Peter Konwerski is the Dean of Student Affairs.
As I reflect on some of the national and global issues that arose this summer – whether in Ferguson, Mo. or in Ukraine, the Middle East or Africa – I’m struck by the need to have capable citizen leaders at the ready to engage with, respond to and react to the complex problems we face in our world today.
Fortunately, at GW, that’s our business: producing effective, well-informed and educated citizen leaders. As we head back to school this new academic year, our campuses are brimming with excitement for learning. Classroom learning is best when combined with real-world insights culled from experience beyond the classroom: knowledge in action.
We have rich diversity in our classrooms. Students span the entire political spectrum, and our vast international community includes students who may have experienced first-hand the complex conflicts that appear in the news. As a result, not only is it imperative for us to embrace an educational environment that is open to constructive dialogue, but we must also demonstrate care and compassion. On any given day, incidents across the globe have the potential to directly affect at least one of the members of our University community, whether it’s a student, parent, alumnus, alumna, faculty member or staff member.
While the GW educational experience provides our students with tools to be effective citizen leaders, much of their learning also comes from outside the confines of our campuses – again, knowledge in action. Given the broad reach of our students living, working, serving, researching and interning around the world, we truly are a global community that sets no limits to the creation and acquisition of knowledge.
While we aim to cultivate a community of informed scholars, our responsibility to nurture a safe space for knowledge creation and acquisition is derived from our namesake’s simple credo: “Knowledge is, in every country, the surest basis of public happiness.” That spirit of an educated, engaged citizenry is something we take to heart in our University’s strategic plan.
As a nation founded on principles of open debate and civil discourse, it is also our responsibility as the community that bears George Washington’s name – and the institution bequeathed with his legacy of tolerance – to continue to fight for the free flow of ideas and easy and open exchange of information across all platforms.
I am proud to work in, and be a graduate of, such a community of scholars, and hope that through our work with and service to others, we are continuing to honor Washington’s legacy. Openness and tolerance are so critical to success in our society today. Both the voice of the oppressed and the speech of the political leader need to have a place at our University. Both make this a special place to practice knowledge in action and to live and learn.
