President: 1912-1918

Fr. Alphonsus Donlon, S.J., served as Georgetown's 36th president from 1912-1918. Fr. Donlon oversaw the installation of the John Carroll Statue at the front of the campus and initiated the separation of the Preparatory School from Georgetown's main campus.

President: 1924-1928

Fr. Charles Lyons, S.J., served as Georgetown's 38th president from 1924-1928. Fr. Lyons oversaw the construction of New North and a new wing for the hospital, which has since been converted into student housing.

President: 1964-1969

Fr. Gerard Campbell, S.J., served as Georgetown's 44th president from 1964-1969. Fr. Campbell's tenure is most notable for his reforms to the university's charter and faculty, as well as plans for constructing a new library.

President: 1976-1989

Fr. Timothy Healy, S.J., served as Georgetown's 46th president from 1976-1989. Fr. Healy's tenure as president was defined by substantial change for the University, including various controversies and significant financial growth.

President: 1989-2001

Fr. Leo O'Donovan, S.J., served as Georgetown's 47th president from 1989 to 2001. Fr. O'Donovan led Georgetown through a period of significant academic and financial growth, and his tenure also included controversies over short-lived university funding for the pro-choice club GU Choice.

President: 1799-1806

Fr. Leonard Neale, S.J., served as Georgetown's fourth president from 1799-1806. Fr. Neale expanded Georgetown's curriculum to include philosophy.

President: 1809, 1810-1812

Fr. Francis Neale, S.J., served as Georgetown's sixth and eighth president in 1809 and from 1810-1812. Fr. Neale established the Georgetown Sodality but was criticized by Bishop John Carroll for his disinterest in academics.

President: 1809

Fr. William Matthews served as Georgetown's seventh president in 1809. 

President: 1812-1817

Fr. John Grassi, S.J., served as Georgetown's ninth president from 1812-1817. Fr. Grassi's accomplishments as president included obtaining a congressional charter and significantly expanding enrollment; he was considered Georgetown's "Second Founder" in recognition of his achievements.

President: 1817, 1822-1825

Fr. Benedict Fenwick, S.J., served as Georgetown's tenth and 13th president in 1817 and again from 1822-1825.

President: 1817-1820 

Fr. Anthony Kohlmann, S.J., served as Georgetown's 11th president from 1817-1820. Fr. Kohlmann had advocated for the university's closure before his appointment as president. His presidency featured declining enrollment and a foiled student plot to murder Fr. Stephen Dubuisson.

President: 1825-1826

Fr. Stephen Dubuisson, S.J., served as Georgetown's 14th president from 1825-1826. Fr. Dubuisson did not want the job, an opinion shared by both students and their families, and resigned after only a year.

President: 1826-1829

Fr. William Feiner, S.J., served as Georgetown's 15th president from 1826-1829. 

President: 1829

Fr. John Beschter, S.J., served as Georgetown's 16th president in 1829.

President: 1829–1838 and 1845–1848.

Fr. Thomas F. Mulledy, S.J., served as Georgetown's17th president from 1829-1838 and 22th president from 1845-1848.
 

President: 1838-1839

Fr. William McSherry S.J., served as Georgetown's 18th president from 1838-1839.

Early life and career

William McSherry was born on July 19, 1799, near Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. His father, Richard McSherry, was an Irish immigrant planter who made his fortune trading with Jamaica. After attending Georgetown College between 1813 and 1815, William McSherry entered the Society of Jesus in 1815.

President: 1840

Fr. Joseph Lopez, S.J., served as Georgetown's 19th president in 1840. Fr. Lopez was the first Mexican president of an American university. 

President: 1851-1852

Fr. Charles Stonestreet, S.J., served as Georgetown's 24th president from 1851-1852. Fr. Stonestreet's brief presidency was fairly uneventful, but he was liked and respected by both students and faculty.

President: 1853-58 & 1866-70

Fr. Bernard Maguire, S.J., served as Georgetown's 25th and 27th president from 1853 to 1858 and 1866 to 1870. Georgetown adopted its blue and gray colors during Fr. Maguire's second presidency to mark unity between the students from the North and South in the aftermath of the Civil War.

Fr. John Early, S.J., served as Georgetown's 26th and 28th president from 1858-1866 and from 1870-1873. Fr. Early led Georgetown through the Civil War, which led to decreased enrollment and the stationing of Union soldiers on campus.

President: 1882-1888

Fr. James Doonan, S.J., served as Georgetown's 30th president from 1882-1888. Fr. Doonan inherited a financially struggling university and made impressive strides in reducing Georgetown's debt.

President: 1888-1898

Fr. Joseph Havens Richards, S.J., served as Georgetown's 31st president from 1888-1898. Fr. Richards oversaw the completion of much of Healy Hall's interior and enacted significant academic reforms.

President: 1890-1901

Fr. John Whitney, S.J., served as Georgetown's 32nd president from 1890-1901. Fr. Whitney helped expand Georgetown's graduate academic offerings during his time as president.

President: 1901-1905

Fr. Jerome Daugherty, S.J., served as Georgetown's 33rd president from 1901-1905. Fr. Daugherty oversaw the opening of the Dental School and the construction of Ryan Hall.

President: 1905-1908

Fr. David H. Buel, S.J., served as Georgetown's 34th president from 1905-1908. Fr. Buel's tenure was defined by his disciplinarian policies, which provoked significant backlash from the student body.

President: 1908-1912

Fr. Joseph Himmel, S.J., served as Georgetown's 35th president from 1908-1912. Fr. Himmel oversaw a growing university and was the first Georgetown president to dissolve the football program.

President: 1918-1924

Fr. John Creeden, S.J., served as Georgetown's 37th president from 1918-1924. Fr. Creeden played a significant role in establishing and developing Georgetown's School of Foreign Service.

President: 1928-1935

Fr. W. Coleman Nevils, S.J., served as Georgetown's 39th president from 1928-1935. Fr. Nevils's presidency featured substantial on-campus construction, though the Great Depression hurt student enrollment and hindered Nevils's vision for campus construction.

President: 1935-1942

Fr. Arthur O'Leary, S.J., served as Georgetown's 40th president from 1935-1942. Fr. O'Leary enacted significant administrative reforms and made efforts to improve alumni engagement and student life.

President: 1942-1949

Fr. Lawrence Gorman, S.J., served as Georgetown's 41st president from 1942 to 1949. Fr. Gorman's tenure as president featured substantial enrollment growth in the aftermath of World War II and some of the university's first steps toward desegregation and integration.

President: 1949-1952 

Fr. J. Hunter Guthrie, S.J., served as Georgetown's 42nd president from 1949-1952. Though president for only three years, Fr. Guthrie enacted substantial administrative reforms and dissolved the University's football program.

President: 1952-1964

Fr. Edward Bunn, S.J., served as Georgetown's 43rd president from 1952-1964. At the time of his retirement, Fr. Bunn's 12-year tenure leading the university was the longest of any Georgetown president. Georgetown experienced significant changes under his leadership, including the creation of the University's business school and substantial construction.

President: 1969-1976

Fr. Robert Henle, S.J., served as Georgetown's 45th president from 1969-1976. Fr. Henle's tenure leading the University was marked by substantial growth, spearheaded by increased admission of women and Black students, as well as tensions over the antiwar movement and on-campus protests.

John DeGioia (CAS '79) is Georgetown's 48th and current president, serving in the position since 2001. DeGioia is the longest-tenured president in Georgetown history and the university's first lay president. He has overseen significant construction and fundraising efforts as President; as Dean of Student Affairs, he was prominently involved in controversies surrounding pro-choice student group GU Choice.

President: 1820-1822

Fr. Enoch Fenwick, S.J., served as Georgetown's 12th president from 1820-1822. Fr. Fenwick introduced significant academic reforms, improving Georgetown's academic rigor.

President: 1791-1793

Fr. Robert Plunkett served as Georgetown's first president from 1791-1793. Plunkett's tenure featured the arrival of Georgetown's first students.

President: 1793-1796, 1806-1808

Fr. Robert Molyneux, S.J., served as Georgetown's second and fifth president from 1793-1796 and 1806-1808. Fr. Molyneux oversaw the beginning of construction on Old North during his first presidency.