Leo J. O'Donovan | |
|---|---|
_cropped.jpg) O'Donovan speaking at theDutch Embassy in Washington, D.C., in 2017 | |
| 47th President of Georgetown University | |
| In office 1989–2001 | |
| Preceded by | Timothy S. Healy |
| Succeeded by | John J. DeGioia |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1934 (age 90–91) New York City, United States |
| Alma mater | |
| Awards | Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Knight Commander's Cross) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1966 |
Leo Jeremiah O'Donovan IIISJ (born 1934) is an AmericanJesuit priest andtheologian who served aspresident of Georgetown University from 1989 to 2001.
Born inNew York City, he graduated from Georgetown, and while studying in France, decided to enter the Society of Jesus. He went on to receive advanced degrees fromFordham University andWoodstock College, and received his doctorate in theology from theUniversity of Münster, where he studied underKarl Rahner. Upon returning to the United States, he became a professor at Woodstock and theWeston Jesuit School of Theology before becoming the president of theCatholic Theological Society of America and a senior administrator in the Jesuits' Maryland Province.
In 1989, O'Donovan was named the president ofGeorgetown University. His administration saw a significant improvement of the university's finances, which included tripling itsendowment and sellingthe university hospital, which was in substantial debt. The number of applications for admission increased, and Georgetown became among the most selective universities in the country. At the same time, the faculty, administration, and student body became increasingly diverse. His tenure was not without controversy, as he was ordered by aVatican ecclesiastical court to withdraw funding for a studentabortion rights group. He also served as a director ofThe Walt Disney Company from 1996 to 2007.
Following the end of his presidency in 2001, O'Donovan returned to teaching, continuing to do so until 2013. He has remained active in national higher education organizations, and in 2016, became the director of mission for theJesuit Refugee Service USA. A longtime friend of PresidentJoe Biden, O'Donovan deliveredthe invocation at Biden's2021 presidential inauguration.
Leo Jeremiah O'Donovan III was born in 1934 to Margaret and Leo J. O'Donovan Jr. in theFar Rockaway neighborhood ofQueens, inNew York City,New York. Growing up on theUpper West Side ofManhattan, his family belonged toCorpus Christi Church inMorningside Heights and O'Donovan attended the Corpus Christi School, where he was educated by theSinsinawa Dominican Sisters.[1] For high school, he attendedIona Preparatory School inNew Rochelle, New York, graduating in 1952.[2]
O'Donovan then enrolled atGeorgetown University with the intention of becoming apsychiatrist. However, halfway through his undergraduate studies, he quit thepre-medical program, and double-majored in English andphilosophy.[1] While at Georgetown, he wrote for the student newspaper,The Hoya, and was editor-in-chief of the Georgetown College Journal.[3] He graduatedsumma cum laude and first in his class in 1956. O'Donovan received aFulbright Scholarship to study at theUniversity of Lyon in France, where he decided to enter theSociety of Jesus in 1957.[1] He also received aDanforth Fellowship.[4]
Upon his return to the United States, he studied atFordham University, where he received aLicentiate of Philosophy. He then studied atWoodstock College inMaryland, earning aBachelor of Sacred Theology andLicentiate of Sacred Theology.[5] He wasordained apriest there in 1966.[1] Following his ordination, he went to theUniversity of Münster inWest Germany, where he studied under the Jesuit theologianKarl Rahner and received hisDoctor of Theology degree in 1971.[6] He then spent time at theUniversity of Chicago Divinity School as apost-doctoral scholar.[4]
In 1971, O'Donovan became an assistant professor oftheology at Woodstock College, then located in New York City. After three years, he left to become a professor of theology at theWeston Jesuit School of Theology inCambridge, Massachusetts,[6] specializing insystematic theology.[4] While there, he professed hisfinal vows in 1977.[6] From 1981 to 1982, O'Donovan served as the president of theCatholic Theological Society of America.[7] He took a leave of absence from Weston from 1985 to 1988, during which time he was the provincial assistant forformation for theJesuit Maryland Province. He then returned to Weston as professor for an additional year.[6]
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O'Donovan was appointed thepresident of Georgetown University, and assumed office on September 23, 1989.[8] SucceedingTimothy S. Healy,[9] he was the firstalumnus of Georgetown to be named president sinceAlphonsus J. Donlon, whose presidency began in 1912.[3] Several academic components were reorganized during O'Donovan's tenure. In 1994, under theprovost's direction, the School of Languages and Linguistics was subsumed intoGeorgetown College, with the exception of itslinguistics faculty, which became part of theGraduate School of Arts and Sciences. The departments of economics, history, and government were also relocated from theSchool of Foreign Service to Georgetown College.[10]
O'Donovan devised a new master plan for the university's physical campus, which had undergone rapid and often haphazard growth during the previous two decades. The plan called for all new buildings to be architecturally cohesive with that of the historic portion of campus and the surroundingGeorgetown neighborhood. While no new buildings were constructed during his presidency,[10] planning for the construction of the Southwest Quadrangle, which included a large dormitory, dining hall, parking garage, and new Jesuit residence, began.[11] Instead, funds were allocated to the refurbishment of existing buildings that had deteriorated from neglect of maintenance during the same 20 years.[10] As under his predecessor, the size of the faculty continued to increase, contrary to a national trend of shrinking faculty sizes. At the same time, the percentage of faculty who were women or racial minorities increased, and women came to hold many of the university's most senior administrative positions.[12]
The caliber of students admitted to Georgetown continued to increase during this time. The number of applications grew steadily, and the university's admissions rate declined from 29% in 1991 to 21% in 2001, joining the ranks of the most highly selective universities in the country. At the same time, the classes of entering students grew increasingly geographically and ethnically diverse.[13] Having undergone unprecedented growth during the latter half of the 20th century, the university convened an exploration of its identity, particularly in regard to its Catholic and Jesuit nature.[14] After several years, the task force resolved in 2000 that its Catholic and Jesuit heritage was core to the university's identity.[15]
Funding for research more than doubled as the university saw increased grant awards, primarily to themedical center. In addition, numerous centers and institutes were created during O'Donovan's presidency, including the Georgetown Public Policy Institute in 1990,[16] which would become theMcCourt School of Public Policy in 2013, following a gift of $100 million fromFrank McCourt,[17] equivalent to $135 million in 2024.[18] Another such institute was theCenter for Muslim-Christian Understanding, which was founded in 1993, and renamed in 2006 for PrinceAlwaleed bin Talal, in recognition of a $20 million gift from theSaudi royal,[16] equivalent to $31 million in 2024.[18] O'Donovan also significantly improved the university's financial situation, with theendowment tripling from $240 million to $740 million over the course of his tenure,[11] equivalent to $609 million and $1.31 billion, respectively, in 2024.[18] After several years of increasing deficits, O'Donovan decided to sell a controlling interest in theGeorgetown University Hospital toMedStar Health in 2000.[19] Under the agreement, MedStar assumed the hospital's $80 million in debt, in exchange for assuming control of the hospital's operations and its 4,000 employees. Georgetown retained ownership ofmedical andnursing schools, as well as their research programs.[20]
One controversy that arose during O'Donovan's presidency concerned the funding and official recognition of anabortion rights student group. In 1991, the university had decided to fund the group, on the grounds that it would be an informational rather than advocacy organization. This prompted strong condemnation from theArchbishop of Washington, CardinalJames Hickey,[21] and a group of alumni, who brought acanon lawsuit against the university. In April 1992, the suit was heard at theVatican, which ruled that the university must immediately end funding of the group. The university revoked the group's funding, and while it denied that its decision was due to the court order, a high-ranking Jesuit was soon sent to campus to ensure that O'Donovan complied with the ruling.[22] O'Donovan also drew criticism for his decisions to allow speakers such asLarry Flynt on campus, and to permit the university to performfetal tissue research.[23]
In 1996, O'Donovan was appointed to the board of directors ofThe Walt Disney Company. The selection of a priest to be a director of a major American corporation was highly unusual. His appointment came at a time when Disney was facing criticism from religious organizations, such as theSouthern Baptist Convention—for hostinggay andlesbian theme nights—and theCatholic League—for distributinga movie that sympathetically portrayed ahomosexual Catholic priest. While some speculated that his appointment was apublic relations move by Disney to allay the concerns of religious groups, both O'Donovan andMichael Eisner, theCEO of Disney, denied that this was the reason for his appointment. Eisner, who also served onGeorgetown's board of directors and whose son was a student at Georgetown at the time, stated that he had intended to appoint O'Donovan to the board before the start of any controversy, and made the appointment once a seat opened up.[24] He remained on the board until 2007.[25]
O'Donovan's tenure as president came to an end in 2001, and he was succeeded byJohn J. DeGioia.[9] Upon stepping down, he received the university's highest award, theJohn Carroll Award.[26]
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After leaving Georgetown, O'Donovan returned to teaching and scholarship. In 2003, Georgetown University's new dining hall was named theLeo J. O'Donovan Dining Hall. He became avisiting professor at Fordham University and theGeneral Theological Seminary, teaching until 2013.[26] In 2006, he was aBMW Distinguished Visitor at theAmerican Academy in Berlin.[5] From 2008 to 2009, he was also a visiting professor at theUnion Theological Seminary.[27] In 2009, he became the co-chair of the St. Claude La Colombière Jesuit Community campaign.[26] He then returned to Georgetown University as a professor of theology.[28]
In 2016, O'Donovan became the director of mission for theJesuit Refugee Service USA.[3] In this capacity, he wrote about his opposition to PresidentDonald Trump's immigration policies, particularly with regard toMuslim immigrants.[29]
O'Donovan is a longtime friend of PresidentJoe Biden.[30] He presided over thefuneral Mass for Biden's son,Beau Biden, atSt. Anthony of Padua Church inWilmington, Delaware, in 2015.[31] He also deliveredthe invocation at Joe Biden's2021 presidential inauguration.[32] O'Donovan was also a friend of German ChancellorHelmut Kohl.[33]
O'Donovan has been a member of numerous organizations and committees. He served on the Special Commission on the Religious Life of Undergraduates atYale University, which was convened by Yale presidentRick Levin, as well as on the Blue Ribbon Committee on the Future of thePublic Library of Washington, D.C., which was convened by MayorAnthony Williams. O'Donovan has also served on the boards of theCollege of New Rochelle,Fidelis Health Care New York, Jesuit Volunteers International, and was chairman of the Corpus Christi School.[5] He has also been a member of theAssociation of Catholic Colleges and Universities, a member of the steering committee of presidents for the America Reads Initiative, the chair of theConsortium on Financing Higher Education, and was a member of the National Council on the Arts of theNational Endowment for the Arts.[28] For a period of time, he was also thechaplain to theNew York Athletic Club.[25]
O'Donovan has received the Knight Commanders Cross with star of theOrder of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and theJewish National Fund Tree of Life Award. He has also received fourhonorary degrees.[5] In 2014, the Leo J. O'Donovan Fund for Jesuit Education, which seeks to support the formation of young Jesuits, was established.[26][34]
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | 47thPresident of Georgetown University 1989–2001 | Succeeded by |
| Professional and academic associations | ||
| Preceded by | 36th President of theCatholic Theological Society of America 1981–1982 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
