2018 brought GW a new student affairs office, its largest-ever freshman class and a handful of controversies.
But the year ahead will also have big headlines. Over the next 12 months, the University will likely find new leaders for two schools and the Colonial Health Center, engage in a communitywide review of University President Thomas LeBlanc and oversee the rollout of a free 18th credit in the fall.
Keep an eye on these news stories in 2019:
Continued negotiations over East End hospital
[gwh_image id=”1072458″ credit=”Hatchet File Photo” align=”none” size=”embedded-img”]GW Hospital representatives will continue negotiating with city officials in 2019 regarding the opening of a new facility in Southeast D.C.[/gwh_image]
2019 will kick off with a new round of negotiations between the District and GW Hospital regarding the construction of a new facility in Southeast D.C. Hospital officials initially signed on to run the new facility over the summer, but the project has hit obstacles in recent weeks as the D.C. Council considers a bill to expedite the opening of the new facility and a 200-bed addition to GW Hospital’s Foggy Bottom location.
The hospital halted negotiations with the city early last month after the Council passed a series of amendments that officials said would put the project “in jeopardy.” The Council rolled back the amendments two weeks ago – and hospital officials said the next day that they would restart deliberations with the District.
Though it seems like the hospital and the city are back in each other’s good graces, the project is still facing backlash from the Foggy Bottom community. Even GW officials have protested the addition of the new bed tower to GW Hospital.
Possible overhaul of Title IX policies
[gwh_image id=”1073085″ credit=”Hatchet File Photo” align=”none” size=”embedded-img”]Education Secretary Betsy DeVos proposed a series of new Title IX guidelines in November that could force GW to update its own procedures.[/gwh_image]
A series of proposed changes to federal Title IX procedures could require GW to stop using a single-investigator model to investigate sexual violence claims. The model was adopted over the summer following a yearlong external review of the way GW has handled sexual violence cases.
The proposed guidelines, which also allow institutions to dismiss reports of off-campus assault and require cross-examination during investigations, are still in the public comment phase. The federal deadline for public comments is Jan. 28, when Department of Education officials can then decide to alter or move forward with the changes.
A review of the president
[gwh_image id=”1067219″ credit=”Hatchet File Photo” align=”none” size=”embedded-img”]University President Thomas LeBlanc will undergo a communitywide review this spring.[/gwh_image]
Students, faculty and administrators will have the opportunity to weigh in on University President Thomas LeBlanc’s progress this spring as he wraps up his second year leading GW. The first-of-its-kind review, which will be spearheaded by the Board of Trustees, will give the community a chance to help LeBlanc identify and tackle new goals and priorities.
An extra credit opportunity
[gwh_image id=”1062946″ credit=”Hatchet File Photo” align=”none” size=”embedded-img”]About 54 percent of students indicated last spring that they would utilize a free 18th credit if they had the chance. This fall, they will have the opportunity.[/gwh_image]
Starting next fall, students will be able to take up to 18 credits a semester without incurring a roughly $1,500 fee. About 54 percent of students indicated in a student-wide referendum last spring that they would use the extra credit if given the opportunity – and the fall 2019 semester will put that figure to the test.
A new CHC leader
[gwh_image id=”1067524″ credit=”File Photo by Donna Armstrong | Contributing Photo Editor ” align=”none” size=”embedded-img”]Cissy Petty, the dean of the student experience, has been leading the Colonial Health Center while officials search for a permanent leader.[/gwh_image]
The Colonial Health Center is still in search of a permanent leader more than a year after Glenn Egelman, the first head of the center, unexpectedly resigned in September 2017. Cissy Petty, the inaugural dean of the student experience, has been overseeing the center since she stepped into her role this summer – but the new year could see a new head of GW’s student health care.
A shift in institutional culture
[gwh_image id=”1069327″ credit=”Hatchet File Photo” align=”none” size=”embedded-img”]University President Thomas LeBlanc said he would release the results of a Disney Institute survey about institutional culture as soon as he has them.[/gwh_image]
If LeBlanc’s first two years in office were focused on the student experience, 2019 could be the year of institutional culture. Officials partnered with the Disney Institute in the fall to distribute a survey gauging the state of institutional culture at the University and identify possible areas for improvement. The Disney Institute will likely wrap up the focus groups and interviews that followed the survey over the coming months – and LeBlanc said he will share the findings of the $300,000 investment as soon as he has them.
New heads of CCAS and SEAS
[gwh_image id=”1063623″ credit=”Hatchet File Photo by Donna Armstrong | Contributing Photo Editor ” align=”none” size=”embedded-img”]Both the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences will likely have new leaders in 2019.[/gwh_image]
Both the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences will likely have new leaders by the start of next academic year. The University launched searches for its next deans of SEAS and CCAS in November after both schools’ former heads resigned over the summer.
The University may also launch a search in 2019 for the next dean of the College of Professional Studies and the Virginia Science and Technology Campus. The former leader of the college and the campus resigned last January, but officials have yet to begin a formal search for a new head – a move experts said could indicate that officials are restructuring the position.
