Dec. 2, 2003
GWs Premier Provost: John F. Williams
(This is Part I of an interview with
University Provost John F. Williams. Part II will be published in January.)
ByGeorge!: Youve been GWs
provost for almost a year now. Can you discuss your overall experiences
in that capacity and how the role has evolved.
John Williams: My primary responsibility
is to help coordinate media and public relations for the whole University,
as well as government, corporate and international affairs. One of the
things the president would like to see is all of the different units and
colleges of the University actually speaking the same language when talking
to the external world. Ive been working with Michael Freedman (vice
president for communications) and Richard Sawaya (vice president for government,
international and corporate affairs). We have an external relations working
group thats looking at both internally and externally how GW is
perceived by the community, city and beyond. We tend to, in many ways,
be much better known outside of the Beltway than we are inside. We are
attracting tremendous students as a result of our reputation. Now we need
to figure out a way to have a better and closer relationship with our
neighbors, not only in Foggy Bottom and the West End, but in the rest
of the city.
ByG!: How can GW achieve that goal?
JW: Weve started doing things such
as the FRIENDS block party. Some things we have been doing for years,
such as giving away 2,000 free flu shots. We do stroke screening clinics.
We have the GW Mammovan that we take not only to paying patients and corporations,
but to underserved areas where people cant afford to pay for mammograms.
Other things like publications how do we make our publications
such that the community wants to read them as well as our internal audience.
How do we start publicizing some of the things our neighbors and citizens
are doing so we can get a wider audience.
The president also wanted to get his arms around some of our international
programs. We have great study abroad programs for medical, public health
and nurse practitioner students. Then, when you look at the rest of the
University, between the Elliott School of International Affairs, the Graduate
School of Education and Human Development and the Columbian College of
Arts and Sciences, we have lots of students and professors in different
parts of the world. How does the president know where they are when he
travels? So were making an inventory of where our people are.
Another real change for me has been the amount of time I spend on Capitol
Hill speaking with various congressmen and senators about projects that
GW is interested in, particularly at the Virginia Campus as we begin to
try and grow that campus. Weve gone from one building to three.
Weve been approved to build a fourth. If I had my way, wed
build a fifth a satellite school of public health.
ByG!: What are some success stories
on the Hill?
JW: We have the $5 million appropriation
for the READI center (Response to Emergencies and Disasters Institute).
We are currently working with two pieces of legislation for transportation
safety. If that works out, it will be a home run. We also are working
on financing for our GW Cancer Institute.
ByG!: Are there other long-term goals
for you?
JW: The long-term goal has been stated by
the president and thats clearly to get us into the Research I institutions.
Weve seen on the Medical Center side a 40 percent increase in our
external funding while the University has seen a significant increase
in its funding. Thats important because you attract the best faculty,
hence the best students. Its a wonderful trickle-down effect.
ByG!: As provost, whats one
thing youve learned about GW that you didnt know before?
JW: It would be how multifaceted this University
is. For example, I was unaware of all the computer and IT security projects
were doing. Also, I was surprised by the real diversity of the faculty
and the types of research. I always knew we were a rich University in
terms of our intellectual capital, but actually meeting the folks on a
regular basis has been a real eye-opener for me.
ByG!: ByGeorge! has published a number
of stories recently that quote deans and professors mentioning partnerships
with the Medical Center. Can you talk about the significance of reaching
across disciplines and breaking out of a silo-type thinking?
JW: I think the only way you attain greatness
in the 21st century is to have a collaborative and multidisciplinary approach.
I heard a talk given by Elias A. Zerhouni, director of the National Institutes
of Health, and he said science is way too complex to have it compartmentalized.
The only way were going to come up with the new breakthroughs in
the 21st century is through collaborative research. Having heard that
from him and being a believer in that, one of the things I talked to Dean
(William) Frawley in the Columbian College about was our recent establishment
of a degree in proteomics, genomics and bioinformatics. He has people
in the chemistry and biology area that are interested in proteomics. It
just makes absolute sense that all of our scientists should collaborate
and maybe, indeed, share laboratory space. Well, in fact, that is going
to happen. His new hires will have laboratory space in the school of medicine.
Another model is with the engineering school and the biomedical engineering
degree. Dean Timothy Tong came along and said we have this resource called
the Medical Center. We said we have this resource called the School of
Engineering and Applied Science. We got together and we now have a joint
degree.
We have programs with the Law School and the Elliott School, too. We want
our homeland security initiatives to be a University-wide effort. Its
not a Medical Center effort. Were inviting faculty from across the
University. Were going to set up internships for students. So I
think the silos are clearly, if not shoulder high, then theyre down
to the knees.
Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu
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