List of presidents of Georgetown University

Contents

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.[1] The president of Georgetown University is its chief executive officer,[2] and from its establishment until the 1960s was also the rector of the university's Jesuit community.[3] 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,[2] known as the President and Directors of Georgetown College, which was first chartered by the United States Congress in 1815.[4]

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.[2] The president is among the 100 highest-paid university presidents in the United States.[5]

Of the 41 individuals to have held the office, nearly all have been Jesuits.[3] Only one has been a member of another religious order while president: Louis William Valentine DuBourg, who was a Sulpician.[6] Three presidents have gone on to become bishops: DuBourg,[6] Leonard Neale,[7] and Benedict Joseph Fenwick.[8] Every president has been a Catholic priest except one, John J. DeGioia.[3] Having assumed office on July 1, 2001,[9] DeGioia is the university's longest-serving president.[3] He stepped down on November 21, 2024.[10]

On October 15, 2025, Georgetown announced that Eduardo Peñalver would become the 49th president of the university, effective July 1, 2026.[11]

Presidents

Key
SJSociety of Jesus
PSSSociety of the Priests of Saint Sulpice
Presidents
No.ImageNameYearsNotesRef.
1Robert Plunkett SJ1791 (1791)–1793[12]
2Robert Molyneux SJ1793–1796Superior of the Jesuit Maryland Mission (1805–1808)[13][12]
3Louis William Valentine DuBourg PSS1796–1798Founder 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).[6][12]
4Leonard Neale SJ1798–1806Coadjutor Bishop of Baltimore (1795–1815); Archbishop of Baltimore (1815–1817)[7][12]
5Robert Molyneux SJ1806–1808[12]
6Francis Neale SJ1808–1809Acting president[12]
7William Matthews1809President of the Washington Seminary (1824–1848).[14] Georgetown alumnus.[15] Was a Jesuit novice only for the duration of his presidency.[14][12]
8Francis Neale SJ1809–1812[12]
9Giovanni Antonio Grassi SJ1812–1817Superior 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).[16] Sometimes referred to as Georgetown's "second founder."[17][12]
10Benedict Joseph Fenwick SJ1817Bishop of Boston (1825–1846).[8] Georgetown alumnus.[18][12]
11Anthony Kohlmann SJ1817–1820Apostolic Administrator of New York (1810–1815); Superior of the Jesuit Maryland Mission (1817–1819);[19] President of the Washington Seminary (1820–1824).[20][12]
12Enoch Fenwick SJ1820–1825Georgetown alumnus[21][12]
13Benedict Joseph Fenwick SJ1825Acting president[12]
14Stephen Larigaudelle Dubuisson SJ1825–1826Georgetown alumnus[22][12]
15William Feiner SJ1826–1829[12]
16John W. Beschter SJ1829[12]
17Thomas F. Mulledy SJ1829–1838Provincial Superior of the Jesuit Maryland Province (1837–1840);[13] President of the College of the Holy Cross (1843–1845).[23] Georgetown alumnus.[24][12]
18William McSherry SJ1838–1839Provincial Superior of the Jesuit Maryland Province (1833–1837, 1839).[13] Georgetown alumnus.[25][12]
19Joseph A. Lopez SJ1839–1840Acting president. First Latin American college president in the United States.[26][12]
20James A. Ryder SJ1840–1845Provincial Superior of the Jesuit Maryland Province (1843–1845);[13] President of the College of the Holy Cross (1845–1848); President of Saint Joseph's College (1856–1857).[27] Georgetown alumnus.[28][12]
21Samuel Mulledy SJ1845Georgetown alumnus[29][12]
22Thomas F. Mulledy SJ1845–1848[12]
23James A. Ryder SJ1848–1851[12]
24Charles H. Stonestreet SJ1851–1852Provincial Superior of the Jesuit Maryland Province (1852–1858);[13] President of Gonzaga College (1858–1860).[30] Georgetown alumnus.[31][12]
25Bernard A. Maguire SJ1852–1858Georgetown alumnus[32][12]
26John Early SJ1858–1865President of the College of the Holy Cross (1848–1851); President of Loyola College in Maryland (1852–1858, 1866–1870).[33] Georgetown alumnus.[34][12]
27Bernard A. Maguire SJ1866–1870[12]
28John Early SJ1870–1873[12]
29Patrick Francis Healy SJ1873–1882Self-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.[35] Sometimes referred to as Georgetown's "second founder."[36][12]
30James A. Doonan SJ1882–1888Georgetown alumnus[37][12]
31J. Havens Richards SJ1888–1898[12]
32John D. Whitney SJ1898–1901[38]
33Jerome Daugherty SJ1901–1905[38]
34David Hillhouse Buel SJ1905–1908[38]
35Joseph J. Himmel SJ1908–1912Rector of St. Andrew-on-Hudson (1915–1921)[39][38]
36Alphonsus J. Donlon SJ1912–1918Georgetown alumnus[40][38]
37John B. Creeden SJ1918–1924[38]
38Charles W. Lyons SJ1924–1928Rector of Gonzaga College (1908–1909); President of Saint Joseph's College (1909–1914); President of Boston College (1914–1919)[41][38]
39W. Coleman Nevils SJ1928–1935President of the University of Scranton (1942–1947)[42][38]
40Arthur A. O'Leary SJ1935–1942[38]
41Lawrence C. Gorman SJ1942–1949[38]
42J. Hunter Guthrie SJ1949–1952[38]
43Edward B. Bunn SJ1952–1964President of Loyola College in Maryland (1938–1947)[43][44]
44Gerard J. Campbell SJ1964–1968[44]
45Robert J. Henle SJ1969–1976[44]
46Timothy S. Healy SJ1976–1989President of the New York Public Library (1989–1992)[45][44]
47Leo J. O'Donovan SJ1989–2001Georgetown alumnus[46][44]
48John J. DeGioia2001–2024First lay president of a Jesuit university in the United States.[47] Georgetown alumnus.[3][48]
interimRobert Groves2024–2026Georgetown's Executive Vice President and Provost (2012–2024); 23rd Director of the United States Census Bureau (2009–2012)[49]
49Eduardo Peñalver2026President of Seattle University (2021–2026)[50]

References

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