Charles Nailen/The Hoya Construction workers build the tent for O’Donovan’s farwell ceremonies this weekend.

Georgetown University officials will host a series of farewell activities this weekend for University President Leo J. O’Donovan, S.J., whose term as president will end on July 1. O’Donovan will be succeeded by Senior Vice President Jack J. GeGioia (CAS ’79) as the university’s 48th president.

A reception in O’Donovan’s honor will be held Friday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in a tent on Healy Lawn. Saturday the university’s board of directors will host a black tie event, including cocktails and dinner, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Sponsored by the Office of Alumni and University Relations, the ticket price for Saturday’s event is $200.

“The activities will celebrate Fr. O’Donovan’s tenure and many accomplishments during his presidency,” Assistant Vice President for Communications Julie Green-Bataille said.

GUSA will also hold an official student body goodbye for O’Donovan during tomorrow’s pep rally as part of Georgetown Day. GUSA President Ryan DuBose (COL ’02) said he will present O’Donovan with a booklet compilation on behalf of the student body.

“The booklet consists of students’ reflections of their experiences with Fr. O’ Donovan over the years,” DuBose said.

According to DuBose, the Senior Class Committee also plans to present O’Donovan with a “Class of 2001” T-shirt.

Additionally, there will be an invitation-only farewell mass in Dahlgren Chapel Sunday at 9:30 a.m.

DeGioia will be the first layperson at the nation’s oldest Catholic university and the first lay president at any of the nation’s 28 Jesuit colleges and universities. DeGioia’s appointment was announced last February following unanimous approval from the board of directors.

“I deeply appreciated his dedicated service to Georgetown during my years as president,” O’Donovan said of DeGioia. “In his new capacity, I know that he will find the many joys that I have had in working with the remarkable students, faculty, staff, Jesuits, alumni, volunteers and friends who call Georgetown home.”

O’Donovan graduated summa cum laude from Georgetown as a theology and English major in 1956. He became president of Georgetown University after Rev. Timothy Healy, S.J., resigned as president of Georgetown in the fall of 1989.

During his 12-year tenure, O’Donovan focused on increasing the university’s endowment and finishing the campus development begun under Healy. The university’s endowment has almost tripled under O’Donovan’s stewardship from $240 million to over $740 million, and construction of the Southwest Quadrangle, which includes a dining hall, parking garage, 780-bed dormitory and a new Jesuit residence, is currently underway.