Into the 21st Century

In 2001, John DeGioia took over as the first lay president of a Jesuit university. After graduating from Georgetown in 1979, DeGioia remained a part of the Georgetown community as a professor and administrator and is now Georgetown's longest serving president. Under his leadership, the university has expressed a more global focus in the last couple decades with partnerships around the world and the establishment of an international campus in Qatar in 2005.

The 21st century at Georgetown has also seen efforts to better live up to John Carroll's vision of an exceptionally inclusive Catholic school. The Georgetown Scholarship Program began providing financial assistance and a supportive community for low-income, first generation, and non-traditional students. Today, about 10% of Georgeotwn's undergraduate population is in GSP. In 2008, Georgetown responded to repeated instances of hate crimes against gay students on campus by opening an LGBTQ Resource Center. It is the first and only center of its kind at a Catholic university.

On campus, the early years of DeGioia's presidency saw the development of the west side of campus with the construction of a new dorm known as the "Southwest Quad," a new Jesuit residence, and a dining hall named after previous president, Fr. Leo O'Donovan. The McDonough School of Business (MSB) found a new home in the Hariri Building which was funded by Georgetown alum and Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri. The sciences outgrew their quarters in the Reiss Building and found a new home in 2012 in Regents Hall, designed to be uniquely interdisciplinary and environmentally friendly.

One of the most recent additions to Georgetown's campus is Arrupe Hall. Opened in 2016, this residence hall is named after Pedro Arrupe, Superior General of the Society of Jesus from 1965 to 1983. Arrupe reoriented the Jesuits' mission toward the pursuit of social justice. As a result, students at Jesuit schools like Georgetown are urged to use the knowledge they gain in the classroom to become women and men for others. A photograph of Pedro Arrupe's visit to Georgetown's campus can be found inside on a commemorative plaque. The architecture of Arrupe Hall, in many ways, represents a synthesis of Georgetown's history. The gray cobblestone can be seen as a nod to the neo-gothic and romanesque style of Healy, White-Gravenor, and Copley. The brick matches many buildings of the mid to late twentieth century like the Leavey Center and the ICC. And the glass seems to symbolize the future and things to come for Georgetown.

The layout and architecture of Georgetown's campus tells many stories - stories about religion, country, slavery, war, peace, money, modernity, diversity, counterculture, tradition, change, and many more. Together, the buildings on Georgetown's campus create a mosaic - a mosaic that uniquely animates the Spirit of Georgetown - and a mosaic that is not finished. While the tour is over, the story does not end here. Georgetown has a vision for the future of its campus and you can learn more about it here.

PLAY VIDEO

Thank you for visiting Georgeotwn University.

GEORGETOWN TODAY

Learn more about Global Engagement here.

Learn more about the Qatar campus here.

Learn more about the Georgetown Scholarship Program here.

Learn more about the LGBTQ Resource Center here.

Learn more about the Campus Plan here.