Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a Catholic university in Georgetown, a neighborhood of Washington, DC. It is both the oldest Roman Catholic and Jesuit university in the United States of America, having been founded on January 23, 1789 by Archbishop John Carroll. Today, it is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.
The University
Recognized as one of the most prestigious universities in the world, Georgetown University currently has 1,100 full-time and 330 part-time faculty spread across its three campuses. As of 2002-03, there were 6,332 full-time and part-time undergraduate students, 3,768 full-time and part-time graduate students on the Main Campus, 2,043 students at the Law Center and 713 students in the Medical School.
Georgetown is one of the most selective universities in the United States: its overall undergraduate acceptance rate as of 2005 was 20%, and many of the graduate programs, particularly in the Law Center and Medical School, are similarly competitive. The undergraduate schools maintain an Early Action admissions program. According to admissions fact sheets, applicants applying to Georgetown typically consider similarly prominent institutions such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Duke, and the University of Chicago during their application and subsequent enrollment periods.
Prominent student organizations include Georgetown University College Democrats, the Philodemic Society, a debating group; The Georgetown International Relations Club, The Georgetown University Men's Club Lacrosse Team, Mask & Bauble, the oldest continually operating student theater group in the country, and the Georgetown University Grilling Society (GUGS) an organization devoted to bringing the campus community together with their weekly cookouts and, of course, the famous GUGS burger.
Student newspapers
Georgetown University has three student newspapers.
- The Hoya is the university's oldest newspaper. It has been in print since 1920, and since 1987 has published twice weekly. Nick Timiraos is editor in chief.
- The Georgetown Voice is published weekly. Its editor in chief is Bailey Somers.
- The Georgetown Independent in published monthly. Its editor in chief is Doug Curran.
Campus
Georgetown University Law Center
Situated upon a hill overlooking the rest of Washington, DC and a stone's throw from the Potomac River, Georgetown University's Main Campus, with its classically collegiate ivy-covered buildings, fountains, cemetaries, open quadrangles, and picturesque groves of flowers and trees, has been described as one of the most beautiful college settings on the East Coast.
The Main campus, center of Georgetown student life and intellectual activity, is just-over 100 acres (400,000 m²) in size. Within that space, the University counts 58+ buildings, student residences capable of accommodating a large portion of the student body, and diverse athletic facilities. In Fall 2003, the Southwest Quadrangle Project was completed. This project brought a 784-bed student dorm, an expansive cafeteria, an underground parking facility, and new Jesuit Residence to the campus. Slated for completion in 2005 is a new performing Performing Arts Center; longer term projects include the building of an internal business school campus and the construction of a Unified Sciences Center.
The Main Campus is approximately two miles from the White House, and four miles from the United States Capitol building. The main gates, more commonly known as the Healy Gates, are located at the intersection of 37th and O Streets, NW. A majority of undergraduates live on campus in several dormitories and apartment complexes, though a minority lives off-campus in the surrounding neighborhoods - Georgetown to the east and Burleith to the north - and a few reside further away. As of Fall 2004, a limited number of dormitory rooms are available for graduate students, but most still reside off-campus.
The Medical School is located on a property adjacent to the northwestern part of the Main Campus on Reservoir Road. All students in the Medical School live off campus, most in the surrounding neighborhoods, though some live in Dupont Circle and elsewhere.
The Law Center is located downtown on New Jersey Avenue, near Union Station. Some first-year students at the Law Center live in a single on-campus dormitory. Most second-year and third-year students, as well as some first-year students, live off-campus. As there is little housing nearby, most are spread throughout the Washington metropolitan area.
History
The founding date is the subject of some controversy, as construction on the buildings began in 1788, the first student was admitted in 1791, and classes commenced in early 1792. The official date is that of when the Jesuit order acquired the title to the land that became the core of the campus. Moreover, despite the institution's Jesuit history, it should be noted that the religious order was under prohibition or suppression during the period of Georgetown's founding, and was restored only in the early 19th century.
Georgetown College suffered from continual financial difficulties during its early years, but was bolstered when it received a federal charter in 1815. The Medical School was founded in 1850, and the Law Department (now Law Center) in 1870. The school nearly collapsed during the U.S. Civil War, as most of the students left to fight for both sides. After the war, students chose to commemorate the actions of their predecessors by adopting blue and gray as the official school colors. The school did not begin to recover until the presidency of Reverend Patrick Healy, S.J. (1868-1878), the first African-American to head an American university. Healy is credited with reforming the undergraduate curriculum and the Medical and Law programs, as well as creating the Alumni Association.
The School of Nursing was founded in 1903. The School of Foreign Service (SFS) was founded in 1919 by Father Walsh in response to the need for institutions to train American youth for leadership in foreign commerce and diplomacy. The School of Languages and Linguistics (now Faculty of Languages and Linguistics) was organized in 1949. The Georgetown School of Business was organized out of the SFS in 1955. It was renamed for Robert E. McDonough in 1999.
In December 2003, Georgetown completed its Third Century Campaign, joining only a handful of universities worldwide to raise at least $1 billion dollars for financial aid, chair endowment, and new capital projects.
In the Fall of the 2004 semester, Georgetown announced the appointment of former-CIA director George Tenet to the University teaching staff. Tenet joined other distinguished Georgetown faculty including former National Security Advisor Anthony Lake, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick, former Ambassador at Large Robert L. Gallucci, and former Prime Minister of Spain Jose Maria Aznar.
Academics
Bachelors, master's, and doctoral programs are offered through the Georgetown College, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the Robert Emmett McDonough School of Business, the famed
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, the venerable
Law Center, the selective School of Medicine, the School of Nursing and Health Studies, the School for Summer and Continuing Education, and the Center for Professional Development.
Majors and certificates
Georgetown University offers undergraduate degrees in 48 different majors in the four undergraduate schools, as well as offering opportunities for students to design their own individualized courses of study.
All majors in the College are currently open to students in the College and the School of Business as minors, as are certain other fields, including Catholic Studies, Culture and Politics, Environmental Studies, Justice and Peace Studies, Medieval Studies, Social and Political Thought and Women's Studies. Students in the College and School of Foreign Service may complete certificate programs in African Studies, Arab Studies, Asian Studies, Australian and New Zealand Studies, European Studies, International Business Diplomacy (SFS only), Justice & Peace Studies (SFS only), Latin American Studies, Medieval Studies (SFS only), Muslim-Christian Understanding, Russian, Eurasian and East European Studies, Science, Technology and International Affairs (College only), Social and Political Thought (SFS only) and Women's Studies (SFS only).
Georgetown College - Bachelor of Arts
View of Healy Hall and New South Hall from across the Potomac River in 1999
Georgetown College - Bachelor of Science
The STIA program is the first of its kind. Harvard and Georgia Tech, among others, now have STIA programs as well.
McDonough School of Business
School of Nursing and Health Studies
Sports
The school's sports teams are called the Hoyas. Many years ago, students well-versed in the classical languages invented the mixed Greek and Latin chant of "Hoya Saxa," translating roughly as "What Rocks," in reference to both the stalwart defense of the football team and the stone wall that surrounded the campus. ('Hoia' is Greek for 'what' or 'what a,' and 'saxa' is Latin for 'rocks.')
When The Hoya newspaper was founded in 1920, the sports teams were called the Hilltoppers. Writers for the school newspaper began calling the teams the Hoyas. Local press covering Georgetown picked up on the new name and eventually the athletic department officially adopted the name as well.
The mascot of Georgetown athletics programs is "Jack the Bulldog." The teams participate in the NCAA's Division I. Most sports teams compete in the Big East Conference, though the football team competes in the Division I-AA Patriot League.
Intercollegiate men's sports include baseball, basketball, crew, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis and track and field. Intercollegiate women's sports include basketball, crew, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. There is also a co-ed sailing team.
The Men's Basketball team, the most successful and well-known sports program at the university, won the NCAA championship in 1984 under coach John Thompson. The current coach is his son, John Thompson III, who took over from the unpopular Craig Esherick.
Famous alumni
Legend
- B - Business
- C - College
- DDS - Dental School
- G - Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
- L - Law Center
- M - School of Medicine
- MPP - Masters Degree (Institute of Public Policy)
- MSFS - School of Foreign Service (graduate)
- SFS - School of Foreign Service (undergraduate)
- SLL- School of Language and Linguistics (now Faculty of Languages and Linguistics)
- SSCE - School of Summer and Continuing Education
Law, government, and politics
- Thomas Ambro (C'1972, L'1975) - Judge, United States Court of Appeals
- Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, (SFS'1968) - president of the Philippines
- William W. Belknap (L'1851) - U.S. Secretary of War (deceased)
- Pat Buchanan, (C'1961), advisor to Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan, nationally syndicated political pundit, a regular on The McLaughlin Group
- George Cortelyou, (L'1895), Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Commerce and Labor, and Postmaster General (deceased)
- Alfredo Cristiani (B'1968) - former president of El Salvador
- Bill Clinton (SFS'1968) - 42nd President of the United States
- Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. (L'1979) - director, Office of Management and Budget
- Robert Gates (G'1974) - former director of the Central Intelligence Agency
- Gen. James L. Jones (F'1966) - commandant, U.S. Marine Corps
- Mickey Kantor, (L'1968) - former Secretary of Commerce
- Franklin L. Lavin (SFS'1979, G'1985) - Ambassador to Singapore
- John Lynch-Staunton (C'1953) - Canadian politician, first leader of the Conservative Party of Canada
- Terry McAuliffe (L'1984) - Chairman, Democratic National Committee
- Mike McCurry (G'1985) - Press Secretary for Pres. Bill Clinton
- William McDonough (G'1962) - president and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
- Marc Morial (L'1983) - mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana
- Andrew Natsios, (C'1971) - administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development
- John Podesta (L'1976) - former chief of staff, White House
- Michael Powell (L'1993) - commissioner, Federal Communications Commission
- Charles Rossotti (C'1962) - commissioner, Internal Revenue Service
- Antonin Scalia (C'1957) - Supreme Court justice
- James C.Y. Soong (L'197- ) - Taiwanese politician; Chairman of Taiwan People First Party
- John Sirica (L'1926) - Chief Judge, United States District Court for the District of Columbia (deceased)
- George Tenet (SFS'1976) - former director of the Central Intelligence Agency
- Edward Douglass White (C'1863) - Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (deceased)
Members of the U.S. Senate
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives
- Bob Barr (L'1977), R-Georgia (retired)
- Michael Castle (L'1964), R-Delaware
- Henry Cuellar (SFS'1974), D-Texas
- John Dingell, (C'1949, L'1952) - D-Michigan
- Lane Evans (L'1978), D-Illinois
- Mike Ferguson (MPP'1995), R-New Jersey
- Luis Fortuno (SFS'1982), NPP/R-Puerto Rico
- Martin Frost (L'1970), D-Texas (retired)
- Stephanie Herseth (C'1993, G'1996, L'1997), D-South Dakota
- Steny Hoyer (L'1966), D-Maryland
- Henry Hyde (C'1947), R-Illinois
- William Jefferson (L'1996), D-Louisiana
- Mark Steven Kirk (L'1992), R-Illinois
- Dan Lungren (L'1971), R-California
- Charlie Norwood (DDS'1969), R-Georgia
- Chris Van Hollen (L'1990), D-Maryland
- Peter Visclosky (L'1982), D-Indiana
- Rick White (L'1980), R-Washington (retired)
- Frank Wolf (L'1965), R-Virginia
- Albert Wynn (L'1977), D-Maryland
Governors
Business
- Charles Cawley (C'1962) - chairman and CEO, MBNA Bank of America
- James D. Farley (SFS'1950) - vice chairman, Citigroup, Inc.
- Nicholas C. Forstmann (B'1969) - partner, Forstmann Little & Company
- Ken Hakuta (B'1972) - "Dr. Fad ", inventor and CEO, Allherb.com Foundation
- Jules Kroll (L'1966) - president, Kroll-O'Gara Company
- Ted Leonsis (C'1977) - president and CEO, AOL Interactive Properties; majority owner, Washington Capitals hockey team
- Philip Marineau (C'1968) - president and CEO, Levi Strauss & Co.
- Robert Emmett McDonough (SFS'1949) - founder and vice chairman, Remedy Temp, Inc.
- Edmond Villani (C'1968) - vice chairman, Deutsche Asset Management
- Marcus Wallenberg (SFS'1980) - president and CEO, Investor AB
Entertainment, media and culture
Science and medicine
Religion, social action and education
- Joan Claybrook (L'1973) - president, Public Citizen
- John J. DeGioia (C'1979, G'1995) - 48th president, Georgetown University
- Robert M. Hayes (C'1974) - founder, Coalition for the Homeless
- Rev.Daniel K. Lahart , S.J., president of Strake Jesuit College Preparatory School, Houston, TX (B'1983)
- Leo J. O'Donovan , S.J. (C'1956) - 47th president, Georgetown University
- Rev. Brian Paulson , S.J., president of St. Ignatius College Preparatory School, Chicago, Illinois (SFS'1981)
- Most Rev.Thomas J. Rodi , Bishop, Diocese of Biloxi, Mississippi (C'1971)
- Sister Kathleen Ross , SNJM, founding President, Heritage College, Toppenish, Washington (G'1971)
- Anthony Paul Kennedy Shriver (C'1988) - President, Best Buddies International
- Rev. John Whitney , S.J., (C'1980) - provincial of the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus
Sports
- Ruben Boumtje Boumtje (C'2001) - professional basketball player
- Katy Button (SFS'1994) - general manager, Washington Freedom
- Patrick Ewing,(C'1985) - former professional basketball player
- Othella Harrington (C'1996) - professional basketball player, Chicago Bulls
- Allen Iverson (C'1996) - professional basketball player, Philadelphia 76ers
- Jaren Jackson (B'1989) - former professional basketball player
- Alonzo Mourning (C'1992) - professional basketball player,Miami Heat
- Dikembe Mutombo (SLL'1991) - professional basketball player with several teams, most recently Houston Rockets
- Carmen Policy (L'1966) - president, Cleveland Browns
- Don Reid (C'1995) - former professional basketball player
- Paul Tagliabue (C'1962) - commissioner, National Football League
- Jahidi White (C'1998) - professional basketball player, Charlotte Bobcats
- Jerome Williams (C'1996) - professional basketball player, New York Knicks
- Reggie Williams (C'1987) - former professional basketball player
- David Wingate (C'1986) - former professional basketball player
Other
External links
