Georgetown University and Hemispheric Affairs
An Exhibition prepared for the Georgetown Reception at the Summit of the Americas
Miami, Florida
December 8, 1994
Introduction
Georgetown University is widely known as a magnet for students interested in
international studies. Today, students from over a hundred nations have
chosen to pursue their education at Georgetown. In this century, the Edmund
A. Walsh, S.J. School of Foreign Service has provided a focus for
Georgetown's presence in the international community. It must be noted,
however, that a strong international orientation dates from the earliest
days of John Carroll's Academy on the Potomac. At the time of our founding
in 1789, American colleges were local, or at most regional schools. In New
England, for example, an estimated 91% of the students were natives of the
region. In contrast, Carroll's academy was from the beginning a national,
indeed international, school. In the first decade nearly one-fifth of its
students came from outside the United States, including many from the
Caribbean area. It is thus appropriate that the first prospectus printed
after the founding was published in French and Spanish, as well as English.
In 1879 an attempt was made to compile an alumni roster for the period
1812-1879. The work is far from complete, but the numbers are nonetheless
surprising: 221 students are listed from other countries in our hemisphere,
including 64 from Cuba, 44 from Mexico, 32 from Canada, and 18 from Chile.
Remember, these were the days when we were graduating less than ten students
per year. For example, Cuba's total exceeded that of California (48).
Significant numbers of international students have continued to attend
Georgetown to the present day. The list includes such distinguished men as
Tomás Herrán of the class of 1863, who, as the representative of
Colombia, negotiated the Hay-Herrán Treaty; and Feliz Cipriano Zegarra,
College 1864, former Peruvian Ambassador to the United States. Juan Sacasa
attended the College in the 1890's and served as President of Nicaragua;
former President of Ecuador and Secretary General of the Organization of
American States Galo Plaza, attended the School of Foreign Service in the
late twenties; Luis Muñoz Marín, the political father of modern Puerto
Rico, attended the Prep division and later enrolled in the Foreign Service
School; Alfredo Cristiani, Business '68, is President of El Salvador.
American graduates active in hemispheric affairs have included our most
famous alumnus, President Clinton of the class of 1968; Bailey K. Ashford,
MD 1896, who is credited with eradicating hook worm from Puerto Rico;
Ambassadors Willard Beaulac, Richard Buttrick, Diego Asencio, Viron Vaky,
Lev Dobriansky, and John Gordon Mein. William Manger, LLB 1921, PhD 1926,
served as Assistant Secretary General of the Pan American Union and the
Organization of American States. Former government Professor José
Sorzano (SFS '65, Ph D. '72) left Georgetown to serve as Director for
Inter-American Affairs at the National Security Council, and also served as
deputy ambassador to the United Nations.
Georgetown has also enjoyed an international faculty, and, in this century,
the faculty has taken an increasing role in international affairs. Our
founder, John Carroll, represented the Continental Congress in a mission to
Canada. Our third President, Rev. William DuBourg, S.S., was born in
Sainte-Domingue, but came to Georgetown after fleeing Jacobins in southern
France. Rev. José Lopez, S.J., our sixteenth President, had served as
chaplain and advisor to Agustin de Iturbide during his brief reign as
emperor of Mexico. In this century, L.S. Rowe, former Director General of
the Pan American Union, served on the faculty of the Foreign Service School;
and Professor of Latin American History Thomas Dodd is presently serving as
U.S. Ambassador to Uruguay. We are particularly proud of the performance of
our faculty at the United Nations: Professors Jeane Kirkpatrick, Donald
McHenry, and Madeleine Albright have represented the United States at the
United Nations; and, as mentioned above, Professor Sorzano served as Deputy
Ambassador and earlier as U.S. representative to the Economic and Social
Commission.
This small display, prepared on the occasion of the Summit of the Americas,
highlights the history of Georgetown's relations within the western
hemisphere.
Jon K. Reynolds, University Archivist
Selections from the exhibition
"Old South" the original Georgetown College building, begun in
1788, completed in 1791.
Student accounts of the first foreign students.
Nicholas and Jean Jacques Fevrier entered the college April 17,
1792 from the French West Indies. Note that the bill was paid in part by a
barrel of Muscarado sugar, and a supply of coffee. The first Hispanic student, Francisco Ignacio DiAyala
entered November 15, 1793.
Fragments of the Spanish edition of the 1798 Prospectus.
It was also printed in French and English.
Rev. William Louis DuBourg, S.S., third President of Georgetown University.
DuBourg was born in Sainte-Domingue but came to Georgetown from France from
which he fled five days before a Jacobin raiding party murdered four of his
seminarian instructors. Note that not all our Presidents have been Jesuits.
Dr. Bailey K. Ashford, Georgetown M.D. 1896.
Dr. Ashford is credited with eradicating hook worm from Puerto Rico.
Ambassador Diego Asencio, SFS '53.
Some may remember Ambassador Asencio's
"grace under fire" when held hostage for 61 days in Colombia.
The inauguration of the Pan-American Students Association at Georgetown in 1923.
A portion of the Diplomatic Corps
A significant portion of the Latin-American diplomatic corps attended the
inauguration of Georgetown's Latin-American Students Association, including
the representatives of Venezuela, Ecuador, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Panama,
Bolivia, Nicaragua, Cuba, and Costa Rica.
Dean Peter Krogh with UN Ambassadors Madeleine Albright, Donald McHenry, and
Jeane Kirkpatrick, all Georgetown Professors.
President Alfredo F. Cristiani, of El Salvador, from the 1968 Georgetown Yearbook.
Tomás Herrán (C 1863)
As the representative of Colombia, Herrán negotiated
the Hay-Herrán Treaty.
Feliz Cipriano Zegarra, C 1864
Zegarra served as Peruvian Ambassador to the United States.
Dr. Guillermo Sherwell and School of Foreign Service students at Bolivar's
tomb, Caracas. Now that's a field trip.
Dr. William Manger, Georgetown LLB 1921, PhD 1926
Manger served as Assistant
Secretary General of the Pan American Union and the Organization of American
States, as well as Professor of History at Georgetown. He is shown here (
right) with Fernando Lobo, Ambassador of Brazil to the Organization of
American States, after the Ambassador presented him with Brazil's "
Ordem Nacional do Cruzeiro do Sul".
Georgetown at Dawn, by Robert Llewellyn
Thank you for your interest.
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