John DeGioia

Dr. John J. "Jack" DeGioia became Georgetown University’s 48th President on July 1, 2001. DeGioia began his professional career at Georgetown after graduating from the College of Arts and Sciences in 1979. He held various leadership positions throughout the University for more than two decades before becoming President. In addition to his administrative experience, DeGioia is a Professorial lecturer and faculty member in Georgetown’s Department of Philosophy and has taught undergraduate Philosophy courses at Georgetown every year since receiving his doctorate from Georgetown College in 1995.

Educated in the Catholic and Jesuit tradition, DeGioia is Georgetown University’s first lay president. "I have been raised in a Church, animated by the spirit of the Second Vatican Council," he says. "I have been taught that the laity must be prepared to assume greater responsibility in partnership with the clergy as stewards of the Catholic and Jesuit University and the Church itself. From the day I walked onto this campus in 1975, I have been a member of a community that acknowledged as part of its corporate responsibility the preparation for a future in which the role of the laity would become even greater."

As President, DeGioia works closely with the Georgetown University Jesuit community, home to nearly 70 priests and brothers that live and work in various roles throughout the campus and greater Washington Community. As Brian McDermott, S.J., rector of the Jesuit Community, says, "In addition to bringing wonderful managerial and leadership skills to Georgetown University, Jack DeGioia essentially embodies what Georgetown University is about. He is deeply committed to the Jesuit and Catholic identity and mission of the school and personally embodies in himself everything that Georgetown wants to be. I’ve pledged to him my full support as well as the enthusiastic support and collaboration of the entire Jesuit Community."

From 1998 until beginning his tenure as President, DeGioia served as Senior Vice President, overseeing University-wide operations including financial affairs, information technology, facilities and student housing, human resources, athletics, and general counsel. He oversaw the development and implementation of financial strategy, capital projects, technology strategy, and administrative resizing. As Senior Vice President, DeGioia played a key role in the development of financial and academic strategy for Georgetown University’s Medical Center. He was one of the leaders most responsible for the successful partnership with MedStar Health in July 2000.

In 1992, then-President Leo J. O’Donovan, S.J. recruited DeGioia to serve as Associate Vice President and Chief Administrative Office for Georgetown’s Main Campus. DeGioia was promoted to Vice President in 1995 and held this position until 1998. As Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, DeGioia oversaw an annual budget in excess of $200 million and all of Georgetown University’s Main Campus operations, including undergraduate admissions, student financial aid, finance and budget, athletics, academic computing services, minority student affairs, and the student career center.

DeGioia served as Georgetown University’s Dean of Student Affairs from 1985-1992. In this capacity he supervised the departments of student life, student services and facilities, athletics career center, student health, counseling, and psychiatry, and public safety, with combined budgets of more than $35 million and a staff of 250 employees. Among his accomplishments in this position, DeGioia chaired the committee that monitored the University’s commitment to free speech and expression. He developed and expanded comprehensive assistance to support students in need of psychological and health care, leading to an extensive network of services for students coping with depression, eating disorders, alcohol abuse and other serious problems.

As Dean of Student Affairs, DeGioia instituted a comprehensive tracking program to monitor the performance of all student-athletes. Today, Georgetown continues to be among the top higher education institutions for the academic performance of its student-athletes. He also served on the planning committee for the "Campus Compact," a coalition of college and university Presidents, founded by Georgetown, Brown and Stanford Universities committed to volunteerism and public service, and as part of the "Presidential Responsibilities in Student Life" task force of the Association of Catholic colleges and Universities. Always committed to furthering the University’s founding mission of diversity, Dr. DeGioia led numerous projects addressing multicultural issues with student leaders and organizations on campus and coordinated a training program for student affairs staff on issues of race, ethnicity and cultural diversity.

During his tenure as Dean of Student Affairs DeGioia engaged in fundraising efforts to support two University-wide capital campaigns, focusing efforts to support the construction of what is now the Leavey Student Center, and establishing a new parents annual fund.

From 1982 to 1985, DeGioia served as assistant to then-President Timothy S. Healy, S.J. He was responsible for the operations of the Office of the President and coordinated University-wide projects on behalf of the President, including development activities, public appearances and conferences.

Throughout his career, DeGioia has represented Georgetown on numerous task forces and higher education committees. He served on the Committee for Presidential Responsibilities in Student Life, Association of Catholic colleges and Universities, the Fund for Education in South Africa Board of Directors, the COFHE Quality Management Advisory Group, and the Faculty Seminar on the Identity of Georgetown University as a Jesuit and Catholic Institution. He received the Georgetown Alumni Admissions Program Chairman’s Award in 1997 and was recognized as one of the "Young Leaders of the Academy" by Change Magazine in 1998.

DeGioia earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Georgetown University in 1979 and his Ph.D. in Philosophy in 1995. As a student, DeGioia played football, participated in track and field, volunteered with the developmentally disabled and worked as a Resident Assistant.

DeGioia serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Washington Foundation for Psychiatry and is a participant in the Forum for the Future of Higher Education. DeGioia was born in Orange, CT. He now resides in Washington, DC with his wife, Theresa Miller DeGioia (C’89) a Georgetown alumnus and former staff member in the University’s Office of Alumni and University Relations. The DeGioia’s have a son, John Thomas, who was born in June.