GUAA History

In its 143 years, the Georgetown University Alumni Association has held fast to its mission: to connect and reconnect alumni with each other and with the university.

The original goals of the association included “that students… might… be assured of meeting their old companions and friends.” Georgetown’s alumni association remains a vehicle by which alumni participate in each other’s lives and in the life of the university, and express their loyalty and undying affection for Georgetown – no matter their campus, school, or year.

View a list of Alumni Association presidents

1869

The Medical Society of Alumni of Georgetown University is formed.

1872

Georgetown College Journal begins publication. The Journal serves as a vehicle for alumni communication, including news and essays as well as notices of marriages and professional activities. Early issues called for an organization for alumni participation and the establishment of reunions.

1875

An alumni association is loosely formed but fades after several meetings.

1880

A Society of Alumni is established at the request of University President Rev. Patrick Healy, S.J., and a constitution is adopted. At this time, the society includes only alumni of Georgetown College of Arts & Sciences.

1881

The Georgetown College Society of Alumni meets formally for the first time on June 23. Soon afterwards, all alumni organizations merge to form the Georgetown University Alumni Association. The association sets as its purposes to perpetuate and strengthen college friendships, to collect and preserve materials for college history, and to promote the interests of Georgetown through every means available, including securing financial support for the university.

1889

The alumni association takes a lead role in Georgetown’s centennial celebration. During these early years of the association, alumni provide financial support to establish a museum in Healy Hall, an endowment for the Georgetown Library, a boathouse and a grandstand on the varsity field. Alumni also participate in athletics governance, including scheduling and recruiting.

1912

The statue in front of Healy Hall honoring John Carroll is unveiled. The statue was funded through donations from alumni.

1919

The alumni association and the graduating class plant a grove of trees to honor Georgetown alumni who lost their lives in World War I. The Intercultural Center now stands on the memorial grove site.

1921

Georgetown initiates its first capital fund raising drive, the “Greater Georgetown” campaign. The campaign reinvigorated the association; following the campaign conclusion, the association was still without staff support of any kind, and would be dormant for the following 15 years. Alumni remained active, turning out in large numbers for Homecoming and the annual “G” Club banquets honoring Hoya athletic teams. The period also would see a significant increase in the number of regional alumni clubs.

1938

University President Rev. Arthur O’Leary, S.J., asks English Professor James Ruby to serve as the executive secretary of the alumni association: the first full-time, paid director. With university funding and direction, the association begins publishing the Alumni Bulletin, the first formal communications piece for alumni and the forerunner of today’s Georgetown Magazine.

1939

The association establishes an alumni giving fund.

1940

Regional alumni club delegates convene to adopt a formal constitution for a revised association for all alumni.

1942

For tax and liability reasons, the university recommends the alumni association be incorporated separately from Georgetown.

1946

A class agent program is developed to raise funds through the Alumni Fund. Giving opportunities include annual membership dues for the association’s operating budget. Recommendations by the association’s Alumni Advisory Committee on Athletics include: 1) all coaches should be employed full-time; 2) a full-time publicity director (sports information) should be employed; and 3) alumni activity should be confined to raising the necessary money to put athletics on a sound financial basis.

1947

On Aug. 12, the Georgetown University Alumni Association, Inc., is incorporated. The Alumni Board of Governors is established to oversee the association. Fund-raising efforts resume, with the express purpose of securing funds for the construction of a new gymnasium. The Georgetown Alumni Magazine begins publishing quarterly.

1950

The Board of Governors establishes the Alumni Senate. The association sponsors a career guidance conference in Gaston Hall consisting of weekly presentations by alumni professionals on their specialty area. The association also sets up alumni admissions committees; 54 committees with 100 interviewers develop in the first year.

1951

The association moves to 3604 O Street NW. McDonough Memorial Gymnasium, the association’s first alumni-wide fund-raising project, opens in December with an Alumni Lounge furnished by the Club of Washington, D.C.

1952

The Board of Governors establishes the John Carroll Awards to honor outstanding alumni for career achievement, volunteer service to Georgetown, and community involvement. The first John Carroll Awards dinner is held in Washington, D.C.

1953

The association expands its offices by acquiring an adjoining townhouse. The undergraduate class of 1953 presents a trophy room for the new gymnasium as well as a plaque establishing the Georgetown Athletic Hall of Fame.

1953

The alumni association establishes the Alumni Annual Fund, Georgetown’s first true annual giving program.

1958

The Board of Governors establishes a committee – the forerunner of the Annual Fund Council – to guide the annual giving program.

1963

The association establishes the William Gaston Award for outstanding alumnus or alumna in the field of education.

1964

The first Alumni College is held. Homecoming resumes after a 13-year hiatus.

1965

The Council of Club Presidents – the forerunner of the Regional Club Council – is formed.

1966

An additional adjoining townhouse on 36th Street NW is added to Alumni House.

1967

The association offers the first alumni travel program.

1968

The association computerizes its alumni records. Coordinating with the university’s office of public relations, the association merges its Georgetown Alumni Magazine and Alumni Newsletter with the university’s Georgetown Record, resulting in Georgetown Magazine.

1969

The association’s career functions are transferred to the office of student affairs. The Board of Governors establishes the Patrick Healy Award to honor outstanding individuals who are not Georgetown alumni. The awards are given as part of the John Carroll Weekend.

1975

The Athletic Hall of Fame is revived.

1980

The Board of Governors proposes and approves changes to the Alma Mater to reflect the inclusion of women on campus. Hoyas Unlimited, the support organization for Georgetown athletics, integrates its operations into those of the alumni association and the Annual Fund. The Alumni College is revived.

1984

Another townhouse on 36th Street NW is added to Alumni House.

1985

The Board of Governors approves the construction of an alumni residence at 3601 O Street NW, to be named in honor of former Executive Secretary James P. Reed, to accommodate association and university social functions as well as provide a residence for the association’s executive secretary.

1987

Following two years of negotiations, the Board of Governors votes to integrate into a unified office of alumni and university relations. A lawsuit by a handful of alumni challenges the corporate mechanics of this change. The litigation was subsequently settled with revisions to the corporate structure but preservation of the functional integration of the association within the university.

1988

The Law Affairs committee of the Board of Governors is reconstituted as the National Law Alumni Board.

1989

Georgetown celebrates its bicentennial anniversary. A satellite linked video feed allows alumni in major cities across the country to view the events.

1992

New alumni service awards – the Paul Dean (law), Founders’ (medical), Apollonian (dental), and Pat Reed (Board of Governors) – join the Gaston Award, now honoring outstanding service by undergraduate alumni.

1996

The Board of Governors publishes the association strategic plan. An online alumni career network is initiated, with more than 10,000 alumni volunteering to assist students and fellow alumni with employment contacts and counsel. At more than 16,000 participants, it is the largest alumni volunteer effort at Georgetown.

1997

Hoyasonline, the alumni Web site, goes live. The Web site will eventually provide an online directory, career directory and career networking information, alumni news, events registration, class notes, class and regional club information, and information on association services.

1998

With Alumni House in serious disrepair, alumni association staff move to 2115 Wisconsin Avenue NW. The Board of Governors holds its first summer planning retreat.

1999

Alumni House renovation planning begins. The alumni travel program is revived.

2003

Revisions to the association bylaws, refocusing the association on advancement efforts through the class and regional club organizational structures, are approved.

2004

The Timothy and Linda O’Neill Alumni Welcome Center is opened as part of new law campus construction.

2005

The renovated Alumni House, now named for philanthropists Robert (F’48) and Bernice Wagner, opens at 3604 O Street NW.

2006

The Board of Governors created 13 Student Governors representatives from all campuses at Georgetown University to be liaisons to the Association and the student population.

2008

The Georgetown University Alumni Association Faculty Appreciation Award is created to honor faculty participation in Association outreach.