Title: The ‘Encourager’ Who Runs Graduate and Undergraduate Programs and Still Finds Time to ‘Break’ It Down

Robert Lyons’ (G’26) mission in life is to be an “encourager.”

At church, he holds the unofficial title of “chief encouragement officer.” At Georgetown, where he’s worked since 2011, Lyons is an indispensable resource and motivator for students, faculty and staff in the Asian Studies program as the director of academic programs and operations.

“I want students to be able to get a job or pursue grad school after they graduate,” Lyons said. “I want my faculty and fellow staff members to thrive in their work. I lead with encouragement, empathy and humility, because we’re better together.”

Lyons oversees the M.A. in Asian Studies degree and Asian Studies’ undergraduate and graduate certificate programs. He also serves as the department’s primary contact for all current and prospective students, from course planning to recruitment, and facilitates program operations and collaborations.

He has been with the M.A. program from day one, starting as its first coordinator in 2011. His background was perfect for the job.

“My family lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for a couple of years while I was growing up,” Lyons said. “That area has a large Chinese-American population, which I found to be very influential in my early life. I started learning Mandarin Chinese as an undergrad at Augustana College and spent a month at Peking University in Beijing, China. After I graduated, I moved to Wuhan.”

Lyons spent a year teaching English at Central China Normal University in Wuhan, China, before returning to the U.S. to earn his master’s in China studies and international economics from Johns Hopkins University. There, he also worked as a program assistant for the Office of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the School of Advanced International Studies before joining Georgetown.

While supporting 400-plus graduate students over the years, Lyons found the time to pursue another degree and explore new hobbies. Lyons earned his Doctor of Liberal Studies from the School of Continuing Studies in July, focusing on Christianity in U.S.-China relations, and recently started learning breakdancing.

Learn why Lyons built his first postgraduate job into a career and how Georgetown has taken him around the globe.

One of my first jobs was a sugary introduction to service: My hometown of Knoxville, Iowa, is known as the “Sprint Car Capital of the World.” My mom is part of the Rotary Club there, and so growing up I helped her with the pie and ice cream concession tent at the races. We helped represent the best of the Midwest and our hospitality. I really feel like I get to help live that service out in a different way in my job now, by helping students, faculty, staff and colleagues.

Living and teaching in China challenged my perspective: In many ways, it was an adjustment going from living in Rock Island, Illinois to Wuhan, China. One of the things that surprised me the most was that some of the media and cultural narratives in the U.S. don’t necessarily portray some of the realities of life in the country. I was really impressed with how much my students knew about U.S. culture and religion, for example. Even 18 years ago, the country was very modern and high-tech, and its advancements have grown since then.

My favorite part of my job is: Working with the students. Getting to encourage and be of support to them is really valuable. I’ve gotten to work with over 400 master’s students over the years, in addition to the many students who earn our undergraduate and graduate certificates or take courses in our department.

It’s very gratifying to stay in touch with alumni and see where they go after they leave our program. Sometimes they’ll reach out to reconnect. I’ve also been walking around in DC, run into somebody and reconnected with them that way.

The Asian Studies program has taken me across the globe: I’ve been to a lot of different locations with Georgetown: throughout mainland China; Hong Kong; Taipei, Taiwan; Tokyo, Japan; Seoul, South Korea; Jakarta, Indonesia; Bangkok, Thailand; Sydney and Melbourne, Australia; and throughout the U.S. and Canada.

The bulk of my travel was pretty early on in my tenure, because we were introducing this new master’s program around the world. I also get to help recruit for our other SFS graduate programs, and we’re quite collaborative in our approach, so I’ve attended different graduate fairs and visited many universities worldwide.

My doctoral program helped me see Georgetown in a new light: For me, it was a great opportunity to really engage in scholarship and to have an appreciation for the research we do as a university community. It also gave me more compassion for what we do, the challenges and opportunities, and I think it helped me improve my skill set as an advisor. It was just a dream to be able to pursue this degree.

One word that comes to mind when I think of Georgetown: Relationships. It’s incredible just how many people I’ve gotten to work with over the years, whether they’ve been at the university continuously or have come and gone, or even returned. I’m just really grateful for all the folks I’ve gotten to know. Everyone is gifted in different ways, and I enjoy getting to learn about the expertise and gifts of others in my role.

My desk trinkets remind me of my Georgetown community: I’ve kept with me many gifts from students and colleagues over the years. After I graduated with my doctorate earlier this year, I received a bobblehead of myself in doctoral robes that says “Dr. Lyons” from colleagues in Asian Studies and Global Human Development. 

I also have this crystal set of hands with a globe from the MASIA Class of 2020 that reads, “Thank you for always holding us up.”

Outside of work, you’ll find me at a concert: One of my biggest hobbies is attending concerts. I recently saw the Korean K-pop group BTS. I’ve gone to around 65 concerts across genres in the past nine years: Janet Jackson, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, Jake Shimabukuro, Lionel Ritchie, Earth, Wind & Fire, Shania Twain and many more.

… or at the gym, or maybe breakdancing: I’ve also been part of a CrossFit gym for eight years, and it’s been a great source of community. I appreciate the supportive environment, no matter your level.

I recently took up breaking, also known as breakdancing. There’s a breaking studio in DC that I’ve started to get involved with — but I’m not quitting my day job! People hear that I’m getting into breaking and go, “You could be in the Olympics!” That’s not my goal. I’m just trying something new and different that’s a celebration of life.

To me, CrossFit and Chinese are very similar: Chinese is a tonal language, and if you say the tone incorrectly, people will have a harder time understanding you. In CrossFit, if your form and technique is off, you can get really hurt. I appreciate that my gym pays a lot of attention to proper training.