WASHINGTON – "Think About It: An Afternoon of Ideas,” part of a weekend celebration of the university’s new capital campaign, brought a host of high-profile panelists to campus on Friday to talk about Arab Spring, health disparities, innovation and other topics.

For Generations to Come: The Campaign for Georgetown seeks to raise $1.5 billion for scholarships, faculty recruitment, research and innovation and other priorities to ensure that the university continues its long tradition of excellence and impact in the world.

 Such luminaries as Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Hoya basketball legend Alonzo Mourning (C’92) and former lieutenant governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend joined Georgetown experts on six panels throughout the afternoon.

 Opening the session was seven-time NBA All-Star Alonzo Mourning (C’92), now chair of the Alonzo Mourning Charities, Inc.

 Mourning welcomed the group of Georgetown alumni and people in attendance to a place he called home. He said that this campaign would build on the rich traditions that were started in 1789 and that in doing so, issues would be discussed that will shape this campaign for generations to come.

 “Adversity introduces a man to himself,” Mourning said. “This is something I quickly learned through my life’s journey as I tried to reach what I defined as personal success. I think everyone here has personal successes, what they define as success, whether it be making a team, getting that job you wanted, winning a game, possibly even losing a couple of pounds, which I’ve learned since I retired is a little more challenging.”

 The retired NBA great said service, preparation and relationship have kept him balanced in life.

 “We cannot grow by ourselves at all,” he said to an audience of Georgetown alumni and others. “This university has been stimulating growth since 1789 … and it all starts with giving, it all starts with you.”

 After Mourning’s talk, President John J. DeGioia moderated a conversation on “Profit and Play” with Men’s Basketball Head Coach John Thompson III and former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue (C’62), chair of Georgetown’s board of directors.

 The panel discussion focused on several topics, starting with the Georgetown basketball team’s trip to China this summer.

 “We have a very young team this year,” Thompson said. “So as a coach, if we were going to take foreign trip, this was it. The opportunity to go to Asia was something that excited me, so selfishly, it was great. Thinking not from just the Georgetown perspective, but also to try and grow and become the most popular team in China and to grow our brand, it made sense. There are as many people that play basketball in China that there are in the United States. The sheer numbers as a basketball coach, it made sense.”

 Among other topics, Tagliabue and Thompson discussed the changing nature of sports at the intercollegiate and amateur level, whether student-athletes should be paid, working within the subset of NCAA rules, developing relationships, the need to reconsider the structure of governance and conference realignment.

 “I think that the model in and of itself is going through an evolution,” Thompson said of the pressure to maintain the intercollegiate model. “Is there pressure to maintain it as it currently exists? Absolutely, on different fronts. Whether it’s the governance and how we can go about running a program and running an athletic department, coupled with the attention that is, as of late, going into the sheer dollars that are being pumped into intercollegiate athletics. It causes you to look at what the primary responsibilities of intercollegiate athletics, which is education. We have to totally re-evaluate every aspect of intercollegiate athletics and how it’s governed.”

 Before closing, DeGioia asked Thompson about his thoughts on the Hoyas this year as the season draws closer.

 “I’m probably as excited about this year starting as I have been about the last couple of years,” Thompson said. “You have a four-year window and then you get a different group. One of the things that always excites me is that every year you get a whole new group. I am excited about working with this group. They are eager, willing and they’re talented.

 “No matter how hard practices are, how trying the Bayi Rockets were, there’s nothing like life in the BIG EAST. I’m extremely excited about this group and hopefully we’ll win more than A game. They get me excited to come into the gym.”