Title:A Georgetown Legacy Built Over A Lifetime

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 passed away last November, is survived by his wife Chandler; his daughter Emily (Parent’22); his son Drew and his husband Mark; 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 studying leadership,” says Drew. “He wasn’t satisfied making a gift that would 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 made a $5 million bequest in their estate plan to support critical educational and community-building programs at Georgetown. Their gift establishes funds within the LGBTQ Resource Center, the McCourt School of Public Policy, and the School of Foreign Service, while also supporting medical research initiatives. Together, these investments will advance programming and curriculum, ensuring Georgetown continues to evolve and meet the needs of all students in the 21st century.

Gifts in support of medical research

A portion of Paul and Chandler’s gift supports the Fund a Fellow for Parkinson‘s program, which helps train early-career neurologists and is led by Dr. Fernando Pagan, director of the Movement Disorders Program at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.

“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.

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.

“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 also reflect the faith he had in future generations, from the students he met on campus to his granddaughter.

“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.

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.

“This gift from the Taligabues allows us to continue to curate and define inclusive spaces at Georgetown,” 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.”

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.

The gift also funds a new McCourt School of Public Policy endowment that will support the school’s initiatives 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.”