Bess Rosenzweig

Recent Alumna

Ten weeks after her graduation from Georgetown, Bess Rosenzweig (COL ’13) died in a plane crash in Kenya on July 25 that also claimed the lives of her mother and the plane’s pilot. According to friends, the psychology major with a minor in French and a certificate in African studies epitomized the concept of a free spirit. An avid traveller, Rosenzweig, who was 22, relished the opportunity to explore different cultures — she had a particular affinity for the African continent — and connect with strangers and friends alike. She spent time volunteering as a teacher outside Nairobi, Kenya, and had climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.

Wayne Knoll

Professor

Professor Wayne Knoll died Nov. 10, 2013, after a three-month battle with an incurable and inoperable cancerous tumor. The former Jesuit priest joined the Georgetown faculty in 1972, teaching English for 41 years. Knoll was renowned for his capacity for love, whether in regard to his students, which included University President John J. DeGioia, the university or his wife. He received the Edward B. Bunn Award for excellence in teaching in 2006.

Patrick Sheehan

Former Mascot

The pioneer of Georgetown’s costumed mascot tradition, Patrick Sheehan (CAS ’81), was killed in a car crash in the Bronx, N.Y., on Nov. 9. Sheehan donned the first Jack the Bulldog suit in 1977, his freshman year, after an Alumni Association group chose him because of his enthusiasm and personality. His tenure as mascot aligned with the heyday of Georgetown men’s basketball, with the legendary coach John Thompson Jr.’s assumption of the helm in 1972. Sheehan was known for his antics during basketball games.

Sheehan, 54, was a managing director for public finance at Wells Fargo & Co. in New York. His son George attends Georgetown.

Tom Quinn

Alumnus and Boxing Trainer

Tom Quinn (CAS ’55) was a man of many titles: United States Marine, businessman, consultant, actor and Yates Field House employee. Yet one title has enshrined him in the pantheon of Georgetown legends: the 1955 NCAA Eastern heavyweight boxing champion. Quinn, who died Jan. 5 in Teaneck, N.J., at 79 from complications related to diabetes, was the university’s last title winner in boxing; his gloves hang in a case in McDonough Arena. After graduation, the Athletic Hall of Fame member held a variety of successful careers before pursuing acting, with parts in “Enemy of the State” and “The Wire,” in addition to his work in D.C. theater. He was hired as a boxing trainer at Yates in 2004, and was recognized by students as a friendly employee GOCards at the gym’s front desk.

Adhip Chaudhuri

Professor

Former professor and economist Adhip Chaudhuri, who retired last year, died Jan. 13 after a three-year battle with lung cancer. Chaudhuri, who was born in India and immigrated to the United States in 1972, taught international economics at Georgetown in both D.C. and Doha, Qatar, for 34 years, twice winning professor of the year. Chaudhuri encouraged students to incorporate social justice into all aspects of their Georgetown education. His children, Maya (SFS ’13) and Neal (COL ’16) Chaudhuri, followed their father to Georgetown, where they, too, participated in social justice programs.

Above all, Chaudhuri, at 62, remained devoted to knowledge and education.

“Right until the very end when he couldn’t stand up to teach, he would say to me, ‘I have to sit down and do this,’ but he did it because he loved doing it,” Chaudhuri’s friend Amit Shah said.

Mark Adamsson

Student

Mark Adamsson (SFS ’15) died from lung and heart failure attributed to medical reasons in the Dominican Republic during spring break this past March.

Adamsson, 22, a Swedish international student, was universally described as academically strong and curious. He attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., where he captained the varsity tennis team, which remained undefeated and won the Class A New England Championship his senior year.

“He was a very positive and optimistic person who would discover good and redeeming qualities in himself and also in others,” French professor Peter Janssens said.

MORE YEAR IN REVIEW 2013-2014