GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD SINCE 1920 thehoya.com
Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 93, No. 29, © 2012
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2012
LET’S MAKE A DEAL
MSB grad Tim O’Shaughnessy talks about co-founding LivingSocial.
FACILITIES There are simple ways to unclog Facilities’ work order system.
GUIDE, G8
Hoya Staff Writer
After months of recruiting student groups and revising its constitution, the Student Group Union will hold its first executive committee election Feb. 5 through Feb. 8. The SGU, an initiative designed to facilitate better coordination
among student organizations, was launched in October with the hope of resolving the frustration some groups have felt in their dealings with the university administration and the Student Activities Commission. “Since the kickoff, we’ve been building momentum, raising awareness and gathering feedback,” Co-Chair Eitan Paul (SFS
WEEKEND From DC Improv to U Street Music Hall and 51st State, 4E has you covered.
NEWS, A4
BLOG.THEHOYA.COM
OPINION, A2
SGU to Elect First Board ANNIE CHEN
FOOD TRUCKS Changes to long-standing regulations for vendors are sparking debate.
ENDOWMENT CONTINUES TO REBOUND
’12) said. “We’ve been communicating with numerous groups to make sure SGU is something they feel comfortable about. Overwhelmingly, student groups have been incredibly excited about this opportunity.” When the group got off the ground last semester, students
$1.067 billion
$1.162 billion
$1.059 billion $895.1 million
$1.007 billion
$1 BILLION
See SGU, A6
POSTERIZED: SIMS’ DUNK SPARKS GEORGETOWN IN ROUT OF UCONN
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
DATA: 2010-2011 ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT; SHAKTI NOCHUR/THE HOYA
After falling below $1 billion during fiscal year 2009, GU’s endowment has grown almost 30 percent over the last two years to reach an all-time high $1.162 billion.
Endowment Rises for Second Straight Year MARIAH BYRNE Hoya Staff Writer
WEB LESLIE/THE HOYA
Henry Sims throws down a ferocious dunk in the second half of the Hoyas’ beatdown of Connecticut Wednesday night. The senior center had 13 points in the 58-44 victory. See A10.
Georgetown’s endowment reached a record-high $1.162 billion for the 2011 fiscal year but fell four places from 63 to 67 in the National Association of College and University Business Officers-Commonfund Study’s rankings. The university’s endowment grew 15.4 percent to reach the new high, up from a growth rate of 12.8 percent during the 2010 fiscal year, but still below the national average of 19 percent annual growth reported in the study. Chief Investment Officer Michael Barry attributed the university’s drop in the rankings to the defensive positioning of the endowment portfolio, the impact of gifts received by peer institutions and Georgetown’s higher-than-average spending rate in the last fiscal year. Barry added that the relatively small endowment represents a major competitive disadvantage for the university. “The challenge of being just over $1
billion in size, from an operational standpoint, is that Georgetown must remain competitive with its peer institutions while relying on a smaller pool of supporting capital,” he said. The continued growth of the endowment is primarily the result of returns to university investments in public equity markets, which came in at a rate of 16.8 percent. Georgetown’s investments, comprised of unrestricted gifts, are managed by the university’s investment office. The total endowment also includes assets intended for a specific purpose. Over the course of last year, $66.5 million of the endowment’s pooled funds were distributed. “The purpose of the distribution policy is to strike a balance between current spending and endowment growth,” according to the university’s 2010-2011 Financial Statement. The spending of endowment funds was See ENDOWMENT, A6
For GU Employees, ANC 2E: A Town-Gown Battleground Classes Come Free BRADEN MCDONALD Hoya Staff Writer
Tuition Assistance Program a huge benefit for staff LAURA ENGSHUBER Hoya Staff Writer
A Georgetown education typically comes with a hefty price tag, but some have found a way to take classes on the Hilltop without paying a penny. Each year, an average of 230 university employees, ranging from Department of Public Safety officers to alumni relations coordinators, take classes at Georgetown. Most of them enroll through the Office of Faculty and Staff Benefits’ Tuition Assistance Program, which provides a free education for university employees. Any staff member who has been at the university for one year and works at least 36 hours per week is eligible for the program, which covers full tuition at Georgetown or, after three years of work, partial tuition at other accredited institutions of
higher education. For many, the Tuition Assistance Program was a strong factor in choosing to pursue graduate studies at Georgetown. “I knew that Georgetown offered tuition reimbursement for employees. I always wanted to go here, but the program was definitely a noteworthy factor in my choice,” Steve Bailey (GRD ’13) said. After graduating from the University of Mary Washington in 2009, Bailey has worked the Office of Advancement for the past two years, first as coordinator of regional programs and now as an analyst and administrative coordinator. In 2010, he began his studies in the master of public policy program. Bailey said that of the 25 students in his class, most work on Capitol Hill or for consulting firms. But his co-worker in the Office of Advancement, Caroline Gardner (GRD ’12), has also managed to mesh her job as director of the innovations team of class programs and reunion campaigns with her studies in See EMPLOYEES, A7
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Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E has long been an arena for perennial neighborhood relations debates. With the D.C Zoning Commission preparing to make its ruling on the 2010 Campus Plan next week, the commission’s monthly meetings are frequently the sites of heated battles about issues ranging from student noise to safety regulations in rental apartments. But despite long-standing tensions between the ANC and the university, commissioners believe that there is potential for cooperation between the two groups. “We’re one community,” ANC 2E Chair Ron Lewis said. “We have a lot of the same interests in the same things, although we don’t always come out on the same side of a particular question.”
KYLE YOUNG FOR THE HOYA
Neighborhood relations monopolized the conversation at an Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E meeting Monday, as they have for decades. Published Tuesdays and Fridays
“GRASSROOTS” GOVERNMENT ANC 2E, which is comprised of seven commissioners, each representing a geographical district, focuses on matters of municipal government in Georgetown, Burleith and Hillandale. Ron Lewis, who is in his second twoyear term as chair of the commission, described it as a bridge between residents and the often-complex D.C. government. See ANC, A6
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