Georgetown President John DeGioia Steps Down after 23 Years of Service
By • November 25, 2024 0 10
Georgetown University’s long-time president John DeGioia announced on Nov. 21 that he would be stepping down from his role and transitioning to the status of President Emeritus. After 23 years of service to the university—longer than most members of the graduating class of 2025 have been alive—Georgetown’s longest-serving president to date ultimately arrived at this difficult decision as a means of prioritizing his health following a stroke on June 5.
“Serving as the President of Georgetown has been the privilege of my lifetime,” DeGioia said in a letter addressed to the members of the Georgetown University community last week.
In the letter, DeGioia muses on Georgetown’s steadfast commitments to service, the pursuit of truth, and to upholding its Jesuit values in addition to thanking those who have championed his recovery over the past few months.
“On behalf of myself and my family, I offer our deepest appreciation for the messages and prayers of support during this time,” DeGioia wrote. “I look forward to being with you again in the future.”
A recipient of two Georgetown degrees—an undergraduate degree in English in 1979 and a Ph.D. in philosophy in 1995—”double-Hoya” John DeGioia held a number of faculty positions at his alma mater before becoming the university’s 48th president on July 1, 2001. Over the course of his presidency, DeGioia has overseen a number of new initiatives, including the creation of the Georgetown Scholars Program (GSP) for first-generation, low-income (FGLI) students in 2004 and the McCourt School of Public Policy in 2013 just to name a few.
Georgetown has also strived to fortify its relationships with international Catholic and Jesuit communities and to become a more inclusive place for students to learn during DeGioia’s tenure; Georgetown opened the first LGBTQ Resource center at a Catholic institution of higher education in 2008 and the first Disability Cultural Center at a Catholic and Jesuit university in 2023. Furthermore, over the past 10 years, DeGioia has helped Georgetown take an important series of first steps with regards to both acknowledging and taking accountability for the university’s historical role in the institution of slavery.
“In many settings over the years, I have shared with you the great hope I have for the future of this University and how we will continue to be ever more true to our mission and purpose,” DeGioia wrote. “This responsibility is one that each of us shares by virtue of our membership in this community. All of us can find reassurance in knowing that we share in this work together and that, over many generations, we have built the type of community that will enable Georgetown to thrive for years to come.”
Having fulfilled the responsibilities of the presidency since DeGioia’s stroke, Provost Robert M. Groves will assume the position of Georgetown University’s interim president. Georgetown’s Board of Directors aims to finalize their selection of a new president by July 1, 2026, at the latest.
“None of us wanted President DeGioia’s service as president to end this way,” Groves wrote in his letter addressed to the members of the university community on Nov. 22. “Georgetown will forever be in his debt. Over multiple decades, he led the transformation of Georgetown into the prominent, dynamic, global research university of today. And so, it is with some measure of regret that we take on these new responsibilities.”
A new interim provost has not yet been announced, but, according to a statement from Thomas A. Reynolds III—the Chair of the Georgetown Board of Directors—on Nov. 21, Groves’s decision will be made “in the days ahead.” In the same letter, Reynolds also revealed the Board’s plans to formally honor DeGioia’s decades-long commitment to Georgetown sometime soon.
“We will announce plans to celebrate his presidency at a later date and look forward to reflecting on the transformational role that Jack has played in our community over these many years,” Reynolds wrote in his Nov. 21 letter addressed to the members of the Georgetown University community.
For those wanting to express their gratitude for President DeGioia’s service and their well-wishes for his ongoing recovery, Georgetown University has opened a Google form where community members can send DeGioia written messages and a DropBox folder where members are encouraged to upload short videos of thanks.
