Get to Know the Interim Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences

What should returning students expect in the next year?

The Hilltop is alive with energy when students come back for the start of classes, and we're eager to begin a new academic year. We have fantastic new faculty hires across the College of Arts & Sciences - in the humanities, the natural sciences and the social sciences - and we're looking forward to having them in the classroom. This is also a pivotal year for us as we proceed with our planning for the Capitol Campus in downtown Washington, DC, which is Georgetown's big, exciting next step for continued growth into the future.

Will you be teaching any classes this fall? If so, what can you tell us about them?

Unfortunately, I will not be teaching this fall. That's one of the few downsides of stepping into an administrative role like this one. Teaching is energizing for me. Working with Georgetown students is one of the best parts of being a professor here. I'll miss exploring the work of Albert Camus, the renowned 20th-century writer and public intellectual who has been one of the main focal points of my teaching the last few years.

Can you tell us about your research? What are your areas of interest?

My research focuses primarily on the ways in which political power becomes manifest in literature and culture. I have several areas of interest: the novel, autobiography, poetry, testimony, cinema, history, mass media and social media. The period I am most interested in is roughly from World War I through the early Cold War. My book on Stalinism in France, Generation Stalin: French Writers, the Fatherland, and the Cult of Personality, deals with that period. It will be coming out in Russian translation in 2026, so I'm very happy about that.

Do you have any messages for incoming students?

Take a step back and appreciate where you are and how you got here. Absorb as much as you can from your classes. Explore disciplines and subjects that you have never before studied, or maybe never even heard of. Try to find links among the various courses that you're taking. Get to know the DC area: the Smithsonian, the embassies, the food scene. Make new friends. Put the phone down. Read books. Browse the stacks in the university library. Learn a new language! You've made it to one of the best universities in the world. Take advantage of the opportunities you have before you. It will go quickly.

You've spent many years as a professor and administrator on the Hilltop. What keeps you at Georgetown and what have you learned during your time here?

Georgetown is among the very best places in the country to do the kind of work that I do. The students' focus on politics, culture and language is very much in alignment with my own. I love being in the nation's capital, and I have always liked Georgetown's international focus. The university mission statement is something I find compelling and that I always like to share with incoming faculty. Georgetown is also a great fit for me, as I went to a Jesuit high school (Regis Jesuit in Denver, my hometown), and I have a deep appreciation for Jesuit values.

What are three fun facts about yourself?

First, I love to cook. I learned to cook from my mom and now I enjoy cooking with my wife and daughters. My favorite cookbook right now is Roy Choi's L.A. Son (and I like seeing him on The Chef Show with Jon Favreau - it's on Netflix, check it out). Second, I began learning Arabic last spring after a trip to our Doha campus. It's an amazing place, and I was inspired by the visit - especially my meetings with students there - to begin learning the language, at long last. I grew up in a big Lebanese extended family in Colorado and I picked up French at home and school, but I'd never learned Arabic. Also, I'll put in a plug for the CAS First Fellows Program here, as I'm both a first-generation American and a first-generation college graduate. Finally, I love being active - over the years, I've enjoyed hiking, mountain biking, swimming, spinning classes, racquetball, tennis and, most recently, yoga!

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