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.
Robert Plunkett
An alumnus of English College, Douai, Plunkett became a Jesuit four years before the congregation's suppression. He was later ordained to the priesthood and sailed to the United States in 1790 as a missionary, alongside the priest Charles Neale (whose two brothers, Francis Neale and the Leonard Neale, would eventually become Presidents of Georgetown). He was posted at a plantation in White Marsh, Maryland, before being named to the presidency of Georgetown University by John Carroll, the university's founder. In 1791, Carroll persuaded the reluctant Plunkett to accept the position.