Title:Celebration of the Century
Above: More than 1,000 alumni and friends attended the celebration gala.
The School of Foreign Service Turns 100
Founded in 1919 to prepare the nation for new global leadership in the devastating wake of World War I, the School of Foreign Service has a legacy of educating professional diplomats, public servants, business leaders, and even presidents around the world. The SFS Centennial, a yearlong celebration of the school’s mission, reflects on and honors that legacy while looking to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead—as well as what skills future SFS graduates will need to carry that legacy into its second century.
To celebrate this historic milestone, this past November the SFS Centennial Gala Weekend brought more than 1,600 SFS alumni, parents, and friends back to campus and Washington, D.C., for 17 panels discussing critical current challenges, such as Russian influence around the world, climate change, forced migration, and the impact of innovative science and new technologies on our increasingly digital world. The weekend’s activities—complemented by the experiences of legislators, former White House staff members, diplomats, and faith leaders—reflected on the past and contemplated what’s in store for the 21st century.
To conclude the celebration, guests gathered in the National Building Museum for the SFS Centennial Gala, which featured music and reflections by famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma and the Silkroad Ensemble, remarks by former President Bill Clinton (F’68), and the presentation of Centennial Honors to Judith Sherman (F’82), Chad Griffin (F’97), and Austin Tice (F’02, L’13), three outstanding members of the SFS community whose accomplishments have exemplified Georgetown’s Jesuit values.
Some of the goals of the Centennial are to make ambitious investments in the faculty and curriculum, add new learning experiences, expand the global reach of programming, and create a state-of-the art physical space to prepare graduates for the challenges they will face in service of our global community.
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