Campaign, Research and SEH Highlighted at Board Meeting

Science and Engineering Hall opening event set; “Making History” surpasses $600 million.

October 18, 2014

Steven Knapp

The university's Making History campaign passed the $600 million mark, President Steven Knapp announced Friday.

A grand opening for the Science and Engineering Hall will be held March 4, Nelson Carbonell Jr., B.S. ’85, chair of the University Board of Trustees, announced at Friday’s board meeting. Classes will start in the new 460,000-square foot state-of-the-art building in January.

An announcement of growth in sponsored research, acknowledgements of two major gifts from board members and an update on the university’s Making History campaign also were featured at Friday’s meeting, held in the Marvin Center Grand Ballroom. The meeting included updates from GW President Steven Knapp, Alumni Association President Steve Frenkil, B.A. ’74, Student Association President Nick Gumas and Charles Garris, chair of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee.

In his remarks, Dr. Knapp detailed highlights of the fall semester, including Freshman Day of Service, in which 2,300 GW community members volunteered, and Alumni Weekend, which drew a record number of attendees. Prominent recent visitors to campus included IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg.

The university is participating in a national “It’s On Us” campaign to raise awareness of sexual assault. Earlier this fall, Dr. Knapp and Mr. Gumas joined President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden at the White House for the campaign announcement.

Dr. Knapp highlighted an “It’s On Us” public service video featuring GW student-athletes and coaches pledging to accept the responsibility to speak out against sexual assault. “When I speak to our student-athletes, I often speak about their role as ambassadors of our university, and I think they do a great job representing our institution and its values, going all the way back to our namesake,” he said.

Dr. Knapp called GW’s partnership with the Corcoran and National Gallery of Art “one of the university’s most important academic initiatives.”

“The idea of having a powerful arts education institution in the heart of our nation’s capital will put the arts at the forefront of our national consciousness,” he said.

Nelson Carbonell Jr., chair of the university Board of Trustees, has led a new level of collaboration among the faculty, trustees and administration.


The university will continue to strengthen its international relationships, Dr. Knapp said, announcing two academic trips he will take overseas this semester. In November, he will travel to Turkey to visit with a partner university on the Global Humanities Project. In December, he will fly to China for an annual meeting at the Confucius Institute headquarters.

Externally funded research expenditures at the university increased by 11 percent in fiscal year 2014, Dr. Knapp said, a sign of university success and enhancement in the sciences.

“At a time when research funding at most institutions has either flattened or declined, our research increased,” he said. "That will only be accelerated when our faculty in the sciences and engineering take up their new residences in SEH.” The university’s new cancer initiative will be located in the SEH, Dr. Knapp announced.

Making History, the university’s $1 billion campaign to bring GW into its third century and support its “Vision 2021” strategic plan, has raised $605 million to date, Dr. Knapp said. The campaign, which went public in June, will be the focal point of an Oct. 28 event in New York City.

“Our second-largest concentration of alumni is in New York City,” Dr. Knapp said. “I think this event will be a great complement to what we did here in the capital region last summer for our public launch.”

Dr. Knapp also paid tribute to Deans Jean Johnson (School of Nursing) and Michael Brown (Elliott School of International Affairs) who will step down this academic year. Trustees recognized the deans with standing ovations.

Dr. Garris provided an update on the Faculty Senate, stressing the new level of collaboration among the faculty, trustees and administration under Mr. Carbonell’s leadership, which includes a review of the Faculty Code. In June, the Faculty Senate passed a resolution to amend the code to enhance protections for academic freedom.

“This was a very important resolution in the sense it represents our very first effort working with the Board of Trustees to modify faculty governance documents in a beneficial way,” Dr. Garris said. “I think this new level of collaboration is very productive and portends very well for the future.”

Mr. Carbonell convened a group of faculty and trustees for dinner Thursday night.

Student Association President Nick Gumas delivered remarks on several student-life priorities for the SA, including sexual assault prevention, diversity and inclusion and mental health resources.


In his presentation, Mr. Gumas outlined three SA student-life priorities: sexual assault prevention, diversity and inclusion—about one-third of the student body is either multicultural or LGBT, he said—and mental health. On the topic of mental health, he stressed the need to move beyond stigmas associated with mental health issues and provide as many avenues as possible for those with a problem to seek help from either professionals or through a possible peer support program.

The university is in the process of combining its student health and counseling center facilities into one common space on the ground floor of the Marvin Center. That facility will open in January.

“Students are incredibly excited to have this resource available to them,” Mr. Gumas said.

Regarding sexual assault prevention, he said, the SA will focus this year on education and outreach.

Friday’s meeting included acknowledgements of trustee Terry Collins’ $2.5 million gift to the School of Engineering and Applied Science and trustee Ave Tucker’s $2 million gift to the Department of Athletics and Recreation, the School of Business and the GW Law School.

Trustee Ellen Zane also announced that a recent external audit of the university yielded an unqualified opinion—financial records fairly and appropriately presented. The university released its 2013-14 Financial Report Friday following approval by the board.