Board of Directors Names New Chair, Approves Budget at Summer Meeting

The Board of Directors approved the fiscal year 2022 budget, reviewed campus renovations, honored outgoing and new members and named distinguished lawyer and longtime philanthropist Thomas A. Reynolds III (B’74) as its new chair.

Reynolds, a member of the board for many years previously and currently serving as a board vice chair, will succeed chair William J. Doyle (C’72), who began his service on July 1, 2015, and whose term will end on June 30.

Georgetown President John J. DeGioia praised Doyle and Reynolds for their “extraordinary leadership and generous commitment to Georgetown.”

“As chair for two terms, Bill has helped lead this institution through critical advancements and provided exceptional wisdom and guidance, especially during the historic global pandemic we have faced,” DeGioia says. “I cannot thank him enough for all that he has done to support Georgetown, including through the creation of the Doyle Engaging Difference Initiative.”

Tom Reynolds wears a suit against a white background — Thomas A. Reynolds III (B’74) will begin his role as chair of the Board of Directors on July 1, 2021.

New Board Leadership

Reynolds has built an impressive legal career, including service as Illinois’ assistant attorney general between 1981 and 1983, and as Cook County’s assistant public defender from 1977-1978. He is currently a partner at Winston & Strawn LLP, a global law firm headquartered in Chicago, with specialties in corporate governance and commercial and securities litigation.

He and his wife Hope Coleman Reynolds (B’75) created the Thomas and Hope Reynolds Family Foundation, and he serves as its president.

In addition to his service on the Board of Directors, Reynolds was a member of the steering committee of the For Generations to Come Campaign, a major fundraising effort that raised more than $1.67 billion – a record for Georgetown. He also served as a volunteer during the Third Century Campaign, during which his family named one of the residence hall buildings in the Southwest Quad.

Before his current term, he served as chair of the Law Center committee of the board and on the Board of Regents. The Reynolds’ daughter Kathleen (C’03) also attended Georgetown, and she is a new member of the Board of Regents.

“Tom comes to this leadership role after many years of generous service to the institution,” DeGioia says. “His vision, guidance, and commitment have helped transform our campus community. I look forward to working with him in his new role as chair.”

The board also welcomed several new members for terms beginning July 1 and ending June 30, 2024, including:

Leigh Tung Chou (SFS’93), director of the Tung Foundation
Kaya K. Henderson (SFS’92, G’07), head of Global Learning Lab for Community Impact at Teach For All and former chancellor of DC Public Schools
Fr. James Martin, S.J., Jesuit priest, editor-at-large of America magazine and bestselling author
Frank H. McCourt, Jr. (C’75), business and sports leader, entrepreneur and philanthropist
Fr. Ron Mercier, S.J., provincial of the Central and Southern Province
Melody Rollins (SFS’93), senior client advisor at Bridgewater Associates
Jeanne Ruesch, chair of the Ruesch Family Foundation

Distinguished Service

Doyle is the former president and CEO of PotashCorp, the world’s largest fertilizer enterprise. Since his retirement, he has been working with a private equity firm and sits on the boards of the Wintrust Financial Corporation, the Executives’ Club of Chicago and the Big Shoulders Fund.

During Doyle’s tenure as chair, Georgetown’s board increased financial aid during the COVID-19 pandemic, announced a new policy on divestment from fossil fuels, adopted the Socially Responsible Investing Policy and oversaw “The Power of Many: Participation Matters” campaign that broke Georgetown fundraising records. The board also continued to approve financial plans and academic programs to strengthen the university’s competitiveness and fulfill its mission.

Doyle also championed university’s commitment to tolerance and diversity through the Doyle Engaging Difference Program, which supports innovative learning experiences that equip Georgetown students and faculty to authentically and constructively engage differences inside and outside the classroom.

The board also honored its outgoing members for their many years of devoted service, including Vice Chair Peter J. Clare (B’87); Vice Chair Fr. Daniel Villanueva, S.J. (G’15); Vice Chair Timothy J. O’Neill (L’77); Antoine M. Garibaldi; Kathleen M. Hugin (C’82); Susan B. Karches (C’74); and Peter S. Croncota (B’83).

Budget Update

For fiscal year 2022, the board approved a budget that balances the current operating needs for the upcoming year, while generating resources for key strategic investments for the future.

In a spring financial update, Georgetown President John J. DeGioia announced steps that reflected appreciation of the sacrifices the community made over the past year, including the resumption of employer contributions to 403(b) retirement plans, a 2% pay increase to eligible staff/AAP employees and resumption of campus-based faculty merit review processes.

“I believe the budget that was approved by the Board this month positions us well to move forward through what we hope is the end of the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Geoff Chatas, senior vice president and chief operating officer at Georgetown. “The FY22 budget includes funds to support the ongoing health and safety of our community as we look forward to a return to campus this fall, while also beginning to turn an eye to the future and the support required for some large-scale strategic projects we are very excited about. In order for us to achieve this budget, we’ll continue to prioritize how we allocate resources through thoughtful expense management.”

Aerial shot of Georgetown's Main Campus with blue tint and the text "2020-2021 Capital Improvements"

Campus Renovations

The board reviewed several facilities upgrades that will greet students as they begin the gradual return to campus this summer.

These renovations include the second floor of Car Barn for graduate student study space, townhouses near the Main Campus and the installation of hundreds of smart lockers for centralized mail distribution at LXR, the Leavey Center and Kennedy Hall.

The Dharmālaya Room was relocated to the Leavey Center and now includes new teak shrines, marble icons and pictures hand-crafted in India for over 800 square feet of meditation space to serve more than 500 students with Buddhist, Hindu, Jain and Sikh heritage or practice.

Lab spaces were renovated in Regents Hall to support insect behavioral research and microscopy research. In the Pre-Clinical Science Building on the Medical Center campus, the radio-frequency shield, MRI room enclosure and offices were renovated, including the replacement of an MRI machine in the Pre-Clinical Imaging Research Lab. Lab space was also modified for receiving and processing COVID-19 tests – 4,400 tests per day at full capacity.