The Department of English Mourns Professor Paul F. Betz

It is with sadness that the Department of English shares news of the passing of Professor Paul F. Betz on October 3, 2026.

Paul F. Betz holds open a book and reads from it — Courtesy of the Booth Family Center for Special Collections, Georgetown Library

Paul Frederick Betz received his PhD from Cornell University and became a renowned expert in British Romantic literature, with a particular focus on the life and works of the British poet William Wordsworth, and in book collecting. He taught at Georgetown from 1965 until his retirement in 2007, and he published an important critical edition of Wordsworth’s narrative poem Benjamin the Waggoner, as well as many articles and essays on Wordsworth and his circle. He was deeply devoted to Georgetown, serving on the University Faculty Senate for 36 years (including two years as its President) and the University Committee on Rank and Tenure (including as its Corresponding Secretary). Over two terms, he was a transformative chair of the English Department, significantly increasing its scholarly reputation. He was responsible for the establishment of the Georgetown University Library Board, to which he was intensely dedicated and on which he served until his passing. His enormous collection of manuscripts, books, crockery, and other items relating to Wordsworth is the largest in private hands, and he has bequeathed the entire collection to Lauinger Library.

Profs. Paut and Dorothy Betz look over a book together in a clipping from a 1970s edition of The Hoya

He was a trusted mentor to faculty and students throughout his career. Along with his publications and exceptional collection, his most profound academic impact was on his students, who thronged to his courses and continue to remember him fondly. During his 42-year teaching career, he taught over 2,400 undergraduates and over 1,000 graduate students. Over several decades, he was a mainstay of the College’s Liberal Arts Seminar for first-year undergraduates, and he led the English Department’s Honors Program as well. He received the Bunn Award for Teaching Excellence in 1996, and the College Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2003.

He will be immensely missed by his friends and colleagues at Georgetown as well as his former students.