List of presidents of Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States that was founded as Georgetown College by Bishop John Carroll of Baltimore in 1789. The president of Georgetown University is its chief executive officer, and from its establishment until the 1960s was also the rector of the university's Jesuit community. The president is elected by and may be removed by the university's board of directors, and is ex officio a member of the board. The president is also one of five members of the university's legal corporation, known as the President and Directors of Georgetown College, which was first chartered by the United States Congress in 1815.
The president is charged with control over the "business affairs and properties" of the university, and appoints the vice presidents and administrators and, with the concurrence of the board, appoints the provost, secretary, and treasurer of the university. The president may remove any officer, vice president, or administrator by his accord, except the provost, secretary, and treasurer, which require the concurrence of the board. If the office is vacant, then the powers of the presidency are exercised by the provost. The president is among the 100 highest-paid university presidents in the United States.
Of the 41 individuals to have held the office, nearly all have been Jesuits. Only one has been a member of another religious order while president: Louis William Valentine DuBourg, who was a Sulpician. Three presidents have gone on to become bishops: DuBourg, Leonard Neale, and Benedict Joseph Fenwick. Every president has been a Catholic priest except one, the current president, John J. DeGioia. Having assumed office on July 1, 2001, DeGioia is the university's longest-serving president.
Presidents
| SJ | Society of Jesus |
|---|---|
| PSS | Society of the Priests of Saint Sulpice |
| No. | Name | Years | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Plunkett | 1791–1793 | ||
| 2 | Robert Molyneux | 1793–1796 | Superior of the Jesuit Maryland Mission (1805–1808) | |
| 3 | Louis William Valentine DuBourg | 1796–1798 | Founder and President of St. Mary's College (1799–1810); Bishop of Louisiana and the Two Floridas (1815–1826); Bishop of Montauban (1826–1833); Archbishop of Besançon (1833). | |
| 4 | Leonard Neale | 1798–1806 | Coadjutor Bishop of Baltimore (1795–1815); Archbishop of Baltimore (1815–1817) | |
| 5 | Robert Molyneux | 1806–1808 | ||
| 6 | Francis Neale | 1808–1809 | Acting president | |
| 7 | William Matthews | 1809 | President of the Washington Seminary (1824–1848). Georgetown alumnus. Was a Jesuit novice only for the duration of his presidency. | |
| 8 | Francis Neale | 1809–1812 | ||
| 9 | Giovanni Antonio Grassi | 1812–1817 | Superior of the Jesuit Maryland Mission (1812–1817); Provincial Superior of the Jesuit Province of Turin (1831–1835); Rector of the Pontificio Collegio Urbano de Propaganda Fide (1840–1842). Sometimes referred to as Georgetown's "second founder." | |
| 10 | Benedict Joseph Fenwick | 1817 | Bishop of Boston (1825–1846). Georgetown alumnus. | |
| 11 | Anthony Kohlmann | 1817–1820 | Apostolic Administrator of New York (1810–1815); Superior of the Jesuit Maryland Mission (1817–1819); President of the Washington Seminary (1820–1824). | |
| 12 | Enoch Fenwick | 1820–1825 | Georgetown alumnus | |
| 13 | Benedict Joseph Fenwick | 1825 | Acting president | |
| 14 | Stephen Larigaudelle Dubuisson | 1825–1826 | Georgetown alumnus | |
| 15 | William Feiner | 1826–1829 | ||
| 16 | John W. Beschter | 1829 | ||
| 17 | Thomas F. Mulledy | 1829–1838 | Provincial Superior of the Jesuit Maryland Province (1837–1840); President of the College of the Holy Cross (1843–1845). Georgetown alumnus. | |
| 18 | William McSherry | 1838–1839 | Provincial Superior of the Jesuit Maryland Province (1833–1837, 1839). Georgetown alumnus. | |
| 19 | Joseph A. Lopez | 1839–1840 | Acting president. First Latin American college president in the United States. | |
| 20 | James A. Ryder | 1840–1845 | Provincial Superior of the Jesuit Maryland Province (1843–1845); President of the College of the Holy Cross (1845–1848); President of Saint Joseph's College (1856–1857). Georgetown alumnus. | |
| 21 | Samuel Mulledy | 1845 | Georgetown alumnus | |
| 22 | Thomas F. Mulledy | 1845–1848 | ||
| 23 | James A. Ryder | 1848–1851 | ||
| 24 | Charles H. Stonestreet | 1851–1852 | Provincial Superior of the Jesuit Maryland Province (1852–1858); President of Gonzaga College (1858–1860). Georgetown alumnus. | |
| 25 | Bernard A. Maguire | 1852–1858 | Georgetown alumnus | |
| 26 | John Early | 1858–1865 | President of the College of the Holy Cross (1848–1851); President of Loyola College in Maryland (1852–1858, 1866–1870). Georgetown alumnus. | |
| 27 | Bernard A. Maguire | 1866–1870 | ||
| 28 | John Early | 1870–1873 | ||
| 29 | Patrick Francis Healy | 1873–1882 | Self-identified as white but posthumously recognized as the first black American to become a Jesuit, earn a Ph.D. and become the president of a predominantly white American university. Sometimes referred to as Georgetown's "second founder." | |
| 30 | James A. Doonan | 1882–1888 | Georgetown alumnus | |
| 31 | J. Havens Richards | 1888–1898 | ||
| 32 | John D. Whitney | 1898–1901 | ||
| 33 | Jerome Daugherty | 1901–1905 | ||
| 34 | David Hillhouse Buel | 1905–1908 | ||
| 35 | Joseph J. Himmel | 1908–1912 | Rector of St. Andrew-on-Hudson (1915–1921) | |
| 36 | Alphonsus J. Donlon | 1912–1918 | Georgetown alumnus | |
| 37 | John B. Creeden | 1918–1924 | ||
| 38 | Charles W. Lyons | 1924–1928 | Rector of Gonzaga College (1908–1909); President of Saint Joseph's College (1909–1914); President of Boston College (1914–1919) | |
| 39 | W. Coleman Nevils | 1928–1935 | President of the University of Scranton (1942–1947) | |
| 40 | Arthur A. O'Leary | 1935–1942 | ||
| 41 | Lawrence C. Gorman | 1942–1949 | ||
| 42 | J. Hunter Guthrie | 1949–1952 | ||
| 43 | Edward B. Bunn | 1952–1964 | President of Loyola College in Maryland (1938–1947) | |
| 44 | Gerard J. Campbell | 1964–1968 | ||
| 45 | Robert J. Henle | 1969–1976 | ||
| 46 | Timothy S. Healy | 1976–1989 | President of the New York Public Library (1989–1992) | |
| 47 | Leo J. O'Donovan | 1989–2001 | Georgetown alumnus | |
| 48 | John J. DeGioia | 2001–present | First lay president of a Jesuit university in the United States. Georgetown alumnus. |