Charter of the University
An Act Concerning the College of Georgetown in the District of Columbia
(6 Stat. 152)
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That it shall and may be lawful for such persons as now are, or from time to time may be, the President and Directors of the College of Georgetown, within the District of Columbia, to admit any of the students belonging to said College, or other person meriting academical honors, to any degree in the faculties, arts, sciences, and liberal professions, to which persons are usually admitted in other Colleges or Universities of the United States; and to issue in an appropriate form the diplomas or certificates which may be requisite to testify to the admission to such degrees.
LANGDON CHEVES, Speaker of the House of Representatives
JOHN GAILLARD, President pro tempore of the Senate
Approved March 1, 1815, JAMES MADISON
AN ACT TO INCORPORATE GEORGETOWN COLLEGE IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
(as amended by Public Law 89-631, 89th Congress, H.R. 16863, October 4, 1966)
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there be erected, and hereby is erected, in Georgetown, in the District of Columbia, a college for the instruction of youth in the liberal arts and sciences, the name, style, and title of which shall be “the President and Directors of Georgetown College” or “Georgetown University.”
SECTION 2. And Be it further enacted, That James Ryder, Thomas Lilly, Samuel Barber, James Curley and Anthony Rey, be, and they are hereby declared to be, a body politic and corporate, with perpetual succession in deed or in law, to all intents and purposes whatsoever, by the name, style, and title of “the President and Directors of Georgetown College” or “Georgetown University,” by either which name, style and title they and their successors shall be competent, at law and in equity, to take to themselves and their successors, for the use of said college, any estate whatsoever, in any message, lands, tenements, hereditaments, goods, chattels, moneys, and other effects, by gift, bequest, devise, grant, donation, bargain, sale, conveyance, assurance, or will; and the same to grant, bargain, sell, transfer, assign, convey, assure, demise, declare to use and farm let, and to place out on interest for the use of said college; and by the same name, to sue and be sued, to implead and be impleaded, in any courts of law and equity, in all manner of suits, actions, and proceedings whatsoever, and generally, by and in the same name, to do and transat all and every the business touching or concerning the premises; to encumber property by deed of trust, pledge, or otherwise; to borrow money and secure payment of same by lien or liens on the realty or personal property of the Corporation (including but not limited to student fees, building fees, or other types of fees or charges); and to lease for any term, to build, erect, remodel, repair, construct, and/or reconstruct any and all buildings, houses, or other structures necessary, proper, or incident to the needs and purposes of a college, university, or institution of higher learning. In addition the Corporation shall have and may exercise all such powers conferred upon nonprofit corporations by the District of Columbia Nonprofit corporation Act (as now enacted or hereafter amended) as are not conferred herein and not inconsistent with the powers included herein.
SECTION 3. And be it further enacted, That the said Corporation shall adopt a common seal, under and by which all deeds, diplomas, and acts of the said college or corporation, shall pass and be authenticated, and the same seal at their pleasure to break and alter, or devise a new one. The Corporation shall have one class of members who are the successor of James Ryder, Thomas Lilly, Samuel Barber, James Curley, and Anthony Rey. The number, qualification, and rights, including the right to vote, of said members, shall be as provided in the bylaws of the corporation. The powers of the corporation shall be exercised by a Board of Directors whose number and the manner of whose election or appointment shall be as provided in the bylaws. The bylaws shall be adopted by the members and may be amended from time to time as provided therein.
SECTION 4. And be it further enacted, That no misnomer of the said corporation shall defeat or annul any donation, gift, grant, devise, or bequest, to or from the said corporation. Except as specifically provided therein, the amendments made by this Act shall not affect any obligations, rights, or privileges of Georgetown University.
SECTION 5. And be it further enacted, That the said corporation shall not employ its funds or income, or any part thereof, in banking operations, or for any purpose or object other than those expressed in the first section of this act; and that nothing in this act contained shall be so construed as to prevent Congress from altering, amending, or repealing the same.
JOHN McCORMACK, Speaker of the House of Representatives
CARL HAYDEN, President pro tempore of the Senate
Approved October 4, 1966, LYNDON JOHNSON
On October 4, 1966, Public Law 89-631, 89th Congress, was enacted to amend the corporate charter of Georgetown University, granted by the Act of June 10, 1844, under the name and style of “President and Directors of Georgetown College” (6 Stat. 912) and to permit the University otherwise to conform to, and to exercise the powers granted generally to nonprofit corporations under the terms of the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act of August 6, 1962 (76 Stat. 271), as well as permit the use of the commonly used name of “Georgetown University” for the institution. The bill to amend the charter of Georgetown University was considered and passed by the House of Representatives on August 22, 1966. It was considered and passed by the Senate on September 22, 1966, and was signed into Law on October 4, 1966.