List of presidents of Georgetown University
Heads of Georgetown University
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.[2] The president of Georgetown University is its chief executive officer,[3] and from its establishment until the 1960s was also the rector of the university's Jesuit community.[4] 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,[3] known as the President and Directors of Georgetown College, which was first chartered by the United States Congress in 1815.[5]
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.[3] The president is among the 100 highest-paid university presidents in the United States.[6]
Of the 41 individuals to have held the office, nearly all have been Jesuits.[4] Only one has been a member of another religious order while president: Louis William Valentine DuBourg, who was a Sulpician.[7] Three presidents have gone on to become bishops: DuBourg,[7] Leonard Neale,[8] and Benedict Joseph Fenwick.[9] Every president has been a Catholic priest except one, John J. DeGioia.[4] Having assumed office on July 1, 2001,[10] DeGioia is the university's longest-serving president.[4] He stepped down on November 21, 2024.[11]
On October 15, 2025, Georgetown announced that Eduardo Peñalver would become the 49th president of the university, effective July 1, 2026.[12]
Presidents
| No. | Image | Name | Years | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Robert Plunkett SJ | 1791–1793 | [13] | |
| 2 |  |
Robert Molyneux SJ | 1793–1796 | Superior of the Jesuit Maryland Mission (1805–1808)[14] | [13] |
| 3 |  |
Louis William Valentine DuBourg PSS | 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).[7] | [13] |
| 4 |  |
Leonard Neale SJ | 1798–1806 | Coadjutor Bishop of Baltimore (1795–1815); Archbishop of Baltimore (1815–1817)[8] | [13] |
| 5 | |
Robert Molyneux SJ | 1806–1808 | [13] | |
| 6 |  |
Francis Neale SJ | 1808–1809 | Acting president | [13] |
| 7 | .jpg) |
William Matthews | 1809 | President of the Washington Seminary (1824–1848).[15] Georgetown alumnus.[16] Was a Jesuit novice only for the duration of his presidency.[15] | [13] |
| 8 | |
Francis Neale SJ | 1809–1812 | [13] | |
| 9 |  |
Giovanni Antonio Grassi SJ | 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).[17] Sometimes referred to as Georgetown's "second founder."[18] | [13] |
| 10 |  |
Benedict Joseph Fenwick SJ | 1817 | Bishop of Boston (1825–1846).[9] Georgetown alumnus.[19] | [13] |
| 11 |  |
Anthony Kohlmann SJ | 1817–1820 | Apostolic Administrator of New York (1810–1815); Superior of the Jesuit Maryland Mission (1817–1819);[20] President of the Washington Seminary (1820–1824).[21] | [13] |
| 12 | Enoch Fenwick SJ | 1820–1825 | Georgetown alumnus[22] | [13] | |
| 13 | |
Benedict Joseph Fenwick SJ | 1825 | Acting president | [13] |
| 14 |  |
Stephen Larigaudelle Dubuisson SJ | 1825–1826 | Georgetown alumnus[23] | [13] |
| 15 |  |
William Feiner SJ | 1826–1829 | [13] | |
| 16 |  |
John W. Beschter SJ | 1829 | [13] | |
| 17 |  |
Thomas F. Mulledy SJ | 1829–1838 | Provincial Superior of the Jesuit Maryland Province (1837–1840);[14] President of the College of the Holy Cross (1843–1845).[24] Georgetown alumnus.[25] | [13] |
| 18 |  |
William McSherry SJ | 1838–1839 | Provincial Superior of the Jesuit Maryland Province (1833–1837, 1839).[14] Georgetown alumnus.[26] | [13] |
| 19 |  |
Joseph A. Lopez SJ | 1839–1840 | Acting president. First Latin American college president in the United States.[27] | [13] |
| 20 | .jpg) |
James A. Ryder SJ | 1840–1845 | Provincial Superior of the Jesuit Maryland Province (1843–1845);[14] President of the College of the Holy Cross (1845–1848); President of Saint Joseph's College (1856–1857).[28] Georgetown alumnus.[29] | [13] |
| 21 |  |
Samuel Mulledy SJ | 1845 | Georgetown alumnus[30] | [13] |
| 22 | |
Thomas F. Mulledy SJ | 1845–1848 | [13] | |
| 23 | |
James A. Ryder SJ | 1848–1851 | [13] | |
| 24 |  |
Charles H. Stonestreet SJ | 1851–1852 | Provincial Superior of the Jesuit Maryland Province (1852–1858);[14] President of Gonzaga College (1858–1860).[31] Georgetown alumnus.[32] | [13] |
| 25 |  |
Bernard A. Maguire SJ | 1852–1858 | Georgetown alumnus[33] | [13] |
| 26 |  |
John Early SJ | 1858–1865 | President of the College of the Holy Cross (1848–1851); President of Loyola College in Maryland (1852–1858, 1866–1870).[34] Georgetown alumnus.[35] | [13] |
| 27 | |
Bernard A. Maguire SJ | 1866–1870 | [13] | |
| 28 | |
John Early SJ | 1870–1873 | [13] | |
| 29 |  |
Patrick Francis Healy SJ | 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.[36] Sometimes referred to as Georgetown's "second founder."[37] | [13] |
| 30 |  |
James A. Doonan SJ | 1882–1888 | Georgetown alumnus[38] | [13] |
| 31 |  |
J. Havens Richards SJ | 1888–1898 | [13] | |
| 32 |  |
John D. Whitney SJ | 1898–1901 | [39] | |
| 33 |  |
Jerome Daugherty SJ | 1901–1905 | [39] | |
| 34 |  |
David Hillhouse Buel SJ | 1905–1908 | [39] | |
| 35 |  |
Joseph J. Himmel SJ | 1908–1912 | Rector of St. Andrew-on-Hudson (1915–1921)[40] | [39] |
| 36 |  |
Alphonsus J. Donlon SJ | 1912–1918 | Georgetown alumnus[41] | [39] |
| 37 |  |
John B. Creeden SJ | 1918–1924 | [39] | |
| 38 |  |
Charles W. Lyons SJ | 1924–1928 | Rector of Gonzaga College (1908–1909); President of Saint Joseph's College (1909–1914); President of Boston College (1914–1919)[42] | [39] |
| 39 |  |
W. Coleman Nevils SJ | 1928–1935 | President of the University of Scranton (1942–1947)[43] | [39] |
| 40 |  |
Arthur A. O'Leary SJ | 1935–1942 | [39] | |
| 41 |  |
Lawrence C. Gorman SJ | 1942–1949 | [39] | |
| 42 |  |
J. Hunter Guthrie SJ | 1949–1952 | [39] | |
| 43 |  |
Edward B. Bunn SJ | 1952–1964 | President of Loyola College in Maryland (1938–1947)[44] | [45] |
| 44 |  |
Gerard J. Campbell SJ | 1964–1968 | [45] | |
| 45 |  |
Robert J. Henle SJ | 1969–1976 | [45] | |
| 46 |  |
Timothy S. Healy SJ | 1976–1989 | President of the New York Public Library (1989–1992)[46] | [45] |
| 47 | _cropped.jpg) |
Leo J. O'Donovan SJ | 1989–2001 | Georgetown alumnus[47] | [45] |
| 48 | _(cropped).jpg) |
John J. DeGioia | 2001–2024 | First lay president of a Jesuit university in the United States.[48] Georgetown alumnus.[4] | [49] |
| interim |  |
Robert Groves | 2024–2026 | Georgetown's Executive Vice President and Provost (2012–2024); 23rd Director of the United States Census Bureau (2009–2012) | [50] |
| incoming
49 |
Eduardo Peñalver | 2026 | President of Seattle University (2021–2026) | [51] |
