About

The Office of Mission and Ministry

The Office of Mission and Ministry contributes to the development, animation, and coordination of the University-wide process of maintaining and promoting the Ignatian heritage, the Catholic identity and the Jesuit mission of the University. In keeping with the mission, the office will develop programs and initiatives which engage students, faculty, administration, staff, directors, regents, alumni and donors in the understanding of our religious identity and commitments. In addition, the Office of Mission and Ministry will serve as a locus for service to the Catholic Church and the Society of Jesus, as well as supporting University-based programs which encourage interreligious understanding and dialogue.

Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, S.J.

Vice President for Mission and Ministry

Philip L. Boroughs, S.J. is Georgetown's first Vice President for Mission and Ministry. Appointed in 2003, he has oversight for Campus Ministry on each of our campuses and Mission and Pastoral Care at the Georgetown University Hospital. In addition, he is the liaison for the university with the Woodstock Theological Center and the Georgetown Liturgy Center. Father Boroughs develops and staffs programs which promote the Catholic and Jesuit character of Georgetown with faculty, staff, students, alums and a number of University Boards. He chairs the Mission and Ministry Advisory Board and he serves on a variety of University committees including: the Executive Committee of the University, the Student Affairs Issues Committee, the Advisory Committee on Business Practices, and the Jesuit Heritage Week planning committee. Fr. Boroughs coordinates the Nineteenth Annotation Retreat Program for faculty and staff and he co-sponsors the Kenya Immersion Experience for faculty and senior administrators with the Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching and Service. Each year he speaks at all of our orientation programs to describe our institutional mission, and he travels widely for the University to engage alumni/ae and friends of the University. Fr. Boroughs holds a PhD in Christian Spirituality from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California; an STL from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley; an MDiv from the Jesuit School of Theology in Chicago, and a BA from Gonzaga University in Spokane. Prior to coming to Georgetown, Fr. Boroughs served as the Rector of the Jesuit Community at Seattle University where he was also a faculty member in the School of Theology and Ministry and administrator. Previously, he was a faculty member at Gonzaga University, the Assistant Novice Director for the Oregon Province, and a parish priest at St. Leo's Parish in Tacoma, WA.

The Spirit of Georgetown

A Jesuit institution, Georgetown is grounded in a 450-year-old educational tradition inspired by St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus. Today, as a consequence of this long tradition, we can identify a number of characteristics or values that inspirit our University and that are referred to in our University Mission Statement, our institutional documents, and our iconography. The following values and definitions will help you to understand what makes Georgetown such an inviting and distinctive educational community. And just as Bishop Carroll welcomed Georgetown students from various religious and cultural backgrounds, we hope that whatever traditions you bring to this University community, you will find here values that you can appropriate in your own distinct way. Read more...