Leo J. O'Donovan

To shed its growing debt, O'Donovan sold the Georgetown University Hospital to MedStar Health in 2000.

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 the medical center. In addition, numerous centers and institutes were created during O'Donovan's presidency, including he Georgetown Public Policy Institute in 1990,[16] which would become the McCourt School of Public Policy in 2013, following a gift of $100 million from Frank McCourt,[17] equivalent to $110 million in 2019.[18] Another such institute was the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, which was founded in 1993, and renamed in 2006 for Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, in recognition of a $20 million gift from the Saudi royal,[16] equivalent to $25 million in 2019.[18] O'Donovan also significantly improved the university's financial situation, with the endowment tripling from $240 million to $740 million over the course of his tenure,[11] equivalent to $495 million and $1.07 billion, respectively, in 2019.[18] After several years of increasing deficits, O'Donovan decided to sell a controlling interest in the Georgetown University Hospital to MedStar 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 of medical and nursing schools, as well as their research programs.[20]

One controversy that arose during O'Donovan's presidency concerned the funding and official recognition of an abortion 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 the Archbishop of Washington, Cardinal James Hickey,[21] and a group of alumni, who brought a canon lawsuit against the university. In April 1992, the suit was heard at the Vatican, 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 as Larry Flynt on campus, and to permit the university to perform fetal tissue research.[23]

In 1996, O'Donovan was appointed to the board of directors of The 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 the Southern Baptist Convention—for hosting gay and lesbian theme nights—and the Catholic League—for distributing a movie that sympathetically portrayed a homosexual Catholic priest. While some speculated that his appointment was a public relations move by Disney to allay the concerns of religious groups, both O'Donovan and Michael Eisner, the CEO of Disney, denied that this was the reason for his appointment. Eisner, who also served on Georgetown'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 by John J. DeGioia.[9] Upon stepping down, he received the university's highest award, the John Carroll Award.[26]

O'Donovan has been a member of numerous organizations and committees. He served on the Special Commission on the Religious Life of Undergraduates at Yale University, which was convened by Yale president Rick Levin, as well as on the Blue Ribbon Committee on the Future of the Public Library of Washington, D.C., which was convened by Mayor Anthony Williams. O'Donovan has also served on the boards of the College 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 the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, a member of the steering committee of presidents for the America Reads Initiative, the chair of the Consortium on Financing Higher Education, and was a member of the National Council on the Arts of the National Endowment for the Arts.[28] For a period of time, he was also the chaplain to the New York Athletic Club.[25]

O'Donovan has received the Knight Commanders Cross with star of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Jewish National Fund Tree of Life Award. He has also received four honorary 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][33]

• Curran, Robert Emmett (2010). A History of Georgetown University: The Rise to Prominence, 1964–1989. 3. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press. ISBN 978-1589016903.
• O'Donovan, Leo J. (2008). "Ambassador of Christ: In Memory of Walter J. Burghardt, S.J. (1914–2008)" (PDF). Theological Studies. 69 (3): 493–508. doi:10.1177/004056390806900301. S2CID 170944889. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 17, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
• The Leo J. O'Donovan Fund for Jesuit Education. Towson, Maryland: Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus. 2014. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020 – via Issuu.