Global Health Institute

The meeting brought together senior faculty and leaders from across all Georgetown schools and academic health units, as well as representatives from the university’s business operations team, the student body, and Georgetown’s academic health system partner, MedStar Health, offering a space to discuss the vision for global health work at Georgetown and the institute’s role in advancing it.

​University Leaders Share Vision for the Future

The meeting opened with remarks from GUGHI Director Deus Bazira, Ph.D., MPH, MBA, who reflected on the journey to bring the Georgetown global health community together. He emphasized that for the university to be impactful in addressing intractable global health challenges, interdisciplinary collaboration is essential, as the solutions required go beyond the capabilities of any single discipline or area of expertise.

The Faculty Council then heard from Robert M. Groves, Ph.D., recently named interim president of the university, William M. Treanor, J.D., executive vice president and dean of Georgetown Law, and Norman J. Beauchamp Jr., M.D., MHS, executive vice president for health sciences and executive dean of the School of Medicine. They shared their deep commitment to the institute and to strengthening global health across the university.

Groves began his remarks by acknowledging the longstanding commitment of John J. DeGioia, Ph.D., who as president, established global health as a central priority for the university. Those efforts led the Georgetown University Board of Directors to create the Global Health Institute in 2022.

Groves described a global context characterized by a rapid restructuring of human knowledge, where fields are increasingly blending and enriching each other through shared concepts and research methods. He reiterated the university’s commitment to using knowledge and education for social good, underscoring the importance of structures like the Faculty Council in advancing efforts to improve the well-being of communities worldwide.

“As a Jesuit university, the fact that we are in this room to make the world better just fits us. That is what we do with our knowledge. As a university, we need structures like this… Our careers, our discoveries, our impact will be greater by cooperating.”

Treanor noted that global health is at a pivotal moment, with significant opportunities, such as the potential to eliminate diseases like malaria and polio, as well as serious challenges, including limited access to basic health care for many people.

“At this time, Georgetown has a remarkable opportunity to bring together people through all different areas that touch on global health and to work together and to come up with not just great research, but great solutions and putting them into practice. This gathering, this moment, is very historic.”

Beauchamp shared his guiding principles—purpose, people, preeminence, perspective, partnerships, possibilities, and passion—noting that the latter at the Institute is “unparalleled.” He also noted that the medical center had established global health as one of its pillars of excellence for fundraising activities.

“Urgency [in addressing health care needs] must be commensurate with the persistent struggle in our world… Health is about people not feeling alone in their time of need.”

​Faculty Council Discusses Priorities for Advancing Global Health

Following these remarks, Faculty Council Chair Phyllis R. Magrab, Ph.D., professor of pediatrics, highlighted the power of collective strength and camaraderie in achieving shared goals.

“My attraction to spending time with GUGHI comes from the desire to knit things together, because collectively we represent much more strength than any of us do individually—and there is a lot of individual strength in this room.”

The Faculty Council then engaged in an energizing discussion to set priorities for supporting the growth of global health work at Georgetown and enhancing its global impact. It explored ways in which the institute can foster interdisciplinary research, advance innovative educational programs, and drive service projects around the world.

Looking ahead, the Faculty Council will be meeting three times per year and will continue to provide input on the institute’s initiatives to help strengthen its role as a hub and platform for collaboration across Georgetown’s schools. The Faculty Council will establish working committees to drive progress on priority issues and enable participation from the wider community of Georgetown faculty, staff, and students interested in global health.