Last Friday, the University launched “The Campaign for Georgetown: For Generations to Come,” a $1.5 billion fundraising initiative aimed at comprehensively improving life on the Hilltop. The campaign is a necessary response to the needs of our community and a notable exception to the perceived inattention of the administration to improving the undergraduate experience in recent years.
If all is accomplished as planned, the cash generated by the campaign promises to cement Georgetown’s place as a first-rate university. The campaign will not only improve the quality of undergraduate life, but it also holds the potential to increase our standing in comparative rankings with our peer institutions. Most laudably, the campaign takes a large step toward guaranteeing every well-qualified student who applies to Georgetown the education he or she deserves regardless of socioeconomic status.
The initiative aims to assist in improving four foundational aspects of the Georgetown undergraduate experience. It allots $500 million to fund new scholarships, $500 million for investment in faculty expansion and endowment, $200 million for expansion and renovation of student activity centers, and $300 million for future transformational projects, similar to the creation of SFS-Qatar.
Georgetown also deserves praise for its confident promotion of the largest financial campaign in the University’s history. Because our endowment is currently just above $1 billion, remaining competitive with peer institutions through persistent expansion and renovation requires a massive fundraising campaign.
The campaign has also enabled current students to interact with a wide range of famous alumni and other guests. Notable visitors within the last week range from former President Bill Clinton (SFS ’68) to his classmate Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal (SFS ’68) to former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue (COL ’62). This diverse group of distinguished and popular speakers stands as a reminder of the distinct academic culture and intellectual spirit Georgetown is asking investors to sustain with their donations.
Georgetown’s alumni and supporters are stepping up. The campaign has already accrued $775 million of its $1.5 billion goal since the beginning of its “quiet phase” in 2006. If and when the campaign reaches its goal, the funds generated promise not only to sustain the Georgetown legacy, but also to touch our community in ways that cannot be done without the help of generous donors.
In the last several years, the administration has often faced withering criticism for its actions and inactions on the Hilltop. The Campaign for Georgetown is a mission, however, that we can all rally around.
