Senior Advising Dean Recognized for 20 Years of Service

April 12, 2016—Georgetown held the annual Spring Faculty Convocation on April 5, where 55 faculty and staff members were recognized for 20 years of service to the university. Among the recipients was Georgetown College Senior Associate Dean Thomas Chiarolanzio, who currently oversees advising for first-year and sophomore College students. 

Chiarolanzio, along with several other members of the College community, received the Gold Vicennial Medal, which honors full-time members of Georgetown’s faculty and academic staff.

Originally from New Jersey, Chiarolanzio earned a master’s degree in higher and adult education from Teachers College of Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Gettysburg College. Before coming to Georgetown, he held positions in the admissions office at Drew University and in the undergraduate dean’s office at Columbia College and the School of Engineering at Columbia University.

Within the College, Chiarolanzio coordinates academic programming for the incoming first-year College class, including the highly successful Ignatius Seminar Program. He has also served on the University Honor Council and has chaired the working group for the Scholarly Research and Academic Integrity tutorial. He served as the advisor to the College Academic Council for 10 years and the advisor to the George F. Baker Scholars Program for more than five years. He also sits on numerous university working groups and has presented at various conferences. 

Throughout his time at the College, Chiarolanzio has advised more than 1,000 students—something that is central to his dedication to the university.

“Our students are smart, caring, motivated, engaged, and wanting to make the world a better place. I am so lucky to have the privilege of welcoming new students each year to Georgetown,” he said. “I get to witness their intellectual and personal growth. I get to have an impact on their development. I am never more proud than when I get to shake the hands of my students when they walk across the commencement stage.” 

Chiarolanzio’s enthusiasm comes through to the students who work with him. 

“Dean Chiarolanzio—or Dean C as students know him—takes a genuine personal interest in each and every one of the lives of the students and community members that have crossed his path,” said government major and Baker Scholar Connor Bellows (C ’16). “As someone who has known him in different capacities since my freshman year, I find myself lucky to call him both my mentor and my friend. Georgetown truly would not be the same without our Dean C—he has forever changed our community for the better.”

Chiarolanzio credits his colleagues and mentors in the dean’s office for helping him to keep learning through the years. “From Dean Gillis to the College advising deans to the staff, everyone makes coming to work everyday a joy,” he said.

“Twenty years may seem like long time to spend in one place. But it’s easy when you are doing something you love.” 

Related Information

The Office of the Dean congratulates the following additional Georgetown College 2016 Gold Vicennial Medalists (many of whom appear in the above video): 

• Carol Benedict, Department of History
• Angel de Dios, Department of Chemistry
• Ian Gale, Department of Economics
• Alison Games, Department of History
• Diana Glick, Department of Chemistry
• Stephen King, Department of Government
• Rodney Ludema, Department of Economics (joint appointment with SFS)
• Olga Meerson, Department of Slavic Languages
• Mark Murphy, Department of Philosophy
• Douglas Reed, Department of Government
• Ronda Rolfes, Department of Biology
• Alissa Webel, Department of French
• Martha Weiss, Department of Biology
• Alejandro Yarra, Department of Spanish and Portuguese
• Jingyuan Zhang, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures

At Convocation, Georgetown also recognized 10 distinguished university donors for their commitment to the university’s academic enterprise. A full list is available online.

Video by Georgetown University’s Office of Communications.