Announcing a Leadership Transition in the Office of the COO

August 12, 2021

Dear Members of the Georgetown University Community:

I write to share with our University community that Geoffrey Chatas (C’85), our Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, has been selected as the next Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at the University of Michigan, beginning October 1. I wish to offer my sincere appreciation and gratitude to Geoff for his contributions to Georgetown as he takes this next step in his professional career in his hometown of Ann Arbor.

Since returning to Georgetown in 2018, Geoff has provided invaluable leadership of the financial and operational aspects of the University—strengthening the context for us to achieve our academic mission and advance new priorities for the University. As Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, he has oversight over financial affairs, our internal audit, our investment office, our planning and facilities management, auxiliary services and real estate, human resources, the office of faculty and staff benefits, and university information services. Under Geoff’s leadership, this team of colleagues has done extraordinary work on behalf of our University community.

For the past 18 months, Geoff and his team have been integral to every aspect of our COVID-19 response—working with colleagues across the University to design and implement our public health plan and manage through the financial challenges associated with the pandemic.

He has enabled us to take significant steps in our vision for an expanded presence in downtown Washington, D.C., and has led major renovations and upgrades to the existing infrastructure on our campuses, with a significant emphasis on our undergraduate residence halls. He has helped to advance our ongoing commitment to sustainability through our commitment to divest from fossil fuels and increase clean energy investment in our endowment, a new energy partnership announced earlier this year, and a solar power purchase agreement to increase our renewable power sources and use of clean energy. As a Co-Chair of the Georgetown Community Partnership, Geoff has continued to deepen Georgetown’s relationship with our neighbors and the D.C. community.

He has strengthened our financial position through targeted fiscal management initiatives and optimization of our credit lines and debt portfolio. We have also seen the continued growth of our endowment under the direction of Michael Barry, our Chief Investment Officer.

It is difficult to imagine a more complex and challenging period and we have been fortunate to have Geoff’s leadership and contributions as we have sought to provide the very best context for our community to live, learn, and work together.

David Green, who serves as our Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, will now serve as our Interim Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. I am grateful to Dave for taking on this responsibility. Dave will assume this role on Monday, August 16, with Geoff continuing to provide advice in the weeks before his transition to the University of Michigan.

I wish to again offer my deep appreciation and gratitude to Geoff for all that he enabled our University to accomplish over these past three years and for his leadership in responding to the challenges of the pandemic.

You have my very best wishes.

Sincerely,

John J. DeGioia