Former TFAS Professor George Carey died on Friday, June 21 in Washington at the age of 79. A professor of government at Georgetown University since 1961, Carey taught government courses to Engalitcheff Institute students for many years. He was an expert on The Federalist Papers, the U.S. Constitution, and the foundations of American political institutions.

TFAS Faculty member Josh Mitchell who was a colleague of Carey in Georgetown’s Government Department remarked,

George Carey’s passing marks the end of a grand era of political theory at Georgetown. Always attentive to the genius of the American founding, Professor Carey sought to instill in his students a reverence for the American Constitution. Never enthralled by the disciplinary prejudices of political science, his aspiration was to understand and illuminate the primacy sources of the American regime. A man of great character and even greater modesty, his quiet disposition is belied by the body of work he leaves behind.” 

Carey was described as “a prolific writer, a deeply engaged conservative thinker who influenced many students and readers,” in a statement issued by the Georgetown Government Department. It noted that, “His interests and broad knowledge jump out from the titles of the books he wrote and edited, including The Federalist: Design for a Constitutional Republic; and In Defense of the Constitution.” 

A biographical sketch of Carey on the ISI web journal “First Principles” noted that his primary concern “has been to defend the American constitutional order bequeathed by the founding fathers from those he saw as bent on its destruction.”

The leadership of TFAS mourns George Carey’s passing and praises his contributions to the study of American political thought and to the intellectual enrichment of TFAS students.