FRESH & FAMILIAR FACES
FRESH & FAMILIAR FACES
Dr. Jonathan Sands Wise Provost & Executive Vice President
D
r. Jonathan Sands Wise is a familiar face—and figure—on Georgetown’s campus. A man of tall stature, he is easily spotted as he strolls across campus, and is particularly identifiable with his signature hat.
Associated with Georgetown College since 2008, Sands Wise has filled many roles before being named Provost and Executive Vice President in January. As Provost, he serves as the College’s chief academic officer. His career at Georgetown began as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy before being promoted to Assistant Professor. Then, after serving as the Associate Dean of Academic Success for a little over one year, he was asked to become the Vice President of Enrollment Management in 2015. For the past six years, Sands Wise has overseen admissions, financial planning, academic success, and (from 2018-2020) the College’s marketing and communications operations. One year ago, he was appointed as Associate Provost and Dean of Graduate and New Programs, while still serving as Interim Vice President of Enrollment Management. As Associate Provost, he was the point person for a multiinstitutional Financial Sustainability Collaborative and also provided leadership to the College’s COVID response efforts. “The most challenging time [of the pandemic] was that first summer and fall of 2020 when we had to make very large decisions based on constantly changing information,” he said. “By looking at all of the possible scenarios we might face and determining changes we could make on campus to operate as safely as possible in any of those scenarios, we were able to make broadbased plans that were reactive to the reality. We were forced to make plans and adjust on the fly. In general, that was the most important lesson we learned: that we had to constantly adapt, and that has remained true for the past two years. The adaptability that is possible at a small campus with the wonderful faculty and staff that we have has been our greatest strength as we have faced the ever-changing reality of the COVID pandemic.”
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When President Rosemary Allen announced his appointment as Provost, she noted that he “kept unwavering focus on providing supportive leadership that helped keep this College stable in a time of uncertainty. As Provost, he will bring his extraordinary creative capacity and gift for solving problems to the task of leading the academic program.” Those skills will be useful in his new role. “Dr. Allen has asked me to focus on finding potential new programs and partnerships that are good fits for our mission and institution while also providing attractive new opportunities for potential students at the undergraduate and potentially the graduate level,’ he said. “I am excited to help find some opportunities that can expand on whom we serve and continue to make a difference in this world for God through our amazing students.” Noting that this is now the third position in which he reports to Dr. Allen, Jonathan said that he has had the chance to share her vision for the future of the College and to understand how she works.
