Title:Recent gifts advance Georgetown’s commitment to student experiences, research

Georgetown’s philanthropic community is a critical partner in the university’s ongoing efforts to provide transformative educational experiences to its students, preparing them to be 21st century leaders. Here are the stories of several recent gifts and longtime donors who have fueled transformative impacts.

Leonsis family supports entrepreneurship program, MedStar pavilion

With their landmark $10 million gift commitment, the Leonsis family—Ted (C’77) and Lynn Leonsis along with their son, Zach (MBA’15), and their daughter, Elle (C’14)—seek to promote what they call a “growth mindset” at the university.

$5M of the gift commitment will support Georgetown Entrepreneurship and fund special initiatives like the Leonsis Family Entrepreneurship Prize and the Leonsis Venture Lab.

The additional $5M will fund new pediatric spaces at the recently opened Verstandig Pavilion at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital: the helipad, emergency room, and several areas exclusively for pediatric patients and their families.

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Georgetown men’s basketball program receives $4M gift

A $4 million gift from Ambassador David Welch (SFS’75) and Gretchen Welch, longtime supporters of Georgetown Athletics and student-athlete mental health, will advance the men’s basketball program, establishing an endowed fund in support of the athletic director’s priorities and a current use fund for new initiatives led by Head Coach Ed Cooley.

Half of the Welches’ gift is an endowment supporting special initiatives led by Lee Reed, Francis X. Rienzo Director of Intercollegiate Athletics.

The other half will support the operational needs of Head Coach Ed Cooley and the renaming of the men’s basketball practice gym in the Welches’ honor.

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Law Center alumna establishes opportunity scholarship fund

Linda Schakel (L’86) and her late partner, Michael Hodge (L’90), met at Georgetown Law. She made the decision more than 30 years ago to support scholarships at Georgetown Law.

Schakel recently established the Michael Vincent Hodge Endowed Opportunity Scholarship Fund with a blended commitment that includes a bequest in her will and an outright gift that will make an immediate impact on the lives of students.

The Opportunity Scholarship Program provides the most highly qualified candidates access to a Georgetown legal education and ensures that financial resources are never a barrier to their decision to enroll at Georgetown Law.

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Leading by example

After her diagnosis nine years ago, Mary Roney (B’76) became a passionate advocate for improving patient education and treatment for Parkinson’s disease (PD).

As one of the fastest-growing neurodegenerative diseases in the world, PD affects more than 8.5 million people, yet only about 10% of current patients in the U.S. see a specialist.

Passionate about PD research, Roney recently chose to include a bequest in her estate planning that will go toward the Fund a Fellow for Parkinson’s Disease Program at Georgetown University. This program provides funding to train early-career neurologists as movement disorders specialists through a two-year fellowship.

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