University President John J. DeGioia outlined several of his goals during his annual address to the faculty Tuesday in the Gonda Theater, including improved financial stability and more modern facilities.

DeGioia said that the university is working to “enhance [its] financial position,” pointing to the $130 million that the university raised in new commitments during the most recent fiscal year as a positive omen. Donations to the university increased substantially during the 2007 fiscal year, as Georgetown raised $98 million in the 2006 fiscal year. DeGioia said that the university’s endowment now exceeds $1 billion.

DeGioia said that Georgetown is in the “quiet part of the capital campaign,” and the public phase will begin in 2009. The university hopes to raise $1.5 billion during the campaign.

DeGioia said that Georgetown’s relatively small endowment — Georgetown’s endowment ranked 76th in the country last year — will pose a challenge to Georgetown over the next 30 years. He said the university suffers in national rankings due in part to the size of the endowment.

DeGioia also highlighted the new facilities that are to be erected in coming years, including the new McDonough School of Business building, which is set to open in early 2009, and the new science center, for which construction is set to begin as early as next year. DeGioia said that the MSB building will “strengthen the strategic position” of the business school.

DeGioia also announced that the university will “carefully gut” the Reiss Science Building and rebuild it from the inside after the new science building is complete. The university also proposed earlier this month the construction of a new athletics facility, which would be constructed over the tennis courts near McDonough Gymnasium.

Among other things, DeGioia said, the university is looking to support intellectual life on campus, advance interreligious understanding and remain committed to improving financial aid programs. The university is also trying to promote infrastructure improvements, especially in the area of the sciences.

“We must always strive to ensure that we are a first-class intellectual community,” he said.

DeGioia stressed Georgetown’s commitment to foreign cultures, saying that the university is “embedded in the dynamic of globalization and prepared to engage in this new reality.” In recent years, the university opened a campus for its School of Foreign Service in Doha, Qatar, and DeGioia said that five students from Doha are studying at the Main Campus this year. DeGioia said that Georgetown is looking to expand undergraduate opportunities for study abroad and strengthen the study of Jewish civilization.

University Provost James O’Donnell has signed a five-year contract, which will last through 2012, DeGioia said.

In response to a question from a faculty member concerned about the rising costs of local real estate, DeGioia said that the university is “exploring different kinds of housing options,” but added that he has not “found a framework that responds to the complex needs of the community.”