September 2007

Welcome President Steven Knapp!

GW’s 16th President Meets and Greets Community in First Weeks

By Chris M. Kormis

If you see Steven Knapp in the elevator or on the street, be sure to introduce yourself. GW’s new president is enthusiastic about getting to know all the members of the University community. After the December announcement of his selection as the institution’s 16th president, Knapp quietly had been introducing himself to student leaders, faculty, staff, deans, and vice presidents.

Now that he’s occupying his office on the eighth floor of Rice Hall, Knapp is filling his days meeting people—lots of people. On Aug. 1, his first official day on the job, he met with his office staff in the morning, vice presidents at lunch, and deans in the afternoon. Since then, he has been walking the campus visiting various offices and learning more about the University. On Aug. 9, he mingled with GW staff at the annual summer Ice Cream and Conversation social held in the Media and Public Affairs Building.

Through­out the year Knapp will seek out other opportunities to interact with the University’s employees. “I want the staff to feel themselves very much a part of the institution, just as are the faculty and the students,” he says. “We’re all part of the same community. We need to ensure that GW is a destination where people want to come and stay.”

Students will get up-close time with Knapp starting with move-in, when he and his wife, Diane Robinson Knapp, will help students settle into the residence halls. As the semester progresses, he plans “office hours with the president” for students. More formally, on Monday, Sept. 3, at 2 p.m., he will welcome students and their parents at Opening Convocation in the Charles E. Smith Athletic Center. The following Monday, Sept. 10, at 3 p.m. in Lisner Auditorium, President Knapp will address professors at the annual Faculty Assembly, usually held in November but moved up to early Septem­ber as his formal introduction to the University’s scholars.

Throughout the fall semester, Knapp plans to attend “listening forums,” for students, faculty, staff, alumni, and neighbors, much like the forums held during the presidential search process. Information about the forums will be forthcoming and posted on Knapp’s Web site, president.gwu.edu. Knapp also says he plans to be present at a number of student events during the year.

Born June 17, 1951, in Englewood, N.J., and raised in Washington Township, N.J., Knapp comes to GW from Johns Hopkins University, where he was provost and senior vice president for the last 10 years and dean of arts and sciences from 1994 until 1997. Prior to that, he was an English professor at the University of California, Berkeley, for 16 years. Knapp’s specialty is 18th- and 19th-century English literature and literary theory. “The two figures I’ve done the most work on are Milton and Wordsworth,” notes Knapp. He has published two books by the Harvard University Press—Personification and the Sublime: Milton to Coleridge (1985) and Literary Interest: The Limits of Anti-Formalism on Milton (1993)—and numerous articles on literary theory and interpretation. Knapp earned his B.A. (1973) at Yale University and his M.A. (1977) and Ph.D. (1981) at Cornell University.

When he wants to kick back and relax he reads or plays the drums—the hand drums these days. A drum enthusiast since his youth, Knapp played professionally while in college. When he left Hopkins, his colleagues presented him with an Afro-Peruvian mahogany cajon drum.

Knapp and his wife, Diane, have two children, Sarah and Jesse, and a sheep farm in Sparks, Md. Sarah will continue to reside on the farm and help care for the farm’s animals, and Jesse currently works for a senator on Capitol Hill.

Diane, who was a hospital nutrition director at Children’s Hospital in Oakland, Calif., has been active with the Greater Baltimore Youth Orchestras for the last 12 years. “I just finished serving seven years as its president and now am on the advisory board,” explains Diane. “I’m looking forward to seeing how my role at GW will evolve as I become active in the GW community.”

Totally immersing himself in the GW culture and community, Knapp will reside at 1925 F Street, NW, former home of the historic F Street Club, which welcomed U.S. presidents and policy-makers for much of the 20th century.
Most recently it served as GW’s office for alumni relations. In addition to living in the home, Knapp plans to restore its use as a venue for leadership dialogues, which will include students and faculty. He will move into his on-campus home after renovations are complete. Meanwhile, he and his wife are living in an apartment near campus in the West End neighborhood.

Hailing to the buff and blue, Knapp is decorating his office in GW’s colors. In addition, his official vehicle is a buff and blue Toyota Prius hybrid car, which gets 60 miles to the gallon in the city and 51 miles on the highway. Sustainability is a priority for the Knapps. “Diane is a clinical nutritionist who has broader interests in the whole area of sustainability,” explains Knapp. “Additionally, while I was at Johns Hopkins, I was involved in encouraging and creating a university-wide task force on sustainability.”

When welcoming Knapp to GW, Senior Vice President for Student and Academic Support Services Robert Chernak presented him with a GW basketball shirt labeled “Knapp,” number “16.” While you may not see Knapp on the court, he and Diane plan to be in the stands cheering on the Colonials. “We hear GW’s sports events are loads of fun, and we are excited about getting to as many games as possible,” says Diane.

The inauguration of Steven Knapp is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 16, at 10:30 a.m. in the Charles E. Smith Athletic Center. Knapp’s father, brother, and sister plan to attend his inauguration.

The University community will celebrate Knapp’s presidential inauguration with a week of events Nov. 13-16, including three theme days highlighting research and schol­arship, alumni, and the University’s partnerships in the Washington, D.C., community. Students, faculty, staff, alumni, trustees, and partners are invited to participate in the activities, which will include seminars, symposia, and performances.

Please watch future issues of ByGeorge! for a list of scheduled Inaugural Week activities and visit the inaugural Web site at inauguration.gwu.edu.

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu