Dear Members of the Georgetown University Community:
I write today to express my gratitude for the opportunity I have had to lead Georgetown over these past 23 years and to share with you the most difficult decision I have ever made: I have informed the Board of Directors that I will be stepping down from my role as the President of Georgetown. While I continue to recover from the stroke I suffered this past June, I will need to devote my energies to my ongoing recovery.
Serving as the President of Georgetown has been the privilege of my lifetime. Going forward, I will transition to serve as President Emeritus and as a member of the faculty. In these and many other ways, I look forward to continuing to advance and support Georgetown’s mission and the University community that means so much to all of us. I remain deeply proud of the work we have done together to strengthen the Georgetown community, our nation, and our world.
Each of us is called to a vocation of service. I have had the privilege of holding many roles here at Georgetown and serving in a way that is authentic to my vocation. I have been shaped by the tradition of this community and the values of the Academy and we, as a University community, continue to be guided by these ideals in rich and enduring ways.
Georgetown is a place where we—continuously, rigorously, and collectively—pursue truth. We commit to the formation of our students, to the inquiry of our faculty, and to the common good of our communities. Together, we have worked to ensure Georgetown upholds these commitments and ideals which define us and distinguish universities in our society.
There is another role we play in our world—animated by our mission as a Catholic and Jesuit institution. I am grateful to many who have guided us in this work and who have enlivened our tradition in new ways so that Ignatian spirituality and our Catholic and Jesuit identity are ever more present to our University community.
In many settings over the years, I have shared with you the great hope I have for the future of this University and how we will continue to be ever more true to our mission and purpose. This responsibility is one that each of us shares by virtue of our membership in this community. All of us can find reassurance in knowing that we share in this work together and that, over many generations, we have built the type of community that will enable Georgetown to thrive for years to come.
On behalf of myself and my family, I offer our deepest appreciation for the messages and prayers of support during this time. I look forward to being with you again in the future.
With my deepest gratitude,
Jack
President, Georgetown University