Eleanor J.B. Daugherty, a student equity and well-being advocate with 25 years of experience in higher education, will join Georgetown University as the new vice president for student affairs beginning Jan. 10, 2023, according to a university announcement.
Daugherty has had a long career studying student outcomes and overseeing multiple aspects of student affairs at University of Chicago, Columbia University, and the University of Michigan. She currently oversees departments responsible for residential life, student conduct, and student health and mental well-being services as associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students at the University of Connecticut.
“For more than two decades, Dr. Daugherty has engaged in all aspects of student life from admissions to advising as well as alumni relations at multiple institutions,” says Georgetown President John J. DeGioia. “She shares a deep knowledge of the student experience and unwavering care for students’ well-being.”
‘A firm, fierce sense of mission’
In overseeing the Division of Student Affairs, Daugherty will draw on her experience leading initiatives that provide support for students facing basic needs insecurity, mental health resources for students in crisis, medical care for student survivors of sexual violence, and educational access for undocumented students. She joins Georgetown as it is deploying additional wellness resources, recognizing the growing mental health challenges which higher education has been facing since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In Elly Daugherty, Georgetown students will find an ally who listens, an ally who cares, and an ally who leads,” says Ricardo L. Ortiz, a professor in the Department of English who co-chaired the national search. Rosemary Kilkenny, co-chair of the search committee; vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion; and chief diversity officer, also affirms that “Georgetown’s vision of community in diversity and cura personalis is reflected in Elly’s leadership in fostering inclusion and belonging in the communities she has served in the past.”
“For me this work is about a firm, fierce sense of mission, and I feel so aligned with the Georgetown values and how they cherish students,” says Daugherty. “We all care about seeing students as very complex, whole people—more than a mind. Georgetown was built that way.”