$5 Million Bequest From Paul and Chandler Tagliabue to Provide Funding for Georgetown Programs, Medical Research

Paul and his wife Chandler made significant contributions to university programs that reflected their commitment to respecting the dignity and education of all members of the Georgetown community.

For over 60 years, Paul Tagliabue (C'62) was a leader in the Georgetown community, from his college days as captain of the men's basketball team to his tenure as chair of the university's board of directors after serving as NFL Commissioner. Paul, who died on Nov. 9, 2025, is survived by his wife Chandler; his daughter Emily (Parent'22); his son Drew and his husband Mark Jones; and three grandchildren, one of whom graduated from Georgetown in 2022.

In his final weeks, Paul thought about the people and programs most important to him and how he could inspire others to give, his family says.

"'If it ain't broke, fix it anyway' was an expression my father learned while studying leadership," says Drew. "He wasn't satisfied making a gift that would just sustain the status quo. He wanted it to be transformational, to encourage people to think seriously about what's important to them and give so much that it hurts."

In that spirit, Paul and Chandler recently gave a $5 million bequest in support of critical educational and community-building programs at Georgetown. The bequest:

• establishes an endowment fund at the LGBTQ Resource Center in support of programming and community-building opportunities for Georgetown students, faculty, and staff of all sexual orientations and gender identities
• establishes an endowment at the McCourt School of Public Policy in support of students, faculty, and staff at the Capitol Campus
• establishes a School of Foreign Service endowment for curriculum innovation
• funds medical research projects, demonstrating the Tagliabue's gratitude for the care Paul received from MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.

With this commitment, the Tagliabues' lifetime giving to Georgetown reaches nearly $15 million. Their earlier commitments include a $5 million gift in 2011 for need-based undergraduate scholarships, athletic scholarships, and strategic initiatives funding. They have also established an initiative that provides programmatic support to the LGBTQ Resource Center and an endowment that funds a professorship in interfaith studies and dialogue.

Gifts in support of medical research

A portion of Paul and Chandler's gift supports the Fund a Fellow for Parkinson's program, led by Fernando Pagan, MD, director of the Movement Disorders Program at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and medical director of Georgetown University Medical Center's Translational Neurotherapeutics Program. His program helps train early-career neurologists.

"It was an honor to be Mr Taglibue's physician and I am so grateful for his gift that will help train future physicians in the field of Movement Disorders," says Pagan.

The gift also funds medical research at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital conducted by Zayd Eldadah, MD, at the Heart and Vascular Institute; Christopher Attinger, MD, at the Center for Wound Healing; and William Arthur Davis, MD, at the Division of Diseases and Travel Medicine.

Paul formed an enduring partnership with President Emeritus John J. DeGioia that led to the development of initiatives that were near and dear to both of them, including a new athletics facility and the LGBTQ Resource Center. Photo: Leslie E. Kossoff

A transformational partnership

Paul saw his bequest as a testament to the partnership he forged with the President Emeritus John J. DeGioia during his time on the board, which began in 2006 and led to his tenure as chair from 2009-2015 and vice chair until 2018.

During that time, Georgetown spearheaded a number of new projects that reflected their partnership, including Georgetown's state-of-the-art science facility at Regents Hall; the John R. Thompson Jr. Intercollegiate Athletic Center; the McCourt School of Public Policy, founded by Frank McCourt (C'75); and the LGBTQ Resource Center.

"Georgetown University, as we know it now, is due in no small part to Paul's vision of our University and its commitment to the common good," says Interim President Groves. "Paul's final gift stands as a legacy of the selfless dedication he and Chandler have shown us for all these years and the partnership he and President Emeritus John J. DeGioia shared."

"Paul and former President DeGioia were so close in thinking and in the aspirations they had for the university," says Chandler. "Paul saw this final gift as a tribute to President DeGioia, their partnership, and to the causes that were important to them."

Drew and Emily say their father's gifts reflect the faith he had in future generations, from the students he met on campus to Emily's daughter, Laura Rockefeller (SFS'22).

"My father wanted to make sure that young people have the same opportunities he had, and that inspired him to carry those opportunities forward into the next generation," says Emily.

Paul, shown above visiting School of Foreign Service students in Qatar, deepened the university's advocacy for all Hoyas through his generous support of scholarships and other student-centered programs.

Supporting a new generation of students

Paul and Chandler were among the earliest champions of the LGBTQ Resource Center, launched in 2008 as the first of its kind at a U.S.Catholic university. The bequest ensures the center will continue to host programming that fosters student success.

"The new gift from the Taligabues allows us to continue to curate and define inclusive spaces at Georgetown University," says Lionell Daggs III, LGBTQ Resource Center director. "It will directly increase our capacity to host robust and intentional programs that serve the LGBTQ+ community, including our new Ricardo L. Ortiz LGBTQ Speaker Series in collaboration with the Georgetown University English Department and a student community immersion program exploring queer urban history and legacies in Washington, DC; Philadelphia; and New York City," says Daggs.

The gift also funds a new McCourt School of Public Policy endowment that will support the school's initiatives and activities at the Capitol Campus-a location Paul saw as essential to the university's local and global impact.

"Paul Tagliabue's legacy is a living one, sustained by his family's extraordinary commitment to Georgetown and their generous gift to the McCourt School," says Carole Roan Gresenz, McCourt School dean. "Their support is more than an act of generosity; it is an expression of a deep and enduring belief in public policy's power to shape a better world. It touches every part of our community: the students preparing to lead, and the faculty and staff who guide them-here, on the Capitol Campus, at the center of where that work happens."

Additionally, Paul's gift to the School of Foreign Service (SFS) helps advance its mission of creating a forward-looking curriculum that combines modern educational approaches with Georgetown's Jesuit values.

"The Paul J. and Chandler M. Tagliabue Endowed Fund for the SFS will ensure that we are always innovating the curriculum so we can prepare our students for a constantly changing world and empower them to rise to meet tomorrow's challenges," says Joel S. Hellman, SFS dean.