012 academic year, according to announcement from University President John DeGioia.
“I am truly grateful for all that Jim has done to expand and enhance Georgetown’s standing as a leading research University,” wrote DeGioia in an email to the student body. As Provost, O’Donnell oversees Georgetown’s various academic offices and often serves as a face of the university in the absence of President DeGioia.
O’Donnell earned his bachelor’s Phi Beta Kappa from Princeton in 1972 and received his doctorate from Yale in 1975. O’Donnell’s biography notes that he has previously served on the faculties of Catholic, Cornell, and Bryn Mawr College. Prior to his appointment at Georgetown, O’Donnell served on the University of Pennsylvania’s faculty for 21 years as a professor in the classics department and as a Vice-Provost and Faculty Master.
On May 13, the University submitted its tax filings for fiscal year 2010 (July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2010). These forms detail Georgetown’s income, expenditures, and assets, as well as list the highest-paid University officials.
Graphics by John Flanagan (Click to enlarge)
The University faced a $21,493,687 deficit in its operating budget in fiscal year 2010. Meanwhile, the endowment grew by 12.5 percent to $1,007,299,044 (95 percent of its value as of July 1, 2008).
John Thompson III remained the highest-paid employee at $1,894,988, a 3.57 percent raise from the previous year. This increase in his and 7 of the other 15 highest salaries during fiscal year 2010 outpaced the 2.5 percent increase University President John DeGioiarecommended for regular faculty members in January 2010.
DeGioia’s own salary increased by 0.03 percent, while the salaries of Thomas Aleinikoff, former dean of the law school, and Provost James O’Donnell fell by 6.75 percent and 0.84 percent, respectively.
Hans Rosling, an international health scholar and co-founder of the Gapminder Foundation, spoke to a crowd of more than 200 on Monday night in Copley Formal Lounge.
Provost James O’Donnell invited Rosling to speak on campus seeing the Karolinska Institute professor speak in Sweden this summer. O’Donnell was not surprised to see the size of the audience, which spilled into the corridor outside of the lounge.
“We got the largest room available tonight,” O’Donnell said during his introduction. “You’ll be glad you came.”
Rosling, who founded Gapminder in 2005 with his son and daughter-in-law, used his hour-long speech to dispel the assumption that today’s world should be divided between “the West and the rest.”
“There is no dichotomy anymore,” he said. “It’s all a mindset.”
In an email sent to the Georgetown community on Tuesday, President John DeGioia and Provost James O’Donnell gave some updates about the University’s Diversity and Inclusiveness Initiative.
Last year, faculty, student, and staff working groups recommended a variety of methods to increase diversity on campus, which the University began to adopt during the spring semester. This most recent email outlines Georgetown’s plan to continue promoting “community in diversity.”
After the jump, we’ve listed their updates and the full email.
For a decision of this magnitude, we had to bring out the heavy hitters. That’s why we recruited Provost James O’Donnell and Vice President Daniel Porterfield. They feasted, debated, and ultimately, chose a champion. Enjoy.
Earlier this week, the Washington Examiner‘s Emily Babayreported that Georgetown paid President John DeGioia $911,613 in 2008.
DeGioia’s salary, which included a $150,000 retirement annuity and an allocation for University-provided housing, marks a 40 percent increase over the previous year when he received $642,582.
Babay’s story got us thinking—how much do other University employees take home? According to tax forms filed by the University, it was plenty.
In 2008, John Thompson III made $1,829,757, which made him the University’s highest-paid employee. However, Thompson’s salary was a far cry from the $2,007,508 he was paid in the 2008 fiscal year. (In previous tax filings, compensation was based on fiscal year.)
SFS-Qatar Dean James Reardon-Anderson, who more recently took over “Map of the Modern World,” pulled in $676,025, while Provost James O’Donnell brought home $394,509.
And the three men tasked with building Georgetown’s endowment—Chief Investment Officer Lawrence Kochard ($702,158), Chief Financial Officer Christopher Augostini ($458,497), and Office of Advancement Vice President James Langley ($452,895)—all made the list too.
But, don’t expect salaries to continue to rise in 2010. Last January, DeGioia announced a salary freeze for all senior executives.
Want to know who else is making tons of cash at Georgetown? We’ve got the run-down after the jump.
While the kids at JHU assumed Hitler would be outraged by the cancellation of classes, the Georgetown version—created by Vox‘s favorite Tweeter, King Georgetown—takes the meme a different direction, showing the Fuhrer’s response to Provost James O’Donnell’s decision to hold classes on President’s Day:
In an e-mail that he has just sent to the student body, Provost James O’Donnell has announced that classes will be held on a liberal leave schedule President’s Day, Monday, February 15.
The University will make every effort to open on Friday, he said, and he has asked the Council of Associate Deans to offer a make-up day of class later in the semester. From his e-mail:
We will make every effort to be open as far as possible on Friday: there will be a separate announcement tomorrow, but watch the weather and the roads and assume that we will be trying hard to hold classes.
Classes *WILL* now be held on Monday, Presidents Day, with liberal leave for those who cannot attend, because after almost a week without classroom work, the need to get back in the routine is urgent. I have also asked the Council of Associate Deans, working with faculty leadership, to recommend one further make-up day later in the term. I hope to be able to announce that date next week, once we know for certain how much we have lost this week.
Update 8:12 p.m.: Shown above is Georgetown using Twitter to cancel President’s Day. For all of America. There’s already a Facebook group protesting this decision with 260367454 1,552?! members and counting: “Protect Our National Holiday! Say No To Monday Classes!!!”
Vox Populi is the staff blog of the Georgetown Voice, Georgetown University's weekly newsmagazine. Opinions expressed in posts are those of their author alone unless otherwise stated.
Replacing outgoing Provost James O’Donnell, Professor Robert M. Groves has been named Georgetown’s next Provost and Executive Vice President, effective August 20. Groves has been the director of the U.S. Census Bureau since 2009, and prior to that he served as a professor at the University of Michigan for more than three decades.
Entries (RSS)
