WASHINGTON, D.C. — There’s a new “Ed” leading the Hilltop. Georgetown University has announced Eduardo M. Peñalver as its 49th president, succeeding President Emeritus John J. DeGioia (2001–2024). Peñalver, who will officially assume office in July 2026, currently serves as president of Seattle University and previously held the role of dean at Cornell Law School. His academic background also includes faculty positions at Fordham, Cornell, and the University of Chicago.
Although Peñalver will be only the second lay president in Georgetown’s history, the university’s announcement emphasizes his deep Catholic and Jesuit roots, as well as his engagement with papal and social teachings. For members of the Hoya community seeking bold, forward-looking leadership, his appointment represents a promising step into Georgetown’s next chapter.
Peñalver also makes history as Georgetown’s first Latino president. The son of a Cuban immigrant, he previously became the first Latino dean of an Ivy League law school and later the first Latino president of Seattle University—bringing a global and inclusive perspective to a university deeply connected to both national and international affairs.
A respected legal scholar, Peñalver specializes in property law and the intersections of law, religion, and free speech. His career includes clerkships with Judge Guido Calabresi (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit) and Justice John Paul Stevens (U.S. Supreme Court). Much of his academic work reflects the influence of Jesuit and Catholic social thought, particularly in how property and justice intersect.
Peñalver’s experience also extends to campus leadership and student activism. As an undergraduate at Cornell in 1993, he was among the student leaders of a four-day sit-in protesting racist incidents—an experience that shaped his nuanced understanding of free speech and civil discourse. At Seattle University, he has championed an approach to free expression rooted in mutual respect, often invoking St. Ignatius’s “presupposition”—the practice of interpreting others’ words charitably—as a model for fostering dialogue on campus.
During his tenure at Cornell Law, Peñalver led a $100 million fundraising campaign aimed at reducing student debt and expanding career opportunities for graduates. More recently, as president of Seattle University, he played a key role in the institution’s move to the West Coast Conference (WCC), effective July 1, 2025—a transition that brings a subtle connection to Georgetown basketball through WCC Commissioner Stu Jackson, a former Big East executive.
With his blend of Jesuit values, academic excellence, and experience navigating complex institutional landscapes, Eduardo M. Peñalver is poised to lead Georgetown into a new era of mission-driven scholarship, inclusion, and dialogue.
Eduardo M. Peñalver: Scholar, Leader, and Georgetown’s President-Elect
Academic and Professional Background
Eduardo M. Peñalver, who will become Georgetown University’s 49th president in July 2026, has built a career distinguished by academic excellence, Jesuit values, and institutional leadership. A 1994 graduate of Cornell University’s College of Arts and Sciences, Peñalver earned his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1999 and was a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford, where he studied philosophy and theology.
He began his academic career at Fordham Law School (2003–2006) before joining Cornell Law School’s faculty in 2006. Peñalver also taught at the University of Chicago and served as a visiting professor at Harvard and Yale law schools. In 2014, he became dean of Cornell Law School, later taking the helm as president of Seattle University in 2020 — becoming the first Latino to lead both institutions.
Early in his legal career, Peñalver clerked for Judge Guido Calabresi (U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit) and Justice John Paul Stevens (U.S. Supreme Court), experiences that shaped his nuanced approach to law, justice, and ethics.
Scholarship and Legal Thought
A renowned property law scholar, Peñalver’s research focuses on how property rights intersect with community, morality, and social justice — often drawing upon Catholic and Jesuit social teaching. He is recognized as a leading figure in the “progressive property” movement, which examines how property law can reinforce or challenge communal bonds. His works have appeared in top law journals at Yale, Michigan, Cornell, and the University of Pennsylvania.
His first book, Property Outlaws, co-authored with Sonia Katyal, explores how acts of civil disobedience — such as squatting, shoplifting, or intellectual property infringement — can expose social inequities, especially in contexts like homelessness and housing insecurity. Peñalver has reflected that the book’s framework applies vividly to contemporary urban issues, such as the homelessness crisis in Seattle.
In a 2006 essay, Treating Religion as Speech, he analyzed Justice John Paul Stevens’s jurisprudence on religion, arguing that religion’s unique value, vulnerability, and potential danger require legal interpretation that balances all three dimensions.
Leadership and Vision
At Cornell Law, Peñalver guided the institution through a challenging period for legal education, spearheading a fundraising campaign exceeding $100 million—with over $25 million dedicated to financial aid. Under his leadership, the school improved academic credentials, expanded diversity, and launched new academic and clinical programs both in Ithaca and New York City.
Beyond the law school, he served on Cornell’s Board of Directors for eCornell, led dean and counsel search committees, and chaired university task forces on free speech and the use of race in admissions. His commitment to fostering inclusive dialogue and intellectual freedom reflects his Jesuit formation and belief in education as a vehicle for moral and social growth.
As president of Seattle University, Peñalver has emphasized the importance of free speech grounded in mutual respect, invoking St. Ignatius’s “presupposition” — the practice of interpreting others’ words charitably — as a model for campus discourse. He has also spoken publicly about balancing technological advancement with human wisdom, quoting Pope Francis’s warning against becoming “a people characterized by information without wisdom.”
Personal Background and Activism
The son of a Cuban immigrant, Peñalver brings both personal and cultural depth to his leadership. His commitment to justice and inclusion began early — as an undergraduate at Cornell, he was a student activist and president of La Asociación Latina. In 1993, he helped lead a four-day sit-in at Day Hall protesting racist incidents, part of a broader effort to advocate for Latino student representation and a cultural living center on campus.
That early experience of student activism informs his understanding of free expression, protest, and institutional change — themes that continue to shape his leadership style. Peñalver often describes his evolution from activist to academic as a realization that systemic change often comes incrementally, through education, scholarship, and mentorship.
Athletics and Broader Engagement
In 2025, Peñalver played a key role in Seattle University’s move to the West Coast Conference (WCC), effective July 1, 2025 — a shift that connects his administration tangentially to Georgetown’s own athletic roots in the Big East, where WCC Commissioner Stu Jackson once served as an executive.
A Jesuit Leader for a New Era
Throughout his career, Peñalver has balanced scholarship, leadership, and faith, integrating Jesuit humanism with modern institutional challenges. His record reflects a steady focus on equity, dialogue, and the moral dimensions of law and education. As he prepares to lead Georgetown University, Peñalver brings with him not only a strong academic pedigree but also a deep understanding of the intersection between faith, intellect, and community — positioning him to guide the university confidently into its next era.
Eduardo M. Peñalver: Thought, Leadership, and Values in Action
In A Statement of Progressive Property (2006), co-authored with Gregory S. Alexander and others, Peñalver helped articulate a vision of property that moves beyond the traditional idea of individual ownership and control. The essay argues that while property is often understood as the right to exclude others or freely use one’s possessions, this view alone cannot resolve conflicts or guide institutional design. Instead, property must be seen as both a social institution and moral framework, one that reflects and shapes human relationships and the shared values that underlie community life.
That same commitment to human connection and shared purpose can be seen in Peñalver’s leadership. When Seattle University announced its 2025 move to the West Coast Conference (WCC), he emphasized the decision as both a strategic and cultural alignment. “This is an exciting moment for our student-athletes, alumni, and university,” Peñalver said, noting that joining the WCC reunites Seattle U with fellow Jesuit and Catholic institutions that share its academic and athletic traditions.
Peñalver’s belief in the power of community amid difference also underpins his spiritual and educational philosophy. In an August 2022 homily at St. Joseph Parish in Seattle, he reflected on how conflict and disagreement can foster growth—provided they are grounded in respect and belonging. A university, he observed, must not require that every viewpoint conform to a single ideological or theological standard; rather, it must cultivate a culture where diverse perspectives can coexist productively. For Peñalver, making disagreement fruitful requires “an equally powerful commitment to our continued existence as a community”—a principle that echoes both his Jesuit values and his broader vision of education as a shared pursuit of truth.
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