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Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

GU Professor to Lead Freedom House

JULIA HENNRIKUS/THE HOYA SFS Professor Mark Lagon (GRD ’91) will leave Georgetown to become the president of Freedom House this January.
JULIA HENNRIKUS/THE HOYA
SFS Professor Mark Lagon (GRD ’91) will leave Georgetown to become the president of Freedom House this January.

Ambassador Mark Lagon (GRD ’91), a professor in the School of Foreign Service, was selected as the new president of Freedom House in Washington D.C., an independent organization that addresses worldwide threats to freedom and democracy worldwide.

Lagon, the chair for global politics and security in the Master of Science in Foreign Service program, currently teaches courses on “Ethics and Decision-Making” and “U.N. and Global Institutions.” He will start at Freedom House on Jan. 2, leaving Georgetown’s teaching staff in order to fully focus on the new position.

“I think it is inevitable that I will come back and be a professor, and I think I need to concentrate on being the manger and leader of Freedom House and be ‘all-in,’ as it were,” Lagon said.

While at Freedom House, Lagon will help analyze political and civil liberties of each country, advocate for the spread of democracy and create policy recommendations for the U.S. government.

“[Freedom House] basically does three things,” Lagon said. “It puts out state of the art reports on political and civil liberties in countries around the world, it secondly does global advocacy and thirdly does programs on the ground in countries where there are autocratic or democratizing governments to help civil society bring about change.”

According to professor Robert Lieber, who served as adviser and thesis mentor for Lagon’s government doctorate at Georgetown, Lagon’s achievements and experience make him a good match for Freedom House.

“He is a wonderful asset to Georgetown, a superb teacher and a superb professional,” Lieber said. “His choice as the next president of Freedom House is really very fitting. Based on his political experience, Mark has got the gift of being able to work with people who have different political and partisan views. So it’s a great loss for Georgetown, but it’s good for human rights and it’s good for political civil liberties.”

Lagon has worked as the deputy director of the House Republican Policy Committee and senior professional staff member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as a deputy assistant secretary for International Affairs in the State Department and as an ambassador-at-large and director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons for the U.S. government.

He has also worked extensively with the United Nations on issues of human trafficking and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

MSFS professor Katherine Gronberg said that Lagon’s vast experience with human trafficking will make him an excellent asset for Freedom House.

“Through his tireless work, he has helped raise awareness of the problem of human trafficking and has brought innovative approaches to the effort to combat it, such as fostering stronger collaboration with key private sector partners,” Gronberg wrote in an email to The Hoya.

According to Gronberg, Lagon exhibits a deep commitment to his students.

“His dedication extends beyond his philanthropic work to Gestudents have at MSFS and does everything within his power to help them get where they’re going after MSFS, MGronberg wrote.

Lagon’s student Sarah Grebowski (GRD ’14) said that Lagon dedicates himself to his students and their development.

“Professor Lagon’s reputation as a faculty member dedicated to students’ intellectual development and professional advancement is well known, but it simply does not do him justice,” Grebowski wrote in an email to The Hoya. “He has become a mentor to many students, myself included, in ways that far transcend the traditional role of an academic concentration chair.”

Grebowski said that although she is happy for Lagon, she will miss him as a professor and mentor.

“MSFS students are excited that he has decided to take this opportunity at Freedom House — we can think of no one better suited to advancing human rights and democracy abroad. However, he will be dearly missed in our community,” Grebowski wrote.

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