Title: Board of Directors Welcomes New Members, Approves Renovations at Fall Meeting
Georgetown’s board of directors welcomed four new members at its fall meeting on campus this week and approved major building renovations as well as the construction of a new downtown residence hall.
Each new member of the board will serve a three-year term.
“We are very pleased to welcome these individuals onto our university’s board of directors,” said Georgetown President John J. DeGioia. “Their leadership, vision and experience will help to strengthen our community and our mission as a student-centered research university.”
The new board members include:
- Mary Callahan Erdoes of New York, chief executive officer of J.P. Morgan’s Asset & Wealth Management division
- W. Robert Berkley Jr. of Greenwich, Connecticut, president and chief executive officer of W. R. Berkley Corporation
- Thomas A. Reynolds III of Chicago, a partner in the law firm Winston & Strawn LLP (a returning member of the Board)
- James O’Hara of Ross, California, president of TSG Consumer Partners LLC (C’88, L’92)
The board previously approved a five-year, $75 million deferred maintenance plan for capital projects on campus, including $15 million in FY2020 across campus to improve building access, infrastructure, health and safety systems as well as mechanical repairs to correct humidity concerns.
Over the summer the university completed repairs to the roofs of the student residence known as Alumni Square and the renovation of all apartments in the Alumni Square West building. The upperclass student residential complex comprises 360 beds in four buildings. Below is a photo of a kitchen in the renovated Alumni Square residence.
Village C, a more than 650-room residence hall built in 1987, will receive major renovations over the next two summers, including exterior waterproofing, improvements to the HVAC and interior renovations.
New Residence Hall
The board also approved funds for the construction of a new, 476-bed residence hall on a 33,000-square-foot property leased from Gonzaga College High School at 55 H Street, NW. The 11-story building will include a ground floor retail and amenity space, extensive landscaping and programming features for the student community.
Common space and a full-size kitchen will be located on each floor, and outside there will be a large central courtyard with a game area, pergola structures, gas grills and an outdoor fireplace, a secondary courtyard, a ping-pong table, dining/study areas, an outdoor classroom and a bioretention garden.
Other environmentally conscious features include solar panels on the roof – which also includes a partial green area – and a “green screen” comprising vines on the outdoor walls.
“The property is in close proximity to the U.S. Capitol, our Law Center, School of Continuing Studies and 500 First Street, NW, and provides a strategic opportunity for Georgetown,” says Geoff Chatas, senior vice president and chief operations officer. “We continue to see an increased demand for housing to serve both undergraduate and graduate students and will be engaging with students to ensure the building meets their needs.”
Student Referendum
The board also explored several significant issues, including the university’s ongoing work on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation.
During its meeting this week, the board continued its discussion of the student referendum, which began at its June meeting.
Georgetown leaders have been working through questions raised by the student referendum, including governance structures, the university’s nonprofit status, sources of funding, consultations with the Descendant Community and connections to our ongoing dialogue process with descendants and the Society of Jesus.
