Title:Connecting policy with people at 125 E Street

“In a world where policies too often seem abstract, impersonal, and ideologically driven, this school will strive to connect policy with the people it impacts, and to provide policymakers with the tools and the information they need… to make smart decisions based on both facts and fairness.”

The guiding words of Frank H. McCourt Jr. (C’75), founding donor of the McCourt School of Public Policy, shine on the walls of the school’s new home on the Capitol Campus at 125 E Street NW.

The new building expands Georgetown’s downtown footprint, joining the Georgetown University Law Center and new additions at 500 First Street and 55 H Street to form a vibrant campus in the shadow of the Capitol.

“Our move from the Hilltop to the Hill brings our community closer to opportunities to work, learn, and serve in a city that shapes the world,” says Maria Cancian, Dean of the McCourt School.

125 E Street is an intentionally built space fostering community engagement among the faculty, staff, and students, with a con – tinuous staircase linking meeting spaces, classrooms, and offices.

“For the first time in our history, McCourt students, faculty, and staff are all under one roof, strengthening connection, collaboration, and conversations within our community,” Cancian explains.

From the 400-seat auditorium on the ground floor to the Capitol View Convening Space—offering picturesque views of the Capitol Building from the top floor—125 E Street welcomes engagement for the Georgetown community and special guests.

Mapping DC at McCourt

Highlighting McCourt’s connection to DC is the multi-part, permanent art installation titled “Mapping Our Place in the World…” from landscape architect and artist Maya Lin, designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington.

“My approach to this work tries to ground you in your physical surroundings—with different elements coming together to help give you an immediate sense of place,” says Lin.

Lin captured recordings from nearby woodland, marshland, and meadow soundscapes reflecting the season and time of day. Those recordings are projected from discreet speakers on the main staircase.

White cloudlike lights in the entry staircase and lounge, entitled “Whether Birds,” connect their intensity and color to the day’s weather, bringing the outside environment in.

In a meeting space on the top floor, Lin’s sculptural glass marble installation, entitled “Following the Potomac,” maps the Potomac River and watershed in a sprawl across the ceiling.

Additionally, Lin’s “Sky Garden” on the top level and seventh floor Sky Bridge contains native plant exteriors mimicking a forest, a meadow, and a garden.

“I was thinking about how visitors would reflect back on a larger idea of their place in the world. That’s connected to what they study at the McCourt School,” says Lin.

Daily life at 125 E Street

Just as Lin’s installations consider place in the design of the space, the new Capitol Campus building also provides services connect – ing students with their surrounding community.

The dorms at 55 H Street offer Hoyas apartment-style accommodations a short walk from the new Capitol Campus building.

For commuters, the Georgetown University Transportation Shuttle (GUTS) will continue to provide access to classes on the Hilltop with the Capitol Campus Shuttle. GUTS is also adding two Capitol Campus Loops that will connect riders with other downtown locations such as Capital One Arena, Union Station, and Union Market.

To facilitate research, the McCourt School offers support from a resident librarian, and Lauinger Library delivers requested books to 125 E Street daily.

Students, faculty, and staff enjoy a range of meal options at the in-house café, and there are additional dining options in the surrounding East End, Chinatown, and Penn Quarter neighborhoods.

‘With opportunity comes responsibility’

“Our location in Washington, DC, has provided extraordinary opportunities for our students and faculty to pursue their work for our community, to convene dialogues, and to contribute to issues of local and national importance,” says Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia.

Dean Cancian agrees. “Our increased proximity to the most influential institutions across domestic and international policy allows for more frequent and meaningful collaboration with the policy community.”

With the new space just blocks away from the U.S. Capitol, the Supreme Court, and the Library of Congress, McCourt students will have even more opportunities to integrate learning inside and outside the classroom as they prepare to serve their communities.

“With opportunity comes responsibility,” shares Dean Cancian, “and McCourt is deepening and expanding our work to bring diverse people and perspectives together, to develop innovative solutions to the complex problems of today, and to prepare the policymakers and public servants of tomorrow—all in service of the common good.”