GRADUATION SPECIAL GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD SINCE 1920 thehoya.com
Georgetown University • Washington, D.C. Vol. 94, No. 49, © 2013
FRIday, MAY 17, 2013
Eclectic Choices For Grad Speakers
SENIOR CONVOCATION
U.S. senator, foreign head of state among Saturday lineup Mariah Byrne Hoya Staff Writer
ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA
Actress and producer Brit Marling (COL ’05) stressed the importance of college connections during her address at Senior Convocation in McDonough Gymnasium on Thursday afternoon.
Adjunct AdmissionsYield UpforTop Students Union Certified Penny Hung
Hoya Staff Writer
Pay, job security, benefits set for union agenda Penny Hung
Hoya Staff Writer
The May 3 vote by Georgetown’s adjunct professors to unionize was certified by the National Labor Relations Board on Monday, allowing the Services Employees International Union Local 500 to represent Georgetown adjunct faculty members. Following Friday’s official tally, the NLRB allowed a seven-day waiting period for objections regarding election protocol, but none arose from the university or the union. SEIU will represent part-time, non-tenure-track faculty on the main campus as a single bargaining unit, including those who did not vote for unionization. “I think if a deal is made … it will affect all adjuncts, regardless if they are union members,” said Pablo Eisenberg, a senior fellow at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute and 12-year adjunct faculty member. “A lot of adjuncts who were not in favor of unionization will still benefit from unionization and the negotiations.” SEIU will not represent adjunct faculty members from the Georgetown University Law Center or the Georgetown University Medical Center. The university and the union will soon meet to discuss a new contract. According to an email from Provost Robert Groves to university faculty members, the timeline is unclear for the negotiating process. Eisenberg said that talks would most likely start during the summer. According to Anne McLeer, SEIU director of research and strategic
There was a slight uptick in the admissions yield this year, with 47.4 percent of accepted students in the Class of 2017 enrolling at Georgetown compared to last year’s rate of 47 percent. Of the 3,293 students admitted in early action and regular decision, 1,561 submitted deposits by the May 1 deadline, according to Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Charles Deacon. “This year has been, by the numbers, the best,” Deacon said. “The yield is about the same, but we won more of our top students. We know that by the way we code them in the system.” The yield for Georgetown College was 43.5 percent, while
the School of Foreign Service had a yield of 47.2 percent. The McDonough School of Business and the School of Nursing and Health Studies had higher yields of 53.6 percent and 53 percent, respectively. The MSB, which had the highest yield, had a 15.7 percent acceptance rate this year, the lowest among the schools for the first time. According to Deacon, students from 70 countries and all 50 states have submitted deposits. More than 1,000 high schools are represented. The enrolling class is the first in university history to have an average score above 700 in both the SAT critical reading and math sections. According to Deacon, the university usually aims for a See YIELD, A6
After an eight-month selection process, a non profit founder, a prominent health policy researcher, the Lithuanian president and a U.S. senator will speak at commencement ceremonies tomorrow for Georgetown’s 1,500 graduating seniors. Each undergraduate college is responsible for securing its own commencement speaker, and this process varies across schools. However, nominations are generally made by faculty members of each of Georgetown’s schools to the deans of the respective department. These are then reviewed and forwarded to the university’s board of directors for approval. The process of securing commencement speakers begins as early as September of the year preceding the May graduation ceremony. Schools propose primary candidates and as many as two alternate speakers in the September or December meetings of the faculty senate. Georgetown generally confers honorary degrees upon its commencement
See SPEAKERS, A7
ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA
Commencement ceremonies for all four undergraduate schools are set to take place on Healy Lawn throughout Saturday morning and afternoon.
Class of 2013 Valedictorians
ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA
COURTESY YITING LI
ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA
ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA
STEVEN WALDORF
YITING LI
RUSSELL KREUTTER
LINDSEY MAHONEY
Georgetown College Major: Government
School of Foreign Service Major: International Economics
McDonough School of Business Major: Accounting/Marketing
School of Nursing & Health Studies Major: Human Science
For full coverage of the valedictorians, see A5
See ADJUNCTS, A8
SUMMER GUIDE · · · ·
speakers. It is against university policy to pay a speaker’s fee or honoraria to honorary degree recipients except under unusual circumstances not specified in the university’s policy. This practice is in stark contrast to other schools that reportedly spend between $5,000 and $50,000 to secure commencement speakers. Universities — Georgetown included — are generally reluctant to discuss such arrangements. “Our commencement speakers this year are extraordinary individuals, representing the highest levels of excellence in a diverse array of fields — from public service to public health, education, economics and humanitarian endeavors,” University President John J. DeGioia said in a statement. “By sharing their experience and wisdom, they offer inspiration to our students, who are themselves, at this moment in their lives, envisioning the impact they can make in our world.” U.S. Senator William Cowan (D-Mass.), who was appointed by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick to fill U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s vacant senate seat in January, will be speaking at the McDonough School of Business commencement ceremony. Cowan previously worked as Patrick’s chief of staff and as a lawyer focused on corporate governance, financial management, the environment, patents and consumer protection. He now serves on
It may be summer vacation, but the District and GU have plenty to offer.
COMMENTARY Seniors share reflections on their years at Georgetown. OPINION, A3-A4
Newsroom: (202) 687-3415 Business: (202) 687-3947
Published Tuesdays and Fridays
CLASS GIFT The Class of 2013 gave the university a record gift of just over $147,000. NEWS, A8
RIPPLE EFFECTS With the advent of the new Big East, some teams are left in flux. SPORTS, A12
Send Story Ideas and Tips to news@thehoya.com