May 8, 2001

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Georgetown University has received a gift of $3 million from a longtime friend of Georgetown rowing, Terry Adams. The gift, which will allow Adams to name the university's new boathouse, was made in recognition of what he called "the long-lasting bonds of friendship" that developed over the years between himself and several members of the Georgetown rowing community, especially two late rowers, Greg Carroll and Kevin Ostendorf, both of the Class of '71.

"Georgetown rowers, male and female, have always impressed me with their character and their sportsmanship," Adams said. "The well rounded `student-athlete' of yesteryear is very much alive and well at Georgetown University." Adams watched Georgetown Rowing grow from a club sport to a varsity team, and he says that "the sense of working as a team, both to win races and to build and fund the program was impressive. It still is."

Adams cites his life-long personal experience with Georgetown crew alumni as the deciding factor for him in making this gift. "I always had a sense that any of those guys would `go to the wall' for their fellow rowers, on or off the water. As I became part of their "family" I felt they would do that for me as well."

Adams, a 1971 graduate of Dartmouth College, has been associated with Georgetown University and Hoya rowing in a variety of ways over the years. He first raced against many of his Georgetown friends at the 1971 Pan American Game Trials, as a member of one of the US's first composite team boats. In the mid-1970s, he helped coach GU's freshman crews while training at the Potomac Boat Club, where he has been a member for almost 30 years.

Adams was a member of the US National Rowing Teams in 1973-1975 and, along with his rowing partner, was the first North American to win The Henley Royal Regatta's Nickalls Challenge Cup and Silver Goblets.

Joining Adams in his gift are his two children, Benjamin and Catherine Adams. Benjamin is an alum of the Georgetown University Law Center, Class of 2000.

The boathouse, a two-story structure, will serve a variety of purposes. The first level will include four boat bays, a repair bay, a storage area, vestibule, and a lobby. The second floor will include locker rooms, coaches' offices, a weight room, kitchen, vestibule, anteroom, foyer, a terrace, and multi-purpose room. The multi-purpose room will serve as an exercise area and as a function room for banquets and events. The boathouse will sit on the Potomac beneath the spire of the Healy Building, and its terrace will have a wonderful view of the Potomac, Rosslyn, and Key Bridge.