Jerome Daugherty

Jerome Daugherty (March 25, 1849 – May 24, 1914) was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit who served in many different capacities at Jesuit institutions throughout the northeast United States, eventually becoming president of Georgetown University in 1901. Born in Baltimore, he was educated at Loyola College in Maryland, before entering the Society of Jesus and becoming a member of the first class at Woodstock College. He then taught various subjects, including mathematics, Latin, Ancient Greek, rhetoric, and the humanities in Massachusetts, New York City, and Washington, D.C., and served as minister at many of the institutions there.

During his four-year leadership of Georgetown University, he oversaw several construction projects, the largest of which were the demolition of Old South Hall and its replacement with Ida Ryan Hall, and the construction of Hirst Library inside Healy Hall. He also continued his predecessor's work of reforming the curriculum, and managing tensions with the Catholic University of America. After his resignation, he continued his ministry in Maryland, Washington, and Philadelphia, before returning to New York, where he died.

Early life Jerome Daugherty was born on March 25, 1849, in Baltimore, Maryland, to Jerome M. Daugherty, a printer, and Rose A. Wivel. Beginning in 1858, he attended the parochial school of St. Vincent de Paul Church. In 1863, he enrolled in the preparatory department of Loyola College in Maryland, where he studied for two years. He remained in Frederick until 1869, before completing his higher studies at Woodstock College. A member of the first class at Woodstock, he studied philosophy for three years. he was ordained a priest by Cardinal James Gibbons. He was again sent out to various Jesuit institutions, spending a year at St. Francis Xavier College in New York City and another year at Boston College, where he was made prefect of studies and put in charge of the spiritual care of the municipal hospital. He then began the tertianship of his Jesuit formation.

Jesuit ministry Daugherty was again sent to Loyola College in 1884, where he was prefect of studies and taught rhetoric, humanities, and mathematics. However, he remained in this position for only a few months, before being appointed president of Georgetown University. Daugherty took office on July 11, 1901.

In addition to physical improvements, he continued the work of his predecessor in instituting a curricular reform. This included adding a fourth year to the course of study at the Law School, beginning lectures in ethics at the School of Medicine, and presiding over the establishment of the antecedents of the School of Dentistry, which was then a department of the School of Medicine. There had long been tension between Georgetown and the Catholic University of America, which opened in Washington, D.C., in 1887. During Daugherty's tenure, the president of Catholic University complained to the Jesuit provincial superior that Georgetown's graduate programs were detracting from those of Catholic University. As a result, the provincial ordered Daugherty in 1903 to revise the graduate curriculum; otherwise, the Graduate School would be closed down. Daugherty complied, but the Jesuit Superior General later pressured the university to merge the Graduate School into the College in 1907.

In July 1905, amid allegations that Georgetown's athletics teams were using professional athletes, rather than bona fide students, Daugherty terminated all university funding of sports, including athletic scholarships. Later that year, Daugherty's health began to deteriorate, and in August 1905, he resigned the presidency,

Later years After leaving Georgetown, he was sent to Fordham University as spiritual father, where he soon fell ill.

Suffering from a protracted illness, he underwent surgery at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City, where he died the following day on May 24, 1914.