As Georgetown University continues its search for its 49th president, undergraduate students say they want the next president to commit to diversity, adhere to Jesuit values and offer forward-thinking responses to the contemporary political climate.
The Hoya interviewed six undergraduates across class years and schools to learn how they view the university’s ongoing search for longtime president John J. DeGioia’s (CAS ’79, GRD ’95) successor. DeGioia, now president emeritus, suffered a stroke June 5 and retired Nov. 21 after serving as university president for 23 years; the university’s presidential search committee aims to have his replacement in place by July 1, 2026.
Overall Values
Isabella Pamias (CAS ’27) said she hopes the new president prioritizes respect in their approach to university operations.
“Being a Jesuit institution, the president should, of course, embody those values, but also adapt them to contemporary needs,” Pamias told The Hoya. “For me, I believe that respect and particularly empathy must be at the core of their leadership approach, having respect for diverse perspectives within the academic community and also empathy for the varied experiences of not just students but faculty and staff.”
Karenna Warden (CAS ’25), the service chair of Alpha Sigma Nu, the national Jesuit honor society, said she feels a Georgetown graduate could offer a unique sense of familiarity with campus needs as president.
“In Georgetown’s next president, I think one of the most important things would be that they’re really familiar with our university and its needs,” Warden told The Hoya. “I feel like that would most likely come from a graduate of Georgetown. I know DeGioia was a graduate, and I feel like his experience as an undergrad here probably informed a lot of his really good work as our last president.”
Full Disclosure: Karenna Warden was City News Desk in the Fall 2023 semester.
Ethan Henshaw (CAS ’26), the president of the Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA), said he hopes the university will land on an active candidate ready to engage with the Georgetown community.
“I want them to be very open to students and to faculty and to staff,” Henshaw told The Hoya. “I want them to be the kind of person you’ll see around campus who goes to meetings, really takes advice from the students, doesn’t think that their way is the best way and doesn’t think that the discussion is closed as soon as they come up with an idea.”
Georgetown University College Democrats communications director Corbin Chance (CAS ’28) said mental health resources should be a top priority for the next president.
“I think I want, personally, improving mental health resources on campus,” Chance told The Hoya. “There’s been multiple times on this campus where I feel like there’s been a lot of isolation on campus and that’s something I really want to see fixed. I hope that’s something the new president can focus on.”
Exploring Jesuit Heritage
DeGioia, the longest serving president in Georgetown’s history, was the first lay and non-Jesuit president of a Jesuit higher education institution in the United States.
Frank Anstett (CAS ’27), a member of Catholic life at Georgetown, said he hopes the university returns to its tradition of Jesuit presidents.
“I think it’s time for us to have a Jesuit president again,” Anstett told The Hoya. “As great as President DeGioia was, I think that it’s important to have the face of our campus, the president, be a Jesuit to uphold those Jesuit and Catholic values which are integral to the university.”
“President DeGioia was the first lay president we had ever had, and not to say that was a bad thing, but if we from now on presume that every president not be a priest and be lay, then that might set a dangerous path where we lose our Jesuit and Catholic identity,” Anstett added.
Henshaw said while the search should not be limited only to Jesuits — as Catholic priests, all Jesuits are male — he would be happy with a Jesuit president if they uphold tolerant values.
“I think it’s problematic if they’re limiting it to Jesuits,” Henshaw said. “But if they go through and they they determine that a Jesuit is the best candidate they have, I see no issue with that, as long as they’re committed to the right principles, they’re committed to expanding the diversity and the inclusion of the university, they’re open to what students have to say and they’re open to fostering a better environment.”
Georgetown, Diversity and Trump
Since the Jan. 20 inauguration of President Donald Trump, college campuses have returned to the forefront of political discourse, with administration officials threatening to slash funding or reduce job opportunities for graduates of universities promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). The U.S. Department of Education announced March 10 that 60 universities are currently under investigation for Title IV violations relating to spring 2024 protests about the Israel-Hamas war.
Federal officials have also threatened Georgetown: Washington, D.C.’s top federal prosecutor Ed Martin warned William Treanor, dean of the Georgetown University Law Center (GULC), that GULC students would lose job opportunities in his office unless the school ceases its DEI curriculum in a letter sent March 3. Treanor rebuffed his letter in a March 6 response.
Pamias said the current political atmosphere requires a university president able to match the moment with poise.
“I think it’s a very contentious time in higher education,” Pamias said. “Universities face complex questions about academic freedom, inclusion, financial sustainability and their role in addressing societal challenges. So I believe that the next Georgetown president must be someone that can navigate this with wisdom and purpose.
Rachel Styslinger (SFS ’27) said emphasizing students’ beliefs amid political instability is essential.
“I would want to see a president who’s really aware of the on-campus climate and who is really willing to prioritize students’ voices and opinions throughout their tenure as president,” Styslinger told The Hoya. “I think especially with the current political climate — we’re seeing a lot of institutions similar to Georgetown being politically targeted — I want a president to make sure that the students’ values and the values as a Jesuit university are strengthened and maintained throughout all this turmoil.”
Henshaw said a new president should defend resources for affinity groups on Georgetown’s campus.
“You need a president who’s really going to be committed to this, especially in light of all the Trump administration attacks that you’re seeing where they’re threatening federal funding,” Henshaw said. “Are we going to have a president who doesn’t want to take up that fight and doesn’t want to risk losing their research funding? They’re willing to just close the affinity houses? I really hope not.”
George LeMieux (CAS ’25), a GUSA senator, said that Georgetown’s next president will have to navigate the inherently political position of the university in D.C.
“I want a school that’s going to be open to people of all persuasions, cultures and so on and so forth, which is especially important now, because I think the administration, whether it likes it or not, is going to have to engage with the administration in D.C. and how things are changing in D.C.,” LeMieux told The Hoya.
“We pride ourselves on sending so many of our students to high-up positions in the government, high-up positions in law, and keeping those opportunities open for our students is going to be important,” he added. “Neutrality on a lot of political opinions will probably be the best way to do that.”
Warden said the 49th president should represent a change from the status quo at Georgetown.
“I think it’s about time that we put a woman or a person of color in the presidential slot at Georgetown,” Warden said.
“It’s time that we put more representation into that position of power,” Warden added.