Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Close up of the Healy Hall clock tower, surrounded by leafy green trees.

Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

“Every man is capable of truth, yet the journey is much more bearable when one goes forward with the help of another. Truth is sought in community.”
Pope Leo XIV, Apostolic Letter, 27 October 2025

The mission of our office is to create an environment where all backgrounds, cultures and perspectives are recognized, valued and respected so that each person may contribute to the academic life of the university.

Our work is shaped by the university’s mission that expresses a deep care for all and a strong commitment to the three foundational aspects of our institutional purpose: the formation of our students, the inquiry and scholarship of our faculty and our service to humanity for the common good. By embracing these values, we aim to foster a sense of belonging for all.

Georgetown’s mission states that:

“…the university was founded on the principle that serious and sustained discourse among people of different faiths, cultures, and beliefs promotes intellectual, ethical and spiritual understanding.”

We embody this principle in the diversity of our students, faculty and staff, our commitment to the common good, our intellectual openness, and our international character. Our Catholic and Jesuit values demand that Georgetown maintain a faculty, staff and student population that values variation in all attributes relevant to human knowledge.

Diversity Encourages Different Voices and Viewpoints

Diverse voices and perspectives are the treasure of a university. It is the diversity within the university that is a necessary condition of the dialogue across differences. We strive for dialogue not merely for dialogue’s sake. Dialogue across differences pursues continuous evaluation of different perspectives in a constant but never-fully-achieved search for the truth. While dialogue across differences is a requisite activity for learning, it never compels any person to endorse a particular viewpoint.

Within a community of different life experiences and perspectives, dialogue can be achieved only if each member shows other members respect, empathy and attention. Each of us needs to listen, carefully, as well as talk. This contributes to a sense of belonging that enables our commitment to rich and authentic dialogue and exchange of ideas.

Diversity Animates Georgetown’s Values

As the nation’s oldest Catholic and Jesuit university, Georgetown University was founded on principles that have promulgated a set of values consistent with our Catholic and Jesuit identity. Those values are reflected in Georgetown’s recruitment of staff, faculty and students; in our devotion to civil discourse across differences; in the pedagogy in the classroom; and in our scholarly activities.