Wednesday, October 15, 2025
Georgetown University, the nation’s oldest Catholic and Jesuit institution of higher learning, announced on Oct. 15 the selection of its 49th president.
The following, in part, is the university’s statement.
Georgetown’s board of directors has unanimously voted to name Eduardo M. Peñalver, the president of Seattle University, a Rhodes Scholar and former dean of Cornell Law School, as the 49th president of Georgetown University.
He will begin his new role on July 1, 2026.
Peñalver has served as the 22nd president of Seattle University, a Catholic, Jesuit institution, since 2021. He was the first layperson to lead the university since its founding in 1891.
Peñalver will succeed Interim President Robert M. Groves, who has led Georgetown for the past year after former President John J. DeGioia stepped down from his role in 2024 to recover from a stroke.
“We are pleased to welcome Eduardo Peñalver to Georgetown University,” said Thomas A. Reynolds, chair of the board of directors, who shared the news in a message to the Georgetown community. “President Peñalver is an exceptional leader steeped in the Catholic and Jesuit tradition who brings a wealth of experience in higher education, a global mindset, a commitment to social justice and academic excellence, and a bold vision for Georgetown’s future. We look forward to him joining our Georgetown community.”
Prior to Seattle University, Peñalver served as the dean of Cornell Law School. He studied philosophy and theology at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar and earned his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and law degree from Yale Law School. He also clerked for former U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.
As a leading scholar on property law, Peñalver has taught law at Fordham Law School, the University of Chicago Law School and Cornell Law School. He has also been a visiting professor at Harvard and Yale law schools.
“I’m deeply honored to have the privilege of serving as Georgetown’s next president,” Peñalver said. “I would like to thank the Presidential Search Committee and Georgetown’s board of directors for entrusting this role to me at such a pivotal time for Georgetown and for higher education. I am also grateful to Jack DeGioia for his decades of transformative leadership and to Interim President Bob Groves for his careful stewardship this past year.”