There are a number of programs and centers within which justice work is concentrated at Georgetown.  These academic programs–the Program on Justice and Peace, the Catholic Studies Program, the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, the Pedro Arrupe Scholarship program, the Center for Intercultural Education and Development, the Center for Urban Research and Teaching, and the Partners for Urban Research and Service-learning–are quite small in terms of faculty and student involvement.  The faculty involved in these programs engage in teaching and/or research related to justice issues on a regular basis, but for each of them, their appointment in these programs is secondary to a traditional department.  Many of the faculty so engaged reported that: a) their research/teaching related to justice is not what they were hired for at the university, and is thus limited by their primary department's demands; b) their involvement in these programs is an add-on to their primary responsibilities; and c) their annual reviews and rank and tenure evaluations place little weight on their work in these programs.  In terms of impact on students, these programs can be characterized as having a deep impact on those enrolled in the minor/certificate programs that some offer, but they are fairly small in number.

In this regard the Law Center and its emphasis on a justice mission deserve special attention because it provides a singularly important, atypical example of a mission-related, coherent initiative that could be taken throughout the entire university. Even though there is a difference in professional education compared to liberal arts education, the success of the Law Center in maintaining principles of academic freedom while operationalizing a justice mission provides guidance as to how a similar path might be developed on the Main Campus.  In particular, its emphasis on a clinical law program emphasizing outreach to the poor and disadvantaged, built around a strong curricular foundation, entailing faculty engagement as whole persons (i.e. their teaching and scholarship as well as service), and ultimately incorporating these concerns into the rank and tenure evaluation process, demonstrates that such a path is possible while maintaining the highest academic standards and reputation. 

Four other units in the university also deserve particular mention: Student Affairs, Campus Ministry, the Office of Special Programs, and the Office of Volunteer and Public Service.  Each of them sees justice work as being a critically important component of its work.  And, from a student perspective, programs offered in these offices  may play a powerful role in shaping the students’ college experience and their personal development.  Although each of these units has done substantial outreach to faculty to engage them in the co-curricular programs they offer, it remains the case that relatively few faculty contribute to the development work done by these four offices.