Kathryn Berg questions the administration’s bizarre approach to the construction of the science building. Conspiracy theorists, now is your time to shine.

Former Vox editor Nico Dodd doesn’t realize that it really was Chinese food. Well actually, it was American brand cereal manufactured in China, so I’m not sure how it should be categorized. Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday evening, President Jack DeGioia and Vice President of Student Affairs Todd Olson sat down with campus media to answer any questions they have at the start of the 2011-2012 academic year. We would like to thank all of our commenters who responded to our call for suggestions. Be forewarned, they had a lot to say:

DeGioia: Let me say some key things that shape the way I think about things at the start of this year. First it’s [been] an extraordinary opening to this year. Just a week ago the walls were shaking here in Healy Hall, which was a first experience [for me]. My immediate reaction was, “Who was rehearsing upstairs in Gaston?” We recognize that we experienced something unprecedented. Then we anticipated the arrival of Hurricane Irene, and I felt so pleased with the way in which our whole university responded—from our emergency response team to the residence hall staff to the families who were all affected in one way or another. As you know we had to move our convocation from Sunday to Tuesday and make other adjustments along the way. But it was inspiring to watch the way in which everybody responded.

I have the chance to teach an Ignatius seminar in the College this fall, and had a chance to start this morning. I think we’re fully launched for the start of the year.

I’m welcoming a bunch of new leaders to the university at this time. I had a chance yesterday at the Mass of the Holy Spirit to welcome four of them. There’s Fr. Kevin O’Brien, who has served at the university for the last three years. He took over as Vice President for Mission and Ministry and I’m really pleased about that. Kevin’s an alum of ours. He came here during his undergraduate days so I feel we’re in very good hands in Campus Ministry with Kevin’s leadership. Fr. Joe Lingan joined us as the new head of the Georgetown Jesuit Community, and he came to us this past year from a high school from right across town where he was the principal. Fr. Lingan is a wonderful addition to our Georgetown community. Rachel Gartner joins us as our new rabbi, and she just came to campus in the last two weeks. And then there’s somebody who has been with us for a while but took on a new role as head of our Protestant ministry and that’s Rev. Bryant Oskvig.

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11:45 a.m. update: According to TBD and the Georgetown Patch, the 36-year-old construction worker involved in this morning’s accident died from the injuries sustained in the accident.

The contractor, who was pinned down by a forklift, was freed by her coworkers and given CPR before emergency crews arrived on the scene.

According to Rachel Pugh, director of media relations, the Whiting Turner contractor was taken to the George Washington University Hospital by DC Fire and EMS. The scene is under investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Original post: A construction worker at Georgetown University was severely injured Wednesday morning in an accident, according to DC Fire and EMS.

The worker was a priority one transport for traumatic injuries at approximately 8:30 this morning. The DC Fire and EMS twitter account later noted that the worker was pinned under a forklift and had serious, life-threatening injuries.

A construction worker at the site of the science building currently under construction on campus confirmed for Vox that it was the location of the accident.

5:20 p.m. update:

The following email was sent to the campus community this afternoon.

March 16, 2011
Dear Members of the Georgetown University Community,
This morning an employee of Cleveland Construction Company, a subcontractor of Whiting-Turner Construction, was injured on the construction site of the new science center on campus. The D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services responded to the scene and transported the individual to George Washington University Hospital.
Our construction manager for this project, Whiting-Turner Construction, informed us later this morning that the worker’s injuries were fatal.  Out of respect for the needs of workers, the jobsite has been shut down for the day.  The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are investigating the incident.  At this time it is not clear whether the injuries were work related or due to some kind of medical emergency.  Our thoughts and prayers remain with the individual’s family, coworkers and personnel impacted by this sad news.  University officials remain in touch with Whiting-Turner and are available to support the family as needed during this time.
We are deeply saddened by these events and are working with Whiting-Turner to determine the most appropriate way to move forward on this important project.
Sincerely,
Spiros Dimolitsas, PhD
Senior Vice President & Chief Administrative Officer

Photo: Matt Funk

On Friday afternoon, Georgetown University President John DeGioia sat down with student reporters from the Voice and The Hoya to answer a range of questions about Georgetown, including the Ten Year Plan, the goals of the school’s $1.5 billion Capital Campaign, the progress of the Diversity Working Groups, and football.

Below is a full transcript of DeGioia’s interview, painstakingly transcribed by the Voice‘s Cole Stangler, our man at the meeting.

The highlights? In response to The Hoya‘s April Fools’ Issue and the recent Heckler incident, Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson’s office is going to conduct a “satire and civility” workshop.

The University has raised $580 million so far in its Capital Campaign. Georgetown’s science center will cost $98 million to complete and its target date for completion is Fall 2012.

Voice: How do you view our relationship right now with the neighborhood? I know a lot of students seem to be frustrated about the extent to which the University has entertained neighborhood input with some aspects of the Ten Year Plan—like rerouting the GUTS bus through the Canal Street entrance. How would you respond to students who feel that the University has made concessions to residents that harm University life?

DeGioia: Well, it’s always a very difficult balancing act to try to recognize and understand the needs of the community with what it will take for us to be able to be successful in our mission. And so the work of the master plan is generally ongoing on all the time. It’s not like it’s something that we begin in the months leading up to the need to have it approved.

It’s truly a ten-year effort. We’re always at it and we’re always engaged with our neighbors in trying to understand their needs and their concerns. At the same time, we frustrate them. If a neighborhood were sitting here, they’d be using the same language. So we’re always trying to get the right balance. I believe what you’re seeing right now are a range of ideas and proposals that have been on the table that we are considering in one form or another, but it very much is a work in progress.

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The National Institute of Standards and Technology has granted Georgetown University $6.9 million in stimulus money for the construction of the science building and scientific research, its largest award through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to date.

In an e-mail to the Voice, Associate Dean of the College Ali Whitmer said that construction of the Science Center, which was put on hold until Georgetown could secure enough funding, can now begin in earnest this semester. Some below-ground work had already taken place this fall.

The grant is less than the $15 million Georgetown asked for in its grant proposal in early August, but Whitmer points out that it is not unusual for agencies to grant less than was requested of them.

Georgetown was required to submit both a construction and research element as part of its grant proposal to the NIST, Scott Fleming, the Associate Vice President for Federal Relations, told the Voice in November, so part of the $6.9 million will go toward the creation of the Institute for Soft Matter Synthesis and Metrology in addition to construction.

Photo from Georgetown.edu

The current science center

The federal government has not yet denied or approved Georgetown University’s $15 million request for stimulus money to fund construction of the science center, but Ali Whitmer, a dean in the College, said that the outlook is good.

Having submitted the request to the National Institute of Standards and Technology in early August, the University was contacted by NIST earlier this month with a list of clarification questions about their original proposal.

“While there was not any particular indication that we would be getting funding, that’s generally a good sign that we’ve made something of a shortlist,” she said.

Whitmer said that NIST would make its decision sometime in December. She did not have information on requests Georgetown had made of other institutions for construction funding.

Earlier this month, University Spokesperson Julie Green Bataille said that Georgetown was ready to begin construction on the science building as soon as it had secured enough funding.

“We are doing everything we can outside of putting shovels in the ground … to make sure that when we can secure financing, we’re ready to go,” she said.

Scott Fleming, the Associate Vice President for Federal Relations, said that in order for Georgetown to receive funding for construction of the science center, NIST must also approve the “science element” of the University’s proposal, which NIST required it to submit. The proposed institute, called the Institute for Soft Matter Synthesis and Metrology, would mostly support research in physics and chemistry.

The total amount of stimulus funding Georgetown has received, and what for, after the jump!

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The two million dollar man

How much does a Final Four basketball coach cost? About $2 million, if the coach is John Thompson III.

In the 2007-2008 school year, Thompson made $2,007,508, plus more than $1 million in deferred compensation and benefits, according to university tax documents obtained by Vox.  Thompson’s salary rose by more than $1.3 million from the previous year, making him the highest paid Georgetown employee.

During the 2007-08 year, we also paid $3,074,487 to Payette Associates Inc., a firm whose website says they have been working on the “Science Facilities Master Plan and new Science Center” and $489,234 to Goody Clancy and Associates, the firm that worked on the new MSB building.  Overall, Georgetown’s net assets decreased by $55,772,042.

Who else besides JT III is making bank at Georgetown? Check out the top earners and the full tax document after the jump!

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