Georgetown University President John DeGioia (CAS ’79, GRD ’95) sat down with The Hoya to discuss the future of admissions following the Supreme Court’s decision on affirmative action, updates about the GU272+ project and the ongoing search for a new Jack the Bulldog.

Affirmative Action and Legacy Admissions 

When asked if the university was considering any changes to its admission policies following the Supreme Court’s decision limiting the use of race-based affirmative action in college admissions, DeGioia said the university plans to look at socioeconomic factors when considering admissions. 

“The best answer we as a higher-ed community have come up with thus far has been using socioeconomic status as a proxy. We’ve had 25 years of experience with this, and it’s an imperfect proxy is the best way to describe it,” DeGioia said in an interview with The Hoya. 

“It’s a mixed story, but it’s not one that could give one a lot of optimism about our ability to sustain the same level of diversity we’d [be] able to achieve. But we’re looking at every conceivable idea and option. And we’re also doing this in the context of a greater higher education community that is also wrestling with the implications of that,” DeGioia added. 

DeGioia said that following the Supreme Court’s decision this summer, the university immediately expressed its disappointment with the ruling and what it would mean for admissions. 

DeGioia did not say if the university plans to stop considering legacy status in admission policies but said he is aware of a petition circulated on campus calling for Georgetown to do so. 

“I’m aware of the petition. I’m aware of what some of our peers have done, and I’m aware that this will be a question that we are being asked to respond to,” DeGioia said. “We will be engaging this question.” 

GU272+ 

DeGioia also spoke about the university’s ongoing working with descendants of the GU272+, the 314 enslaved people sold by the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus in 1838 to financially sustain the school. 

DeGioia said the university is in the process of raising funds for the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation, which is a program independent of the university that will support the needs of the descendant community. 

“We’re in the process of raising funds for that foundation. It’s independent of Georgetown, but we are supporting it and we’re connected to it and supporting fundraising for that foundation,” DeGioia said.

DeGioia said the university is holding ongoing dialogues and discussions with descendants. 

Last spring, the university launched the Center for the Study of Slavery and Its Legacies (CSSL), an initiative to strengthen the understanding of the legacy of slavery and the university’s own history related to slavery. DeGioia said the university will hold an event for the launch of the center later this month. 

Georgetown Protects Racists 

DeGioia also spoke about progress related to demands made by LaHannah Giles (CAS ’23), a survivor of a racist hate crime on campus. The university initially failed to properly report the crime as a hate crime, prompting student protests last fall and spring.

“The response has been multidimensional and is ongoing,” DeGioia said. 

DeGioia said the university has done a reevaluation of bias reporting incidents and how they are investigated on campus. The university has also opened an affinity space in LXR, a student dormitory, and has worked with student clubs on issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion. 

DeGioia said an external review of how the university handles bias reporting was completed this summer. 

“We conducted an external review, and we brought in a colleague from another university that could provide a fresh perspective,” DeGioia said. 

DeGioia said he expects action to be taken as a result of the review. 

“That report came to us as the summer was ending. So I haven’t had a chance yet to be briefed on the recommendations from that external review. But I expect that with it, there will be action we will take as a result of that review,” DeGioia said. 

DeGioia said Georgetown’s Vice President for Diversity, Equity & Affirmative Action Rosemary Kilkenny also conducted an internal review. 

The student who committed the hate crime has yet to face disciplinary action, despite Giles identifying the perpetrator using screenshots of security footage data and GoCard data from a university investigation.

DeGioia said he believes issues with university technology have been corrected after security video evidence of the hate crime was lost when a Georgetown University Police Department server crashed, prompting backlash on campus. 

“We learned some disappointing things regarding our technology. What worked, what didn’t work. What didn’t work was the streaming technology, the video streaming technology. I think we’ve addressed that,” DeGioia said. 

Jack the Bulldog 

DeGioia also said the search for a new campus mascot is underway following the death of Georgetown’s beloved Jack the Bulldog this summer. 

“There are only so many ways you can recruit a new bulldog. There’s not a universe of options available to us,” DeGioia said. “I can only assure you that great effort is going into trying to ensure that we have a bulldog in place for so many of the important campus events that we share together, and this has become such an important part of our university community.” 

Sexual Harassment Lawsuit 

DeGioia also spoke about an ongoing lawsuit filed by lawyers for a former Georgetown student, Candice van der Stelt, alleging that a professor in the department of neuroscience, Dr. Peter Turkeltaub, harassed her and that the university permitted faculty to retaliate against her. 

Although DeGioia said he could not comment directly on any pending legal issues, he said no members of the campus community should be subjected to this type of abuse. 

“I’m not really in a place where I can comment on existing disciplinary issues under review, personnel matters under review,” DeGioia said. “I would also say that it’s the deepest conviction we have as an institution that no one, no member of our community should have to be subjected to abuse of any kind.”