A lot has been happening at Georgetown University and in Washington, D.C., over the last year, so as you get acclimated to the city, here’s a recap of the most essential news from last semester.
News Recap 2025
JANUARY
GU Names Presidential Search Committee
What to know: Following then-President John J. DeGioia’s (CAS ’79, GRD ’95) resignation related to a June 2024 stroke, the university’s board of directors announced the formation of a 12-person search committee to select Georgetown’s next president. While the selection process continues, Robert M. Groves is serving as the interim president of the university. The committee is expected to select a president by July 1, 2026.
FEBRUARY
Data Leak Lawsuit Voluntarily Dismissed
What to know: Plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit following an October 2024 data leak of Georgetown students’ and graduates’ information voluntarily dropped the lawsuit against the university. The Hoya broke the story announcing the data leak Oct. 27, 2024, discovering that leaked information included data regarding admissions, academic and financial aid details and social security numbers.
GU Students Hit By Federal Hiring Freeze
What to know: Many Georgetown students lost jobs and internship opportunities following the federal government’s hiring freeze. The freeze impacted some students’ intended career paths and professional aspirations.
Bill to End Legacy Admissions to Be Introduced in DC Council Following Student Advocacy
What to know: More than 30 Georgetown students — many of whom are members of Hoyas Against Legacy Admissions, a student group advocating for the end of legacy admissions at Georgetown — testified at the hearing before the D.C. State Board of Education, an elected body that advises the Washington, D.C. government on educational issues. The board approved the bill’s passage, meaning it will be introduced into the D.C. Council.
Department of Education Policy to End Support for Race-Based Programs Raises Concerns for GU Students
What to know: The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) gave universities two weeks to end diversity initiatives or risk losing federal funding, which could affect Georgetown’s Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity & Affirmative Action, the Office of Student Equity and Inclusion or the Center for Multicultural Equity and Access. The university could also be penalized for supporting student racial affinity organizations on campus.
Groves later upheld Georgetown’s mission amid federal changes.
MARCH
GU Law Community Responds to US Attorney’s Anti-DEI Letter
What to know: Georgetown University Law Center Dean William Treanor rejected warnings from D.C.’s top federal prosecutor that his office will stop hiring Law Center students and graduates unless the school ceases its DEI curriculum in a March 6 letter. Many members of the Law Center community lauded Treanor’s response, which highlighted how the First Amendment’s protection of free speech prohibits the government from controlling the curriculum at Georgetown.
GU Researcher Detained By Immigration Agents
What to know: U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents detained Georgetown researcher Badar Khan Suri, an Indian national residing in the United States legally, March 17 outside his Virginia home, seeking to deport him and accusing him of opposing U.S. foreign policy. The government offered no evidence that Khan Suri had broken the law or any evidence to support the claim that he posed a threat to foreign policy. Immigration officials moved Khan Suri to a detention center in Texas, where he remained until his release in July. Khan Suri’s case garnered national attention, spurring protests at Georgetown and nationwide and raising questions about free speech, academic freedom and federal attacks on speech supporting Palestine.
Read The Hoya’s continuous coverage of Khan Suri’s ongoing case here .
Department of Education Launches Investigation Into GU Graduate Programs
What to know: Georgetown is among the 45 universities the DOE will investigate for allegedly using “race-exclusionary practices” in graduate programs. The DOE Office of Civil Rights alleges that Georgetown and other universities violated the Civil Rights Act by partnering with The Ph.D. Project, a nonprofit aiming to increase diversity in business education. Georgetown has not publicly acknowledged a partnership with The Ph.D. Project, and neither the university nor the nonprofit’s website lists the partnership.
GU Community Protests Khan Suri’s Detention
What to know: Following Khan Suri’s detention, the Georgetown community saw several protests in support of Khan Suri and published an open letter demanding his release. Groves defended free speech in a letter to university community members a week after Khan Suri’s detention.
GU to Join Common App
What to know: Georgetown will join the Common Application for the 2026 application cycle, marking a major shift away from the university’s years-long practice of using its own application for undergraduate admission, a story The Hoya broke. Students have expressed excitement and concern for the change in admissions practices.
When the university makes the application transition, you can expect a rise in accessibility and applications.
APRIL
GU, DC Student Governments Organize Protest Against DOE Gutting
What to know: The “Hands Off Our Schools” rally, organized by student governments at five universities, including Georgetown, protested outside the DOE in an April 4 rally opposing President Donald Trump’s moves to dismantle the agency. Students protested Trump’s March 20 decision to “gut” the department as well as the administration’s crackdowns on campus free speech, diversity programs, civil rights protections, student loan forgiveness, academic programs and deportation of student visa holders.
Links Between ICE Deportation Flights, GU Men’s Basketball Travel Suggested
What to know: Publicly available flight data suggested the Georgetown men’s basketball team used the same planes to travel for away games that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) uses to transport detainees and deport migrants, a story The Hoya published for the first time. The data suggested the team flew round-trip flights to and from eight away games between Dec. 12 and March 8 with GlobalX, otherwise known as Global Crossing Airlines, an airline that has become the single largest federal subcontractor of ICE deportation flights. Georgetown and the men’s basketball team use a third-party contractor to book travel.
Federal Government Terminates About Six GU Community Members’ Immigration Statuses
What to know: The federal government terminated about six Georgetown University community members’ immigration statuses, according to an update posted on a university webpage April 9. The government terminated four more by April 15. An unspecified number of visas were reinstated April 30. See this webpage for university updates on U.S. immigration policy.
GU Students Endorse Divestment From Israel in Referendum
What to know: Georgetown undergraduate students voted to approve a referendum calling on the university to divest from and disclose engagement with companies with ties to Israel’s government, the Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) election commission announced April 29. The referendum was nonbinding and passed with 67.9% of the vote — 1,447 students voting in favor, and 685 against — with a turnout of 2,132 students, or 29.5% of the student body.
Less than an hour after the results were announced, Groves announced the university would not implement the referendum.
MAY
Judge Denies DOJ Request to Move Khan Suri’s Case to Texas
What to know: A federal judge denied the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) motion to move Khan Suri’s case to a federal court in Texas, ruling May 6 to keep his case in the Eastern District of Virginia.
RAs Vote to Approve Contract with GU
What to know: Georgetown residential assistants (RAs) unionized in 2024 and, after seven months of bargaining with the university, approved a contract. The contract requires an initial stipend of $1,750 per semester before increasing incrementally, a process of automatic hiring for RAs in good standing and new processes for RAs to arbitrate grievances.
Judge Grants Motion to Release Khan Suri Without Bond
What to know: A federal judge granted Khan Suri’s motion to be released from detention, declining to impose bond after deeming Khan Suri was not a flight risk or danger to the community. Khan Suri returned to Virginia and his family May 14 after almost two months in detention. The judge said federal actions against Khan Suri violated his First Amendment rights and that his release is in the public interest to oppose the chilling effect on free speech that his detention caused.
SUMMER
Groves Testifies Before House Committee on Antisemitism
What to know: Groves testified before a U.S. House of Representatives committee on antisemitism in higher education. Groves discussed the university’s new mask ban at protests; defended Georgetown’s campus in Qatar; revealed a partnership with the Anti-Defamation League, an international nonprofit combating antisemitism; and addressed the leave of Jonathan Brown, a professor whom the university is investigating following criticism for his advocacy and social media posts in support of Palestine.
Peavey, Sorber Picked in NBA Draft
What to know: In the NBA draft, Georgetown forward Thomas Sorber was drafted to the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 15th overall pick. Micah Peavey was drafted to the New Orleans Pelicans with the 40th pick. Sorber and Peavey are the first Georgetown players to be drafted since Otto Porter Jr. in 2013.
