Title:Innovative Curricular Initiatives Led by the Vice Provost

Integrative Experiments in Education

• Responding to changes in globalization and technology

• Fostering cura personalis in the classroom and community 

• Addressing questions of cost and value, flexibility and relevance

What if a university setup an interdisciplinary program around a complex global challenge, such as climate change? What if a university offered seniors and young alumni one-credit classes related to personal and professional development, with such topics as Vocation and Purpose?

These types of “what ifs” are happening now at Georgetown University in the Designing the Future(s) of Learning initiative established 10 years ago by Randy Bass,vice provost for education.

When Jennifer Tod Lee (F’92) was serving on Georgetown’s Board of Regents, she learned about the initiative and began following Bass’s curricular experiments.

“The idea of turning educational concepts inside out intrigued me. Open, innovative thinking is a hallmark of Jesuit education, making Georgetown an ideal incubator for a creative learning environment and a pedagogical evolution,” shares Lee. “Bass is bringing community members together to ask important questions like ‘How can Georgetown become a bridge for students between the classroom and the work environment?’”

She and her husband Jin support the Vice Provost’s Curricular Initiatives so that these discussions and pilot programs will continue to set a standard to which other universities aspire. They also support need-based scholarships to fully embrace the ethos of “women and men for others.”