WASHINGTON (Oct. 15, 2025)—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 (B’74), chair of the board of directors. “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 and clerked for former U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. 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.
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,” said Peñalver. “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.”
As he begins his new role, Peñalver plans to bring his experiences guiding another Jesuit university to Georgetown.
“At the center of our work, [Jesuit universities] share an interest in students as whole persons, focusing on their experiences both inside and outside the classroom,” he said. “We share an aspiration to do more than teach a skill or impart knowledge, but to get students to grapple with the deeper questions, to pursue more ambitious goals like wisdom and understanding and meaning, in their academic work and in their lives.”
Peñalver was drawn to Georgetown for its leadership in higher education, as an R1 research university, location in the heart of Washington, DC, and commitment to student formation and academic excellence in the Jesuit tradition.
Washington, DC, was the city where Peñalver and his wife, Sital Kalantry, a law professor, first began their careers. Peñalver also received his pilot’s license while living here, and hopes to continue flying in the region.
Peñalver said he is looking forward to returning to DC in what feels like a “full-circle moment” and engaging with the Georgetown community.
“This is an exciting moment in Georgetown’s history — with the expansion of the Capitol Campus, the creation of new, interdisciplinary programs, a renewed focus on access and affordability, and a commitment to finding innovative solutions to society’s most pressing issues,” he said.
“I look forward to working with the students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of Georgetown to deepen the university’s impact on our country and on our world.”
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