Dear Members of the Georgetown University Community:
I write to follow up on yesterday’s message from Chairman of the Board of Directors Thomas Reynolds, appointing me as Interim President and Joe Ferrara as Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff.
None of us wanted President DeGioia’s service as president to end this way. Georgetown will forever be in his debt. Over multiple decades, he led the transformation of Georgetown into the prominent, dynamic, global research university of today.
And so, it is with some measure of regret that we take on these new responsibilities. All of us need time to absorb this news, in our own way, respecting the diverse relationships that President DeGioia forged among us.
Our job, as the Board has directed, is to be energetic stewards of the institution at this moment of transition, to actively continue university initiatives, to facilitate the presidential search led by the Board, and to prepare the university for new leadership. We pledge to do so guided by the same values that President DeGioia has fostered over the years.
So, there is work to be done, as President DeGioia would have wanted us to do. But we do so, with a sense of humility, and with the knowledge that we must rely on the entire Georgetown community at this moment, to work together. We are confident that, with a focus on community and supporting each other, we can see the university through these times and emerge as an even stronger, more impactful institution.
Please keep President DeGioia and his family in your prayers.
Sincerely,
Robert M. Groves
Interim President