Georgetown continues its advocacy for the release of Austin Tice (SFS’02, L’13), an alumnus who has been captive in Syria for over 12 years.
After the collapse of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in early December, there is renewed hope that Tice will be reunited with his family. In a news conference on Dec. 6, Tice’s parents, Debra and Marc Tice, said they had information that their son was alive and cared for.
Tice had just finished his second year at Georgetown Law in 2012 when he spent his summer working as a freelance photojournalist in Syria reporting on the country’s civil war for organizations including the McClatchy Company, the Washington Post and CBS. He disappeared in August 2012, and the U.S. government said he was held captive by the Syrian government.
Georgetown first joined the Tice family in advocacy efforts in 2015. Since then, university leaders have worked through federal relations channels to connect the Tice family with policymakers and key government stakeholders. Georgetown schools, programs and students have also continued to raise awareness for Tice’s case.
“Georgetown remains committed to advocating for the release of Austin and providing support in any way we can to the Tice family,” said Joseph Ferrara, Georgetown senior vice president and chief of staff.
Over the years, the Tice family has assembled a small informal circle of advisers to provide strategic counsel to advocate for Tice’s release. The advisory group has included several leaders from Georgetown, including Georgetown President Emeritus John J. DeGioia; Ferrara; William M. Treanor, executive vice president and dean of the Law Center; and Joel Hellman, dean of the School of Foreign Service (SFS).
In December amid the ongoing events in Syria, Georgetown hosted a strategy session with the Tice family and Ferrara; Treanor; Hellman; Bill McCarren, former National Press Club executive director; Steven Gillen (G’96, ‘01), a Foreign Service officer and the former deputy special presidential envoy for hostage affairs; and other experts from Georgetown Law and SFS.
During the session, the group discussed how to best advocate for Tice, including advocacy opportunities in the final month of the Biden administration and how to continue advocating with the incoming Trump administration.
“The Law Center is providing whatever resources and expertise it has to help support Austin’s case,” Treanor said. “I am humbled to have worked alongside the Tice family in this most important matter over more than a decade.”
Since Tice’s disappearance, the Tice family has worked tirelessly through various organizations and government channels to raise awareness and support for Tice, meeting with officials across multiple presidential administrations. They’ve also raised the profile of Tice’s case through the media, including interviews with the Washington Post, NBC News, USA Today and others. The family has also worked closely with the National Press Club, a professional organization for journalists that advocates for press freedom and has been relentless in their efforts to advocate for Tice’s release.
A History of Advocacy for Austin Tice
Over the years, Georgetown worked with the National Press Club to organize three bipartisan congressional sign-on letters, garnering signatures from lawmakers across the aisle to urge the White House and State Department to increase their efforts to secure Tice’s release.
In the first letter in 2016, a group of legislators, including multiple Georgetown alumni serving in Congress, signed a letter demanding more action from the Obama administration. Subsequent bipartisan letters garnered more support from legislators. In 2019, a bipartisan sign-on letter garnered signatures from 122 representatives and 52 senators, urging the Trump administration to do more to facilitate Tice’s release.
In 2019, SFS presented Centennial Honors to Tice, whose parents accepted the award on his behalf, for exemplifying Georgetown’s Jesuit values throughout his life. And in May 2023, Debra Tice delivered an address at the SFS commencement ceremony to commemorate her son and charge the Class of 2023 to stand against injustice.
“[Austin Tice] wanted people to see and understand what was happening in Syria. He hoped that knowledge of the escalation, the dangers of urban warfare, and the harm to innocent children would move people to pull back from violence,” Debra Tice said in her speech. “I hope you are inspired by the courage and commitment to defend freedom and stand against injustice that so many of your fellow graduates have demonstrated for generations.”
Over the years, the National Press Club hosted events alongside the Tice family to raise awareness. In August 2022, the National Press Club hosted an event marking the 10-year anniversary of Tice’s capture, which featured remarks from then-Georgetown President John J. DeGioia and video remarks from Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and then-Washington Post publisher Fred Ryan.
“We remain hopeful that Austin will come home to his family soon,” Hellman said. “Until then, we will work tirelessly alongside the Tice family to raise awareness for his case and push for his immediate release.”
