Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise nine undergraduate and graduate schools, among which are the School of Foreign Service, School of Business, Medical School, and Law School. Located on a hill above the Potomac River, the school's main campus is identifiable by its flagship Healy Hall, a National Historic Landmark. Georgetown offers degree programs in forty-eight disciplines, enrolling an average of 7,500 undergraduate and 10,000 post-graduate students from more than 130 countries.
History of Georgetown University
Beginning in 1798, Leonard Neale and his brother Francis Neale oversaw the growth of the university as presidents for a combined eleven years. At Carroll's request, Neale was also appointed coadjutor bishop by Pope Pius VI in 1800. In 1799 Neale invited three sisters of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary to open a monastery at Georgetown. On June 24, 1799, the young Georgetown Visitation Monastery under Mother Teresa Lalor began a Saturday school for young women. This developed into an academy, now Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, in 1802. Leonard Neale remained as president of Georgetown until 1806 when he was succeeded by Robert Molyneux, who died in 1808. Leonard Neale's brother, Francis Neale, then became president of Georgetown College in 1809.
When the suppression of the Society of Jesus in Maryland ended in 1805, several former Jesuits rejoined, including Leonard Neale, and Carroll commenced a series of agreements to ensure Jesuit involvement in the school. Carroll however never rejoined the Society. In 1806 the school began a novitiate for Jesuit recruits moving from Russia, which had harbored the Society during the suppression.