About the Patrick Healy Dinner

Reverend Patrick Francis Healy became the president of Georgetown University in 1874. Born enslaved in 1834, he is considered to be the second founder of Georgetown. By racial classification standards, Patrick Healy, S.J., was the first Black man to earn a doctorate and the first to head a Jesuit university in the United States. In 1975, Georgetown University’s alumni began honoring the legacy of this great man by establishing a dinner and scholarship in his name. The annual Patrick Healy Dinner was founded as an official university event in 1992 and was placed under the direction of the African American Advisory board in 2002. Since then, the Patrick Healy Dinner and Scholarship have helped many students meet the financial burden of attending Georgetown.

Now a signature event under the Georgetown University Alumni Association Black Alumni Council (BAC), the annual Patrick Healy Dinner celebrates the achievements of Georgetown’s alumni, students, faculty, and staff. Proceeds from the dinner support the Patrick Healy Scholarship. Update for 2026: Proceeds from the Patrick Healy Dinner support the university’s mission to ensure access and affordability for all admitted undergraduate students who demonstrate financial need.

About the Georgetown University Black Alumni Council

The Georgetown University Alumni Association Black Alumni Council is the officially recognized affinity organization and shared interest group within the Georgetown University Alumni Association that supports and engages current and future generations of Georgetown alumni.

Since its launch in July 2022, the mission of the Georgetown University Black Alumni Council is to foster a culture that supports the inclusion, engagement, and connectivity of Black alumni across the Georgetown University community; enhances relations between alumni and students, faculty, and staff who share this mission; and to facilitate outreach from the university to the broader community.