March 2007

Spotlight on Staff: John Ralls

By Zak M. Salih

John Ralls, senior advisor for communications and outreach in the Office of the Executive Vice President and Treasurer, knows the GW and Foggy Bottom community like the back of his hand. Originally from Moore, Oklahoma, Ralls spent 15 years at city hall working for Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans.

When he’s not promoting awareness of the University’s proposed Foggy Bottom Campus Plan and related campus development activities or picking through the stack of unread comics on his night stand, Ralls is working toward his master’s degree from GW’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development.

Q: Describe your first visit to D.C.

A: My first time ever in D.C. was on a summer internship on Capitol Hill, and I lived in Milton Hall, now Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis Hall. So my first living experience in the District was on the Foggy Bottom Campus. I knew I’d be back.

Q: What issues do you deal with in the office on a daily basis?

A: As GW has moved forward in the last couple of years with its comprehensive, community-based planning process, I’m out working with various parts of the University. Recently, I have been working with students through Campaign GW. Over the past year, School Without Walls, Square 54 (the former GW Hospital site), and the 20-year Campus Plan have been three big focal points. The issues we address with staff, faculty, and students are complicated. Zoning is not something a lot of people initially know or get excited about. You have to show them why it’s important because it is about the future—where the University will be when we’re all long gone.

Q: If everything goes the way John Ralls wants it to go, what will GW look like in 20 years?

A: We will have new academic space focused in the core of the campus away from the neighborhood. We will have a diversity of old and new buildings, a streetscape component that will really enhance the area, new academic buildings in place, additional undergraduate student housing, and Square 54 will be an active and exciting town center.

Q: What about your job makes you want to come to work in the morning?

A: Working with people, the GW family as I call it. It really is a gas to meet people; to hear what everyone does is fascinating. And the students—they amaze me. I went to Oklahoma State, and there you had to drag the students to class. Here they’re so energetic.

Q: What animal do you most resemble?

A: A groundhog, since I hate winter and Feb. 2 is my birthday. Just as long as my life doesn’t get caught up in a redundant cycle like in the Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day.

Q: If you were elected president of the United States, what would be your first official act?

A: The first thing I’d do is make D.C. the 51st state.

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu