Title:Building the future: $20M bequest from Georgetown couple supports state-of-the-art campus housing

A $20 million bequest from William “Bill” G. Byrnes (B’72, L’81) and Lisa H. Byrnes (SLL’80) will support Georgetown University’s development of comfortable, dynamic, and accessible residences for a new generation of Hoyas.

In recognition of their transformative gift, Georgetown has named the west tower of the newest residential community on the Hilltop campus William Gerard and Lisa Hawkins Byrnes Hall. Built on the site of the former Henle Village, the new residential village features state-of-the-art facilities, community gathering spaces, and apartment-style living for juniors and seniors. The village’s first student residents move in this month.

A ‘sense of home’

The residential village will house 780 undergraduate students in apartment-style residences. Students will have access to 15,000 square feet of study rooms and student lounges; activity-specific rooms for yoga, meditation, quiet time, gaming, and other activities; and outdoor gathering spaces featuring electric grills, an outdoor kitchen, and various seating options.

“The generosity of the Byrnes family brings the Hoya family together in a deeply meaningful way,” says Eleanor Daugherty, vice president of Student Affairs. “Georgetown cherishes how the home we provide students enables transformation within the comfort of late-night study sessions; pizza in the sunken living room; and moments of connection with our live-in ministers, staff, and faculty. The emergence of new traditions, the formation of new friendships, and the lasting sense of home provided by the Byrnes’s generosity will leave an indelible impact upon generations of Hoyas.”

‘A rewarding experience for students’

Bill and Lisa say their gift is in recognition of the impact Georgetown has had on their lives and careers.

“The new residential village is unlike any other on-campus housing,” says Lisa, who earned a bachelor’s degree in languages from Georgetown in 1980. Lisa deployed her multilingual skills as a liaison with Spanish-speaking communities during her career with the federal government. She subsequently taught French and Spanish in an immersion program for elementary school students.

“I lived in Henle Village during my sophomore year, which is where Byrnes Hall will be,” Lisa says. “We’re very happy to help build a space that will take away some of the stress and burden juniors and seniors feel looking for housing on or near campus. It’s an honor to be able to have a presence on campus and leave a legacy by serving and accommodating more students.”
Georgetown currently requires full-time students to live on campus for three years; the new residential village is part of the university’s ambition to provide more housing options for upper-level students, including those on our new Capitol Campus.

“When I was an undergraduate, I had to move off campus in my junior year because there just wasn’t sufficient housing,” says Bill. “Being on campus all four years can be such a rewarding experience for students. Lisa and I were mindful of this when thinking about how to give back.”

Fulfilling a dream

Bill was first drawn to Georgetown to pursue a career in finance and to experience a Jesuit liberal arts education, earning a bachelor’s degree in finance in 1972.

“Getting a Jesuit education was enriching and rewarding,” says Bill. “At the beginning of my career, someone in a meeting asked where I went to school. When I responded, ‘Georgetown,’ they said they could tell I went to a Jesuit school because Jesuits teach you how to think.”

Georgetown has continued to play a significant role in Bill’s multifaceted career in finance. After receiving an MBA at the University of Michigan, he returned to Georgetown as a student at the Law Center in 1977, teaching at the McDonough School of Business during the day and attending law classes in the evening. While establishing a career as an investment banker and board member of various investment firms and real estate companies, Bill served as a distinguished teaching professor of finance at the McDonough School of Business from 1998 to 1999, as a member of the Georgetown Board of Regents from 2001 to 2007, and on the Entrepreneurship Advisory Group from 2016 to 2022. In recent years he has launched a second career as an author, publishing Evasive Species in 2022 and writing a soon-to-be-published novel that features a Jesuit priest who is also a Georgetown faculty member.

“As an undergraduate, giving a building to Georgetown was a dream of mine,” says Bill. “It would be my way of saying: ‘Georgetown, you took a chance on me, and I made the most of my education.’”