Everyday we mindlessly walk into buildings on campus, whether to schmooze, complain, eat, socialize, procrastinate and, on rare occasion, to study. However, we rarely stop to think about the buildings we enter. Who is this magical “Leo” that makes cookies (and only cookies) so well? Who puts the “Lau” in Club Lau? And why is there a ‘Bunn’ on the ICC? These are the questions that haunt the hallowed halls of Georgetown.

Meet Rafik B. Hariri, the namesake of the McDonough School of Business building. Mr. Hariri is well-known in Lebanon for serving as Lebanese Prime Minister – and for his uncanny ability to rock the ‘stache. During his later years as a philanthropist, Mr. Hariri’s son funded our beautiful business school because he believed education is the key to prosperity for all peoples.

Next, meet this hunky alum: Joseph Mark Lauinger – namesake of the Lauinger Library. Mr. Lauinger died in Vietnam in 1970, only three years after graduating from Georgetown. It is unfortunate, however, that his name will now forever be associated with late-night CPS papers and Mordor.

Meet Father Edward B. Bunn, the 44th Georgetown University President and the name above the entrance of the ICC. Father Bunn served his tenure in the aftermath of WWII, and  renamed our former foreign service program the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. Thank you, Father Bunn, for the ultimate destination for hide-and-go-seek: the ICC.

Oh Leo’s, our home away from home. Meet Leo himself, Leo J. O’Donovan, the 47th President of Georgetown University. Reverend O’Donovan was known for promoting the free speech of students, including the on-campus pro-choice group. Needless to say Reverend O’Donovan was a rebel, and so are we. Consequently, we take one too many apples from inside his dining hall.

So, next time you take a cross-campus stroll, stop and think: who’s looking back at me?

Photos: Google; Wikipedia