Georgetown University announced the new associate dean of students for the Capitol Campus in an announcement March 4. 

Kathryn Jennings is the former associate vice president of student engagement at the Catholic University of America (CUA), where she oversaw student programming and advised CUAllies, the unrecognized student group promoting equality for LGBTQ+ students. Jennings joins Capitol Campus leadership as the university looks to expand the downtown campus, having purchased an apartment complex at 77 H St. for student housing and recently announcing a Capitol Applied Learning Lab (CALL) semester program for Georgetown undergraduate students. 

Jennings said she hopes to create a community at the Capitol Campus that is both distinctive and integrated into the broader university community. 

“I hope to help the Capitol Campus students feel a special sense of affinity to and belonging at their Georgetown campus, while also feeling at home at the Hilltop,” Jennings wrote to The Hoya. “Similarly, I want Hilltop students to feel welcome and supported at the Capitol campus and see it as a destination for them in the heart of the city.”

Before working in the CUA administration, Jennings worked in student affairs at St. John’s University and the University of Maine. In her own undergraduate studies, Jennings lived at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus, a Manhattan, N.Y., campus separate from the university’s primary campus in the Bronx. 

Ema Eguchi (SFS ’27), a student in the CALL program this semester, said hosting more events at the downtown campus would promote integration with the larger Georgetown community.

“I think a lot of the time, people just don’t know that the campus is one GUTS bus away, and that it’s actually really easy to get to,” Eguchi wrote to The Hoya. “I didn’t know before this semester that it was this easy, so I do think having people know more about it and having events here can allow for more cross-campus inclusion and bonding.”

Shirley Omari-Kwarteng (CAS ’25), another CALL student, said expanding university bus services could facilitate better integration between the Hilltop and Capitol campuses. 

“Expanding shuttle services into the late evening would allow Capitol Campus students to participate more fully in Georgetown’s nighttime events and traditions, further strengthening their connection to the broader university community,” Omari-Kwarteng wrote to The Hoya. 

The Georgetown University Transportation System (GUTS) added a route to the Capitol Campus in January 2024, with buses now running regularly between 6:30 a.m. and 10:15 p.m. during weekdays. 

Jennings said she will listen to student input to guide her leadership as dean.

“I plan on working very closely with students both at the Hilltop and the Capitol Campus to listen to their wants and needs in regards to services, programs and fun that they want to see at the Capitol Campus,” Jennings wrote. “I will be looking to you to tell me what will enhance your experience as a Capitol Campus student and what would draw you to the campus as a Hilltop student.”

Olivia Mason (CAS ’26) is a senator in the Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA), Georgetown’s student government, who lives at 55 H St., the Capitol Campus’ undergraduate student living space. Mason said she looks forward to working with Jennings to improve student life at the Capitol Campus. 

“I hope to work with Dean Jennings through the Capitol Campus Committee to connect her with the students who have already been living here (some of us for multiple years), and I am excited to speak with her about the future of dining options, Georgetown school-sponsored events, cross-campus commuting students and the possibility of expanding transportation options,” Mason wrote to The Hoya. 

Jennings said her academic and personal experience in Washington, D.C., will inform her work at the Capitol Campus. 

“I have lived and worked in D.C. for 19 years and I believe that my knowledge of the city, its politics, the landscape of higher education here and my relationships will serve me well as I work to serve students and provide them with support and programs that will meet their needs and help them grow,” Jennings wrote.

Jennings said she is excited to become a part of the Georgetown community and help it flourish. 

“We are not going to be able to do everything, especially not at first, but we can continually work to enhance the experience for everyone by working together,” Jennings wrote. “Working and getting to know you, the Georgetown students, is what I look forward to the most. … You are why I do this work and why I love working in higher education.” 

CORRECTION: This article was updated March 14 to reflect that the Capitol Campus is not called the CALL Campus, but rather the Capitol Applied Learning Lab (CALL) is a program that is part of the downtown campus.