Oct. 1, 2002
President Signs New Five-Year
Contract
The Board of Trustees Extends President Stephen Joel
Trachtenberg’s Term Through 2007
The Board of Trustees has announced that Stephen
Joel Trachtenberg will continue in his position as president of The
George Washington University through 2007. President Trachtenberg, whose
previous contract was expected to be fulfilled at the conclusion of
the 2002–03 academic year, has served as president of the University
since 1988 and has guided GW’s emergence as a major national research
University.
“By any measure of a University’s strength, the impact of
Steve Trachtenberg’s outstanding leadership is obvious,” says
Ambassador Charles T. Manatt, chair of the Board of Trustees. “On
his watch, applications to attend GW have reached all-time highs, the
quality of the faculty and students has never been better, the endowment
has increased dramatically, and the campus has been transformed by new
academic buildings and residence halls.”
Named one of the 12 “hottest” schools in the 2002 Kaplan/Newsweek
guide “How to Get into College,” GW has steadily risen among
the country’s four-year institutions. In 1988, when Trachtenberg
first arrived at GW, only six were National Merit
Scholars (in a freshman class of 1,349). This fall’s incoming freshman
class of 2,250 boasts 35 merit scholars.
“I’m honored to have the opportunity to continue to lead GW,
an institution committed first and foremost to academic excellence,”
says Trachtenberg. “Our strength is derived from the talents and
commitments of an extraordinary faculty, administration, staff, and
Board of Trustees. As a result, we are attracting some of the best and
brightest students from across the nation and around the world to live,
work, and study at GW.”
In May, Trachtenberg was elected to the nation’s preeminent learned
society, The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, for his leadership
of GW and his role in integrating the urban campus into the fabric of
the community and the local government. Among his many awards, the Brooklyn,
NY native also has been a Washingtonian magazine “Washingtonian
of the Year” and was honored by his alma mater, Columbia University,
with its distinguished alumni achievement award.
Trachtenberg’s commitment to education and the community also is
evidenced by the initiation of the 21st Century Scholars program in
1989 (subsequently renamed the Trachtenberg Scholars by the Board of
Trustees), which awards full, four-year scholarships to outstanding
DC public high school seniors. The scholarships, along with other grants
and work-study programs, have made GW the largest single post-secondary
contributor of aid to DC Public Schools for the last eight years. GW’s
total commitment since the inception of the program is approximately
$8 million.
Through Trachtenberg’s stewardship, GW’s campus in Foggy Bottom
has undergone a significant transformation, including the completion
of Kogan Plaza — a new centralized, outdoor meeting place, construction
of the Lerner Family Health and Wellness Center, the installation of
busts of George Washington marking the boundaries of campus, and classically
inspired iron gates providing a scholarly ambience.
“As someone in the field of art, I have been especially pleased
with the physical changes at the Foggy Bottom campus,” says Lilien
Robinson, chair of the executive committee of the University’s
Faculty Senate and professor of art history. “We now have an underlying
design that will serve as a basis for continued unification of the campus.”
New academic buildings for the Elliott School of International Affairs
and the School of Media and Public Affairs, as well as an addition to
the Law School and a new GW Hospital, have been completed. Plans for
a new home for the School of Business and Public Management are on the
drawing board, and a National Transportation Safety Board investigation
training academy is underway at the Virginia Campus. New Hall, a 450-bed
residence hall was completed in 1996 and two new residential projects
— a row of traditional-style townhouses and a 710-bed residence
hall — are underway on 23rd Street.
Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu
