Dean’s Message

A Message from the Dean

On behalf of all of us at Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q), welcome!

As one of the world’s leading global research universities, Georgetown’s presence in Qatar reflects—and expands upon—the institution’s two-and-a-quarter-century-plus commitment to developing minds, discovering truth, and engaging with the world.

At GU-Q all of us are here to listen and to learn: from each other, from members of our immediate community, from the society in which we work and live, and from the global society to which we belong.

One of the central tenets that animates the Georgetown approach to education is cura personalis, a Latin phrase meaning “care of the whole person.” While rooted in the Jesuit tradition, cura personalis embodies the universal virtues that inform and undergird Christianity, Islam, and the world’s other great religions and traditions: empathy, integrity, and an unrelenting focus on advancing the common good among them.

Every member of our community—administrators, faculty, staff, and students—aspires to these high ideals. As GU-Q’s new dean, it is my duty to advance them, a responsibility I accept, in equal measure, with deep humility and unbridled enthusiasm. To that end, and with intention, I will work to foster a community where everyone is valued, where every aspect of everyone’s best selves can be optimized, and where the awesome power of human cohesion, and ideas, are fully unleashed.

At GU-Q all of us are here to listen and to learn: from each other, from members of our immediate community, from the society in which we work and live, and from the global society to which we belong. It is fitting, then, that we undertake these efforts in Qatar, which places great emphasis on education, arts, and culture as integral to its national project. This allows our host, the Qatar Foundation, to provide its partnersincluding Georgetowna unique opportunity for collaboration, exchange of ideas, and experimentation.

From forming deeper working connections with partners in Education City, to building on our diverse faculty expertise and core strength in international affairs and diplomacy to expand a variety of capacity-building, research, and public engagement initiatives, GU-Q is uniquely positioned to support the continued growth of knowledge economies in Qatar, in each of the 65 nations our students and graduates call home, and around the world.

Safwan Masri, Ph.D.
Dean, Georgetown University in Qatar
Distinguished Professor of the Practice, Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University