The Likely Hub of the Capitol Campus

Georgetown is growing. We are becoming a larger research university in a specific way motivated by our Jesuit animation. Our students are interested in new combinations of knowledge to inform their life plans at the same time that a large reorganization of knowledge is occurring. The boundaries among the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences are being redefined. World problems cannot be solved with single disciplines; new combinations of perspectives are needed. Whole new professional careers need these combinations. As people for others, this time fits us.

Our space constraints on the Hilltop make more physical growth difficult. The university is building a new campus around the longstanding location of the Law Center. Hence, the Capitol Campus, is a needed locus for growth. For a few years, we have located interdisciplinary research and policy centers in 500 First Street.

Soon, the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Capitol Campus home of the McCourt School of Public Policy will occur. This will free up space in Old North, permitting the vision of a Humanities Quad to be realized in the coming years. That should free up space in the ICC building. We aspire to build a new building South of the Regents Hall and remodel space in the Reiss building. So we can do some growing on the Hilltop, but it’s not enough.

The largest new building on the Capitol Campus is at 111 Massachusetts Avenue – hundreds of thousands of square feet. It will be a university-shared resource for all of us. It will become the home of the Earth Commons Institute; the School of Continuing Studies; Centers and graduate programs of the McDonough School of Business; parts of the School of Nursing; and parts of the School of Health.

The shared classrooms, hoteling offices, conference rooms, executive education, and event spaces are open for all of us. Those of us on the Hilltop can book spaces in offices and conferences room in a new online platform. There will be a retail restaurant, a book store, and a community outreach facility.

The building is now undergoing a major renovation. So far, it’s on schedule. Each floor has been designed by its future occupants, but plenty of the space is for all of us.

At the planned opening of 111 Massachusetts in August, 2025, the first juniors in the Earth Commons, as well as large numbers of graduate students from all schools, will christen the space. The large number of hangout spaces suggest that the building will become a hub of the Capitol Campus. Appropriately, there is a floor devoted to a wide array of student services. The vision is that over the next five years the undergraduate population will grow to about 1,000 juniors and seniors in public policy, environmental studies, and students in the Capitol Applied Learning Lab, an immersive intern/education program permitting Hilltop students to pursue a full semester load, while learning through an internship. The colocation of so many of our schools will permit the creation of new joint programs across the schools.

Georgetown is growing, and 111 Massachusetts will be a big part of it. With the energy of our faculty, staff, and students, we will become a more impactful institution in DC and the world.