Dr. James J. O’Donnell is the provost of Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. A classic languages and literature alumnus of America’s Ivy League universities Yale and Princeton, O’Donnell taught ancient classics and history at Bryn Mawr College, Cornell and Pennsylvania universities for 27 years until 2002, when he accepted his current assignment at Georgetown University (GU) where he focuses on the cultural history of the Mediterranean world and the application of technology in higher education. During his long career as an academic, O’Donnell has authored several books including Augustine, A New Biography (2005) and Ruin of the Roman Empire (2008).
Newspeg. O’Donnell was in India last month shortly after inaugurating the new building of GU’s Walsh School of Foreign Service on the campus of the Education City University, Doha, established by the Qatar Foundation. GU admitted its first batch of students to the four-year B.Sc in foreign service programme in Doha in 2005 and graduated its second class of 31 students last year. During his visit to Bangalore and Delhi, O’Donnell signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and visited the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi for student and faculty exchanges and research cooperation. “We are exploring partnerships with universities in India and cultural exchanges with government organisations,” says O’Donnell.
History. Established in 1789, GU is the first and oldest Catholic university which prides itself for its Jesuit values and traditions of commitment to spiritual inquiry, civic engagement, and religious and cultural pluralism. Currently GU’s eight constituent schools — including the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (estb. 1919) to “educate students and prepare them for leadership roles in international affairs” — boast an aggregate enrolment of 16,437 under-graduate, graduate and professional students, including 102 from India.
Future plans. According to O’Donnell, in the current recessionary climate in the US in which institutions of higher education are experiencing a “shake out”, universities with strong research traditions are likely to survive and prosper. “We are exploring ways and means to make Georgetown a truly international university which gives its students a global education experience. To this end we are looking forward to connecting with the best higher education institutions around the world for student and faculty exchanges, research partnerships and other areas of engagement. We believe there are excellent universities and institutions of higher learning in India — including several Jesuit institutions — from whom we invite partnership and cooperation proposals,” he says.
Dilip Thakore (Bangalore)