INTERVIEW WITH JOHN J. DEGIOIA. President of Georgetown University
Soledad Valle

«Nobody knows how to become a global University»

In Georgetown many raise a question about the future: What role is the University to play in the globalized world?  The president of this institution, John J. DeGioia, looks for an answer

The president of Georgetown University, John J. DeGioia, is obsessed with transforming his institution into a global University. To achieve this objective, he roams the world meeting political, financial and academic leaders. He was in Madrid and had meetings with Emilio Botín and José María Aznar. The latter has been taking part in American academic life for the last four years and, according to DeGioia, with some success. Under his presidency, in its seventh year, the highest collection of funds in Georgetown’s history has been achieved, and with no suspicion of divine intervention, since he is the first lay general administrator of the Jesuit university.

- As president of Georgetown University, are you more of an academic or a manager?
-Half and half. I still give Philosophy classes every Monday morning. But the University is enormous and complex, so it requires very careful attention in respect of all matters related to management and the strategy of the institution.

- Why do you think Georgetown has become a reference point for higher education worldwide?
-For three basic reasons: we are the oldest catholic university in the United States, we were created in 1789, which imposes on us a very high level of demand and responsibility regarding the need to reflect on and provide ethical answers to  the great questions existing in the world today. Furthermore, our location, in Washington city, has meant it has been possible to create synergies with the city and all the important institutions which have their headquarters here. Finally, the international nature which has always defined us. In the year of our foundation, 20% of the students were from outside the USA. Today we have students from 137 countries. However, I believe that nowadays the adjective which best describes us is that of global University, which is what we are becoming.

- What is the difference between being a global or an international University?
-We try to answer this question every day. We believe it has to do with the new way of relating to and being present in the world. For instance, we have a campus in Qatar where we teach international relations. Three classes have already graduated from here, with students from over 20 countries in the area.

- Do you believe the opening of this campus to be one of your greatest achievements?
-One of my greatest achievements has been to try to verify what the globalization phenomenon requires of the University. We are exploring different types of relationships. For example, here in Spain, we have signed two new agreements of a different nature. One, through the Universia platform, of which we are partners and in which there participate over 800,000 faculties and ten million students. And the other agreement is the new Global Executive MBA program, a course we are carrying out with Esade.

- Which University in Europe would be the equivalent of Georgetown in the United States?
-There are many. We have close ties with Oxford University, although I couldn’t choose just one.

- What do you think of the European schools?
-They are very good. Our intention has always been to encourage dialogue between Europe and the United States based on programmes, and by inviting European leaders to speak for us, so that they might give their visions of the significant events in the world. Moreover, two former European leaders form part of our lecturing team: José María Aznar, from Spain, and Aleksander Kwasniewski, from Poland.

- What do you think of those politicians who return to the lecture theatre?
-They offer our students a perspective of incalculable value which complements their studies. They are capable of providing a different view of events which will become historic.

- In such cases, do they offer themselves to the university, or do you invite them?
-In these two cases, I invited them.

- Do they always accept your invitations?
-Yes, almost always. They feel privileged to be able to come to Georgetown, to have a place in our university.

- Which leader would you like to have in Georgetown?
-To find out who will return to Georgetown will depend on who wins the forthcoming elections in the United States. For example, Madeleine Albright was chosen four times as best faculty member, prior to entering the Government. When her political duties with Clinton concluded, she returned to the University and, in her second year, was again chosen best member of the faculty.

- Numerous European and American universities and business schools are putting great efforts into Asia. How do you view this phenomenon?
-Focusing on China, in the last ten years this country has doubled its number of students attending university. Before, it was 10% of 18-year olds. Now, it is 20%. In the United States, a highly developed country in respect of higher education studies, it is 15%, and this is the highest percentage in our history. China has managed something extraordinary: doubling this percentage in 10 years. There are no precedents for this.

- Do you visit China in search of students?
-No, we visit China with the intention of carrying out exchanges of students, ideas and talent, to explore together new paths for development in this millennium. We have agreements with many universities in China, and our students visit these centers, and vice versa.

- Under your presidency you have achieved the highest amount of funds collected in the history of the University. How did you manage this?
-Through people’s enormous generosity. We have over 150,000 students spread around the world who have collaborated a great deal in this objective, which hasn’t been easy.

- What is the most difficult part of your job?
-The fact that there’s no straight path to success. Nobody knows how to become a global University.

SUPPORT
Prince Felipe, Aznar and Clinton

John J. DeGioia graduated with Prince Felipe. In 1995, the heir finished his master’s degree, and the university president, his doctorate.

«I was closely involved in Felipe’s year in Georgetown. He was a very good student and I believe he enjoyed being at our university greatly». Clinton is a regular at this institution. Apart from frequently giving conferences, he was a student, and DeGioia says an exceptional one. «The former president was chosen as one of the top 33 students of all American universities the year he graduated». Regarding José María Aznar, he values his view of Spanish, European and world politics: «His participations are highly thoughtful and judicious, and he offers a unique perspective of politics on an international level».

Cherie Blair, the wife of the former British prime minister, Vicente Fox, former president of Mexico, Aleksander Kwasniewski, former president of Poland, and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, President of the Philippines, are other faces which drop by the lecture theatres of Georgetown fairly often. «We are lucky to have people on campus who help our students to become aware of the true implications of political practice», the president of Georgetown University proudly concludes.