Editing Georgetown University (section)

==History==
{{main|History of Georgetown University}}
{{see also|List of presidents of Georgetown University}}

===Founding===
[[File:John Carroll Gilbert Stuart.jpg|thumb|[[John Carroll (archbishop)|John Carroll]], the first [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore|Archbishop of Baltimore]] and founder of Georgetown University in 1789|alt=A painting of an elderly man seated wearing a long gray robe.]]

In 1634, [[Jesuit]] settlers from England founded the [[Province of Maryland]] in [[Colonial history of the United States|colonial-era]] [[British America]].<ref name=jstor>{{cite journal |title=Miniatures of Georgetown, 1634 to 1934 |first1=Edward A. |last1=Fitzpatrick |journal=The Journal of Higher Education |volume=7 |issue=1 |date=January 1936 |pages=56–57 |doi=10.2307/1974310 |last2=Nevils |first2=William Coleman |jstor=1974310 |publisher=[[Ohio State University Press]]}}</ref> In 1646, the defeat of the [[Cavalier|Royalists]] in the [[English Civil War]] led to stringent laws against [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] education and the extradition of known Jesuits from the colony, including missionary [[Andrew White (missionary)|Andrew White]], and the destruction of their school at Calverton Manor.<ref name=Nevils>{{harvnb|Nevils|1934|pp=1–25}}</ref> During most of the remainder of Maryland's colonial period, Jesuits conducted Catholic schools clandestinely. Following the end of the [[American Revolutionary War]], plans to establish a permanent Catholic institution for education in the United States were realized.<ref name=ce>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06458a.htm |title=Georgetown University |encyclopedia=[[Catholic Encyclopedia]] |year=1909 |publisher=Robert Appleton Company |first=E.I. |last=Devitt |access-date=July 10, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701232855/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06458a.htm |archive-date=July 1, 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref>

At [[Benjamin Franklin]]'s recommendation, [[Pope Pius VI]] appointed former Jesuit [[John Carroll (archbishop)|John Carroll]] the first [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore|head of the Catholic Church in the United States]], even though the papal [[Suppression of the Society of Jesus|suppression of the Jesuit order]] was still in effect. Carroll began meetings of local clergy in 1783 near [[Annapolis, Maryland|Annapolis]], where they orchestrated the development of a new university.<ref name=ben/> On January 23, 1789, Carroll finalized the purchase of the property in Georgetown on which Dahlgren Quadrangle was later built.<ref name=loyola/> Future Congressman [[William Gaston]] was enrolled as the school's first student on November 22, 1791, and instruction began on January 2, 1792.<ref name=ben>{{harvnb|Curran|1993|pp=33–34}}</ref>

===19th century===
During its early years, Georgetown College suffered from considerable financial strain.<ref>{{harvnb|O'Neill|Williams|2003|p=12}}</ref> The Maryland Society of Jesus began its restoration in 1805, and Jesuit affiliation, in the form of teachers and administrators, bolstered confidence in the college.<ref name=bulletin>{{cite web |url=http://www12.georgetown.edu/undergrad/bulletin/guhistory.html |title=Georgetown: A Brief History |first=Robert Emmett |last=Curran |website=Georgetown University – Undergraduate Bulletin |date=July 7, 2007 |access-date=August 27, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070524191008/http://www12.georgetown.edu/undergrad/bulletin/guhistory.html |archive-date=May 24, 2007}}</ref> The school relied on private sources of funding and the limited profits from local lands which had been donated to the Jesuits. To raise money for Georgetown and other schools in 1838, Maryland Jesuits conducted a [[1838 Jesuit slave sale|mass sale]] of some 272 slaves to two [[Deep South]] plantations in [[Maringouin, Louisiana]], from their six in Maryland, ending their slaveholding.<ref>[http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/his/schloesser/jesuitmoderns/w01/resources/MURPHY_Jesuit-slave.pdf Thomas Murphy, SJ. ''Jesuit Slaveholding in Maryland, 1717–1838,''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527181734/http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/his/schloesser/jesuitmoderns/w01/resources/MURPHY_Jesuit-slave.pdf |date=May 27, 2016}} New York: Routledge, 2001, p. 4</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Swarns |first1=Rachel|title=272 Slaves Were Sold to Save Georgetown. What Does It Owe Their Descendants? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/17/us/georgetown-university-search-for-slave-descendants.html |access-date=April 17, 2016 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 17, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170306141027/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/17/us/georgetown-university-search-for-slave-descendants.html |archive-date=March 6, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Georgetown University c. 1850.jpg|thumb|Georgetown University, {{Circa|1850}}]]

President [[James Madison]] signed into law Georgetown's [[congressional charter]] on March 1, 1815, creating the first federal [[university charter]], which allowed it to confer degrees, with the first bachelor's degrees being awarded two years later.<ref name=charter>{{cite web|url=http://guide.georgetown.edu/slideshows/slides/show11_slide5.html|title=The Federal Charter|website=Georgetown University – About Georgetown|access-date=March 6, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080103020623/http://guide.georgetown.edu/slideshows/slides/show11_slide5.html|archive-date=January 3, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://governance.georgetown.edu/charter|title=Charter of the University|website=Georgetown University|access-date=August 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817063129/https://governance.georgetown.edu/charter|archive-date=August 17, 2016}}</ref>

In 1844, the school received a [[corporation|corporate]] charter under the name "[[President and Directors of Georgetown College|The President and Directors of Georgetown College]]", affording the growing school additional legal rights. In response to the demand for a local option for Catholic students, the Medical School was founded in 1851.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://som.georgetown.edu/docs/History.pdf |work=[[Georgetown University School of Medicine]] |title=History |date=March 23, 2008 |access-date=March 24, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091104031715/http://som.georgetown.edu/docs/History.pdf |archive-date=November 4, 2009 }}</ref>

[[File:Georgetown 1861.jpg|thumb|[[Union Army]] soldiers on [[Theodore Roosevelt Island]] with the [[Potomac River]] and the university visible in the background in 1861 at the beginning of the [[American Civil War]]|alt=Black-and-white photo of several military men idling on a riverbank. Across the river are several large buildings]]
[[File:Patrick Francis Healy.jpg|thumb|[[Patrick Francis Healy]], the first African-American to become a [[Jesuit]], helped transform the school into a modern university after the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=O'Connor |first1=John J. |last2=Gasperetti |first2=Elio |title=A Negro President at Georgetown University Some Eighty Years Ago |date=1955 |journal=Negro History Bulletin |volume=18 |issue=8 |pages=175–176 |jstor=44176904 |issn=0028-2529}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Magazine |first1=Smithsonian |last2=Greene |first2=Bryan |title=Born Enslaved, Patrick Francis Healy 'Passed' His Way to Lead Georgetown University |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/born-enslaved-patrick-francis-healy-passed-his-way-lead-georgetown-university-180975738/ |access-date=2023-06-17 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref> |alt=Black and white photo of an older man wearing black with a priest's colar and facing right.]]

The [[American Civil War]] greatly impacted Georgetown as 1,141 students and alumni enlisted in one army or the other, and the [[Union Army]] commandeered university buildings in order to defend the national capital from a feared a [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] attack.<ref name=ce/> By the time President [[Abraham Lincoln]] visited the Georgetown campus in May 1861, 1,400 troops were living in temporary quarters there. The number of lives lost in the Civil war caused enrollment levels to remain low until well after the war. Only seven students graduated in 1869, down from over 300 in the previous decade.<ref>{{harvnb|O'Neill|Williams|2003|pp=36–39}}</ref> When the Georgetown College Boat Club, the school's [[rowing (sport)|rowing]] team, was founded in 1876 it adopted two colors: blue, used for [[Uniform of the Union Army|Union uniforms]], and gray, used for [[Uniforms of the Confederate States military forces|Confederate uniforms]]. These colors signified the peaceful existence of students who held various loyalties.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hoyasaxa.com/sports/colors.htm|title=Georgetown Traditions: The Blue & Gray|website=HoyaSaxa.com|access-date=April 26, 2007|date=August 17, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070427094307/http://www.hoyasaxa.com/sports/colors.htm|archive-date=April 27, 2007|url-status=live}}</ref>

Enrollment did not recover until the late 19th century, during the presidency of [[Patrick Francis Healy]] from 1873 to 1881. Born in [[Athens, Georgia]] as a slave by law and [[mixed-race]] by ancestry, Healy was the first person of [[African American|African]] descent to head a predominantly white American university.{{efn|name=healy}} He identified as Irish Catholic, like his father, and was educated in Catholic schools in the United States and France. He is credited with reforming the undergraduate [[curriculum]], lengthening the medical and law programs, and creating the [[Alumni association|Alumni Association]]. One of his largest undertakings was the construction of a major new building, subsequently named [[Healy Hall]] in his honor. For his work, Healy is known as the school's "second founder".<ref name=pfh>{{cite web|url=http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jul31.html|title=Patrick Francis Healy Inaugurated|work=American Memory|publisher=[[Library of Congress]]|date=July 31, 2006|access-date=July 9, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070709184747/http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jul31.html|archive-date=July 9, 2007|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1870, after the founding of the [[Georgetown University Law Center|Law Department]], Healy and his successors hoped to bind the professional schools into a university, and focus on [[higher education]].<ref name="bulletin" />

===20th century===
In 1901, the [[Georgetown University School of Medicine|School of Medicine]] added a dental school in 1901 and the undergraduate [[Georgetown University School of Nursing|School of Nursing]] in 1903.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://explore.georgetown.edu/news/?ID=2938|title=Georgetown University School of Nursing and Health Studies Appoints New Director of Development|date=July 30, 2003|access-date=April 26, 2007|first=Lindsey|last=Spindle|department=Office of Communications|website=Georgetown University|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070321040441/http://explore.georgetown.edu/news/?ID=2938|archive-date=March 21, 2007}}</ref> [[Georgetown Preparatory School]] relocated from campus in 1919 and fully separated from the university in 1927.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://contentdm.lndlibrary.org/u?/gtown,13 |title=Third Grammar Class, Second Section, on the steps of Healy Hall at Georgetown University |website=Loyola Notre Dame Library |access-date=September 6, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928142211/http://contentdm.lndlibrary.org/u?%2Fgtown%2C13 |archive-date=September 28, 2007 }}</ref>

The [[Walsh School of Foreign Service|School of Foreign Service]] (SFS) was founded in 1919 by [[Edmund A. Walsh]] to prepare students for leadership in diplomacy and foreign commerce.<ref name="bulletin" /> The [[Georgetown University School of Dentistry|School of Dentistry]] became independent of the School of Medicine in 1956.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dental Alumni History 1970s and 1980s – Georgetown Alumni Online |url=http://alumni.georgetown.edu/schoolsprograms/schoolsprograms_37.html |website=alumni.georgetown.edu |access-date=September 12, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910201515/http://alumni.georgetown.edu/schoolsprograms/schoolsprograms_37.html |archive-date=September 10, 2015 }}</ref> The School of Business Administration was separated from the SFS in 1957 and was renamed the [[McDonough School of Business]] (MSB) in 1998 in honor of SFS alumnus Robert E. McDonough.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehoya.com/gsb-takes-new-name-1.1887082|title=GSB Takes New Name|work=[[The Hoya]]|first=Emily|last=Lyons|date=October 9, 1998|access-date=May 1, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119065233/http://www.thehoya.com/gsb-takes-new-name-1.1887082|archive-date=January 19, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=McDonough School of Business History |url=https://msb.georgetown.edu/about/history/ |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=McDonough School of Business |language=en}}</ref>

Georgetown also aimed to expand its resources and student body. The School of Nursing has admitted female students since its founding, and most of the university classes were made available to women on a limited basis by 1952.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://guide.georgetown.edu/slideshows/slides/show11_slide17.html|website=Georgetown University – About Georgetown|title=Georgetown University history: Co-Ed|access-date=July 17, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080103023223/http://guide.georgetown.edu/slideshows/slides/show11_slide17.html|archive-date=January 3, 2008}}</ref> With the College of Arts and Sciences welcoming its first female students in the 1969–1970 [[academic year]], Georgetown became fully [[coeducation]]al.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehoya.com/areen-outlines-women-s-role-1.1887300|title=Areen Outlines Women's Role|date=April 1, 2003|access-date=May 1, 2011|work=[[The Hoya]]|first=Nick|last=Timiraos|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118223834/http://www.thehoya.com/areen-outlines-women-s-role-1.1887300|archive-date=January 18, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1962, the [[Center for Strategic and International Studies]] (CSIS) was founded at Georgetown University as a [[think tank]] to conduct policy studies and strategic analyses of political, economic and security issues throughout the world.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS): About Us |url=https://www.csis.org/programs/about-us |access-date=2022-01-10}}</ref> When [[Henry Kissinger]] retired from his position as [[United States Secretary of State|U.S. Secretary of State]] in 1977, he taught at Georgetown SFS, making CSIS the base for his Washington operations.<ref>{{cite web |date=1977-06-09 |title=Kissinger agrees to instruct undergrads at Georgetown |url=http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19770609-01.2.3 |access-date=2018-09-11 |publisher=Columbia Spectator}}</ref><ref name="Kissinger">{{cite web |date=March 28, 2012 |title=A Harvard-Henry Kissinger Détente? |url=http://harvardmagazine.com/2012/03/henry-kissinger-returns-to-harvard |access-date=October 4, 2013 |work=Harvard Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Henry Kissinger appointed professor |url=https://msfs.georgetown.edu/timeline/henry-kissinger-appointed-professor/ |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=School of Foreign Service |language=en-US}}</ref> In 1986, the university's [[board of directors]] voted to sever all ties with CSIS due to differences in academic direction and competing fund-raising efforts.<ref name="sever">Jordan, Mary. "GU Severs Ties With Think Tank: Center's Academics, Conservatism Cited". ''The Washington Post''. 18 October 1986. p. B1.</ref>

[[File:Georgetown University (53821005319).jpg|alt=A large Gothic-style stone building dominated by a tall clocktower.|thumb|[[Healy Hall]], which houses classrooms and the university's executive body]]

In 1975, Georgetown established the [[Center for Contemporary Arab Studies]], soliciting funds from the governments of the United States, [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Oman]], and [[Libya]] as well as American corporations with business interests in the Middle East.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Khalil|first=Osamah F.|title=America's Dream Palace: Middle East Expertise and the Rise of the National Security State|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=2016|isbn=978-0-674-97157-8|location=Cambridge, MA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Feinberg|first=Lawrence|date=1980-05-12|title=United Arab Emirates Gives GU $750,000 for A Chair in Arab Studies|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1980/05/12/united-arab-emirates-gives-gu-750000-for-a-chair-in-arab-studies/be4813de-0d01-4438-8c03-2cd29bbbefad/|access-date=2021-11-26|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> It later returned the money it received from [[Muammar Gaddafi|Muammar Qaddafi]]'s Libyan government, which had been used to fund a chair for [[Hisham Sharabi|Hisham Shirabi]], and also returned further donations from [[Iraq]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Maeroff|first=Gene I.|date=1981-02-24|title=UNIVERSITY RETURNS $600,000 LIBYAN GIFT|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/02/24/us/university-returns-600000-libyan-gift.html|access-date=2021-11-26|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Georgetown ended its bicentennial year of 1989 by electing [[Leo J. O'Donovan]], S.J. as president. He subsequently launched the Third Century Campaign to expand the school's endowment.<ref name=degioia>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehoya.com/degioia-named-next-gu-president-1.1886283|title=DeGioia Named Next GU President|first=Tim|last=Sullivan|work=[[The Hoya]]|date=February 16, 2001|access-date=May 1, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119065631/http://www.thehoya.com/degioia-named-next-gu-president-1.1886283|archive-date=January 19, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

===21st century===
In December 2003, Georgetown completed the campaign after raising over $1 billion for financial aid, academic chair endowment, and new capital projects.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehoya.com/capital-campaign-close-to-1-billion-1.1886694|title=Capital Campaign Close to $1 Billion|first=Nick|last=Timiraos|work=[[The Hoya]]|date=September 12, 2003|access-date=May 1, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119023502/http://www.thehoya.com/capital-campaign-close-to-1-billion-1.1886694|archive-date=January 19, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

In October 2002, Georgetown University began studying the feasibility of opening a campus of the SFS in Qatar, when the non-profit [[Qatar Foundation]] first proposed the idea. The [[Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar|School of Foreign Service in Qatar]] opened in 2005 along with four other U.S. universities in the [[Education City, Qatar|Education City]] development. Additionally, the [[Center for International and Regional Studies]] (CIRS) opened in 2005 at the new Qatar campus.<ref>{{cite news |date=April 13, 2006 |title=Georgetown University marks inauguration of Qatar campus |url=http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=April2006&file=Local_News2006041324119.xml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312033524/http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=local_news&subsection=Qatar%2BNews&month=April2006&file=Local_News2006041324119.xml |archive-date=March 12, 2007 |access-date=March 10, 2010 |work=[[The Peninsula (newspaper)|The Peninsula]]}}</ref> Between 2012 and 2018, Georgetown received more than $350 million from [[Gulf Cooperation Council]] countries including [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Qatar]], and the [[United Arab Emirates]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=England |first1=Andrew |last2=Kerr |first2=Simeon |date=2018-12-13 |title=Universities challenged: scrutiny over Gulf money |url=https://www.ft.com/content/fa6d15a4-f6ed-11e8-af46-2022a0b02a6c |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/fa6d15a4-f6ed-11e8-af46-2022a0b02a6c |archive-date=December 10, 2022 |access-date=2021-11-26 |work=Financial Times}}</ref>

In 2005, Georgetown received a $20 million gift from [[Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud|Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Alsaud]], a member of the [[House of Saud|Saudi Royal Family]]; at that time the second-largest donation ever to the university, it was used to expand the activities of the [[Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Murphy |first=Caryle |date=December 13, 2005 |title=Saudi Gives $20 Million to Georgetown |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/12/AR2005121200591.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170616170911/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/12/AR2005121200591.html |archive-date=June 16, 2017 |access-date=November 4, 2018 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> The same year, Georgetown began hosting a two-week workshop at [[Fudan University]]'s School of International Relations and Public Affairs in [[Shanghai]], China, which developed into a more formal connection when Georgetown opened a liaison office at Fudan on January 12, 2008, to further collaboration.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thehoya.com/news/georgetown-opens-liaison-office-at-fudan-university/ |title=Georgetown Opens Liaison Office at Fudan University |first1=Connie |last1=Parham |first2=Yoshi |last2=Myers |date=January 18, 2008 |access-date=March 9, 2010 |work=[[The Hoya]]}}</ref>

[[John J. DeGioia]], Georgetown's first lay president, led the school from 2001 to 2024. DeGioia continued its financial modernization and sought to "expand opportunities for intercultural and interreligious dialogue."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://president.georgetown.edu/sections/biography/ |title=Biography |department=Office of the President |date=February 2005 |publisher=Georgetown University |access-date=October 26, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210185537/http://president.georgetown.edu/sections/biography/ |archive-date=February 10, 2009 }}</ref> DeGioia also founded the annual Building Bridges Seminar in 2001, which brings global religious leaders together, and is part of Georgetown's effort to promote religious pluralism.<ref name="ir" /> The [[Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs]] began as an initiative in 2004, and after a grant from [[W. R. Berkley|William R. Berkley]], was launched as an independent organization in 2006.<ref name="ir">{{cite web |url= http://explore.georgetown.edu/documents/?DocumentID=12052 |title= Georgetown Advancing Interreligious Understanding |work= Georgetown University |access-date= March 10, 2010 |date= April 2, 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100611024040/http://explore.georgetown.edu/documents/?DocumentID=12052 |archive-date= June 11, 2010 }}</ref>

===Jesuit tradition===
[[File:Dahlgren Chapel of the Sacred Heart Georgetown University.jpg|thumb|[[Dahlgren Chapel of the Sacred Heart|Dahlgren Chapel]] on the university campus]]

Georgetown University was founded by former [[Jesuits]] in the tradition of [[Ignatius of Loyola]]; it is a member of the [[Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities]].<ref name="loyola">{{cite web|url=http://explore.georgetown.edu/documents/?DocumentID=736|title=Georgetown's Catholic and Jesuit Identity|date=February 15, 2008|publisher=Georgetown University|access-date=March 24, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318082624/http://explore.georgetown.edu/documents/?DocumentID=736|archive-date=March 18, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://explore.georgetown.edu/documents/?DocumentID=29138|title=Jesuit Ideals Drive Daily Life at Georgetown|work=Blue & Gray|date=November 5, 2007|access-date=November 7, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207202302/http://explore.georgetown.edu/documents/?DocumentID=29138|archive-date=December 7, 2008}}</ref> Georgetown is not a [[pontifical university]], though seven Jesuits serve on the 36 member Board of Directors, the university's governing body.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.georgetown.edu/about/board-of-directors/index.html|title=Board of Directors|year=2015|publisher=Georgetown University|access-date=July 31, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727065744/http://www.georgetown.edu/about/board-of-directors/index.html|archive-date=July 27, 2013}}</ref>

[[Catholic Church|Catholic]] spaces at the university, including [[Dahlgren Chapel of the Sacred Heart|Dahlgren Chapel]], the university's principal place of Catholic worship, fall within the territorial jurisdiction of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington|Archdiocese of Washington]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://adw.org/about/|title=About Us|website=Archdiocese of Washington|access-date=September 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020042846/http://adw.org/about/|archive-date=October 20, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

Fifty-two members of the Society of Jesus live on campus, and are employed by Georgetown mostly as professors or administrators.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jesuits.georgetown.edu/members/|title=Jesuit Community Members|department=Jesuit Community|website=Georgetown University|year=2012|access-date=December 9, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130219045133/http://jesuits.georgetown.edu/members/|archive-date=February 19, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Jesuit Heritage Week has been held every year since 2001 to celebrate the contributions of Jesuits to the Georgetown tradition.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehoya.com/gu-celebrates-jesuit-heritage-week-1.1895993|title=GU Celebrates Jesuit Heritage Week|first=Oluseyi|last=Fasoranti|work=[[The Hoya]]|date=February 2, 2010|access-date=May 1, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119022903/http://www.thehoya.com/gu-celebrates-jesuit-heritage-week-1.1895993|archive-date=January 19, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

Georgetown's Catholic heritage has been controversial at times, even though its influence is relatively limited.<ref name="wildes">{{cite news|url=http://www.thehoya.com/shades-of-gray-define-catholic-complexities-1.1891761|title=Shades of Gray Define Catholic Complexities|last=Wildes |first=Kevin|date=February 13, 2004|work=[[The Hoya]]|access-date=August 15, 2011|author-link=Kevin Wildes (priest)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118194015/http://www.thehoya.com/shades-of-gray-define-catholic-complexities-1.1891761|archive-date=January 18, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> Stores in university-owned buildings are prohibited from selling or distributing [[birth control]] products.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Chains-Effective-for-Georgetown-Protestors-89366827.html|title=Chains Effective for Georgetown Protesters|date=March 29, 2010|work=[[WRC-TV|NBC Washington]]|access-date=June 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314232026/http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Chains-Effective-for-Georgetown-Protestors-89366827.html|archive-date=March 14, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

The university hosts the [[Cardinal O'Connor Conference on Life]] annually in January to discuss the [[Anti-abortion movements|pro-life]] movement.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehoya.com/news/anti-abortion-summit-at-gu-1.1915856|title=Anti-Abortion Summit at GU|first=Sarah|last=Kaplan|work=[[The Hoya]]|date=January 25, 2011|access-date=April 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120514052533/http://www.thehoya.com/news/anti-abortion-summit-at-gu-1.1915856|archive-date=May 14, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Georgetown University Medical Center]] and [[MedStar Georgetown University Hospital|Georgetown University Hospital]], operated by [[MedStar Health]], are prohibited from performing abortions.<ref name="medstar">{{cite news|url=http://www.thehoya.com/university-medstar-agree-to-hospital-sale-1.1887199|title=University, MedStar Agree to Hospital Sale|first=Tim|last=Haggerty|work=[[The Hoya]]|date=February 25, 2000|access-date=May 1, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119022255/http://www.thehoya.com/university-medstar-agree-to-hospital-sale-1.1887199|archive-date=January 19, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> However, {{as of|2004|lc=y}}, the hospital was performing research using [[embryonic stem cells]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61643-2004Jan29_2.html|title=GU to Continue Controversial Research|author=Argetsinger, Amy and Avram Goldstein|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=January 30, 2004|access-date=September 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141206174732/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61643-2004Jan29_2.html|archive-date=December 6, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

Between 1996 and 1999, the administration added [[crucifix]]es to many classroom walls, a change that attracted national attention.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehoya.com/news/100899/news3.htm|title=The Catholic Question|work=[[The Hoya]]|first=Heather|last=Burke|date=October 8, 1999|access-date=August 15, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024044000/http://www.thehoya.com/news/100899/news3.htm|archive-date=October 24, 2007}}</ref> Before 1996, crucifixes had hung only in hospital rooms and historic classrooms.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://nytimes.com//2004/06/12/national/12religion.html|title=At One Catholic College, Crucifixes Make a Comeback|first=Marek|last=Fuchs|work=The New York Times|date=June 12, 2004|access-date=August 19, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006081503/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/12/national/12religion.html|archive-date=October 6, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> Some of these crucifixes are historic works of art, and are noted as such.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehoya.com/editorials/042399/edit2.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040506070737/http://www.thehoya.com/editorials/042399/edit2.htm|title=Crucifix Leaders Angry at University|work=[[The Hoya]]|first=Liz|last=Fiore|author2=Jim Rowan |author3=Jon Soucy |date=April 20, 1999|archive-date=May 6, 2004|access-date=August 19, 2007}}</ref>

In May 2004, Imam [[Yahya Hendi]], the school's on-campus Muslim cleric, faced pressure to remove crucifixes while he and other campus faith leaders defended their placement.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://ncronline.org/NCR_Online/archives2/2004b/051404/051404n.php|title=Muslim chaplain sees value in crucifixes|first=John L Jr.|last=Allen|work=[[National Catholic Reporter]]|date=May 14, 2004|access-date=August 15, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210185733/http://ncronline.org/NCR_Online/archives2/2004b/051404/051404n.php|archive-date=December 10, 2008 }}</ref> The [[Edward B. Bunn, S.J. Intercultural Center]] rotates displays of various faith and culture symbols in its lobby.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://explore.georgetown.edu/documents/?DocumentID=736|title=Crucifixes and Religious Symbolism|work=Georgetown's Catholic and Jesuit Identity|publisher=Georgetown University|date=June 16, 2005|access-date=August 15, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011111652/http://explore.georgetown.edu/documents/?DocumentID=736|archive-date=October 11, 2007}}</ref>

In September 2005, Georgetown was criticized by religious groups, including the [[Cardinal Newman Society]], for not following the teachings of the [[Catholic Church|church]] and  hosting [[Abortion-rights movements|pro-abortion rights]] speakers, including [[John Kerry]] and [[Barack Obama]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehoya.com/catholic-group-criticizes-gu-profs-1.1881660|title=Catholic Group Criticizes GU Profs|first=Vidhya|last=Murugesan|date=September 9, 2005|work=[[The Hoya]]|access-date=April 26, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119061847/http://www.thehoya.com/catholic-group-criticizes-gu-profs-1.1881660|archive-date=January 19, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehoya.com/protests-come-to-campus-alongside-obama-1.1894829|title=Protests Come to Campus Alongside Obama|first=Marie|last=Sahrmann|date=April 14, 2009|access-date=May 1, 2011|work=[[The Hoya]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118211705/http://www.thehoya.com/protests-come-to-campus-alongside-obama-1.1894829|archive-date=January 18, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2009, Georgetown's religious symbols were brought back to national attention after the university administration covered-up the [[Christogram|name of Jesus]] in preparation for then President Barack Obama's speech on campus.<ref>[http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/archive/Jesus-Missing-From-Obamas-Georgetown-Speech.html "Jesus Missing From Obama's Georgetown Speech"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108002052/http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/archive/Jesus-Missing-From-Obamas-Georgetown-Speech.html |date=January 8, 2017}}, [[NBC News]], July 13, 2009</ref>

In May 2012, [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington|Washington's Archbishop]] [[Donald Wuerl]] criticized the university for inviting pro-abortion rights [[Kathleen Sebelius]] to be a commencement speaker.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/washingtons-catholic-archbishop-georgetown-president-spar-over-graduation-invitation-to-kathleen-sebelius/2012/05/15/gIQA01ZLSU_story.html|title=Washington's Catholic archbishop, Georgetown president spar over graduation invitation to Kathleen Sebelius|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |first=Michelle |last=Boorstein|date=May 15, 2012|access-date=May 16, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120516212918/http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/washingtons-catholic-archbishop-georgetown-president-spar-over-graduation-invitation-to-kathleen-sebelius/2012/05/15/gIQA01ZLSU_story.html|archive-date=May 16, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Georgetown neighborhood 09.jpeg|thumb|Georgetown neighborhood]]

In August 2013, religious groups denounced Georgetown for allowing gay-themed events, including a performance, during which "a male student went as a high-heeled [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Mary]] and danced to [[Madonna]]'s "[[Like a Virgin (song)|Like a Virgin]]" while [[Jesus]] (a woman) looked on."<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/education/edlife/how-georgetown-became-a-gay-friendly-campus.html A Rainbow Over Catholic Colleges: How Georgetown Became a Gay-Friendly Campus] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625083327/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/education/edlife/how-georgetown-became-a-gay-friendly-campus.html |date=June 25, 2018}}, ''The New York Times'', July 30, 2013</ref>