The Hoya: GU Interim President to Testify Before Congress

Georgetown University Interim President Robert M. Groves will testify before the U.S. Congress July 9 about antisemitism on college campuses. 

In addition to Groves, Félix V. Matos Rodríguez — the chancellor of The City University of New York — and Rich Lyons — the chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley — will testify as witnesses before the Committee on Education and Workforce. This House of Representatives committee, which oversees education at all levels, will aim to investigate the presence of antisemitism on campus. 

Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), the chairman of the 45-person committee, said this hearing will investigate the causes of antisemitism on campuses, not just its effects. 

“We continue to see antisemitic hatred festering at schools across the country,” Walberg said in a press release. “While much of the discussion has focused on the devastating effects of antisemitism, this hearing will focus on the underlying factors instigating antisemitic upheaval and hatred on campus.”

“Until these factors — such as foreign funding and antisemitic student and faculty groups — are addressed, antisemitism will persist on college campuses. Our committee is building on its promise to protect Jewish students and faculty while many university leaders refuse to hold agitators of this bigotry, hatred, and discrimination accountable,” Walberg added. 

A university spokesperson said Groves will discuss Georgetown’s programming to prevent antisemitism at the hearing.

“Interim President Groves looks forward to testifying before the Committee and describing Georgetown’s efforts to combat antisemitism,” the spokesperson wrote to The Hoya. “As a Catholic and Jesuit University, Georgetown condemns antisemitism and all forms of hatred and is committed to ensuring our university is a safe and welcoming space for every member of our community.”

Groves will not be the first U.S. university president to testify before Congress about antisemitism. Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, several university presidents have testified before various hearings by the Committee on Education and Workforce, with some hearings leading to presidents’ resignations. 

These hearings followed surges in campus protests, including both sit-ins in 2023 and encampments in 2024, which some lawmakers have alleged were antisemitic. Primarily republican representatives called on the university leadership to testify about these events on four occasions, saying their goal was to understand antisemitism on college campuses. 

You may read the full article at https://thehoya.com/news/gu-interim-president-to-testify-before-congress/.