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George Roche, Captain of Hillsdale Ship
Human Events ^ | May 16, 2006 | Ron Trowbridge

Posted on 06/04/2006 10:51:27 PM PDT by logician2u

George Roche, Captain of Hillsdale Ship

by Ron Trowbridge
Posted May 16, 2006

George Roche, president of Hillsdale College for 28 years, from l971 to l999, died May 5 at age 70. His body had been torn by diabetes most of his life. It is nearly impossible to exaggerate his accomplishments. He made Hillsdale College what it is, even today where the foundation he established remains, with the college presently building upon it. He was the captain of the ship, steering the boat and giving us mates direction.

He gave the college the best faculty and the best students it had ever known. He raised $325 million. The endowment when he arrived was $4 million—when he left it was $200 million. He expanded campus facilities by half. He started Imprimis and brought it to just under one million nationwide subscribers.

Then the terrible tragedy: In 1999, George's daughter-in-law Lissa Roche accused him of "a 19-year affair" and about two hours later put a fatal bullet into her head. The scandal rose to a national frenzy beyond imagination.

George knew full well that given this national frenzy and given the inundation of rumor and speculation, he could not possibly continue to lead the college. On Nov. 9, l999, declaring his innocence privately to the Board of Trustees, he retired. As a close confidante to George, having been a vice president to him for 14 years, I maintained then and do even more so now that he was innocent.
Curiously, I found four different types of individuals surfaced during the days of George’s alleged affair. First, there were the great unwashed who didn’t know what the truth was and so did not make judgments, but had plenty of questions. Second, there were George’s public defenders on the national level: Tom Winter at Human Events; Bill Buckley in his syndicated columns and me. We could all fit into one telephone booth. Third, there were the handwringers who watched George being beat up but stood on the sidelines not wanting to get involved. And fourth, there were those who kicked George when he was down. Many were conservatives.
I have a theory as to why some conservatives like to beat up on their own: It is that they do not want to be perceived as knee-jerk conservatives, but rather as wise, disinterested arbiters of sound judgment, so they beat up on their own to prove it.

On Nov. 5, 2005, I arranged a dinner tribute in Jackson, Mich., in honor of George's 70th birthday and his remarkable achievements at Hillsdale College. I sent out only 104 invitations, yet an astonishing 101 individuals, from 10 states, came to the tribute. This was positively reflective of the national support out there for George. Could I have used the Imprimis mailing list, the tribute would have had to be held in a major convention center.
At the end of the tributes that night, George read a prepared statement to the audience. It was his swan song. His final paragraph is worth citing:

"Certainly I find myself at the time of life when I’m aware of mortality. So I welcome the chance tonight not only to see each of you again and to say 'thank you,' but also to realize that we may also be saying 'goodbye.' I leave you with a final thought. Daniel Webster once expressed his feelings toward his beloved Dartmouth College (and, I believe, the feelings of many of us for Hillsdale) when he said, 'She is only a small college, but there are those of us who love her.' God bless you all."

These were George's last public comments—on Hillsdale College and on God's blessings.





TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: Colorado; US: Michigan
KEYWORDS: academicfreedom; colleges; hillsdale; obituaries; privateschools; roche
George Roche was, in my estimation, a hero in the cause of individual liberty. Although his later years were spent in seclusion and his passing was not widely noted, he nevertheless contributed much to the thought and actions that defined the conservative movement in the late 20th century.

How many of today's college presidents would have the courage to do what Dr. Roche did when the federal government tried to impose their rules -- including affirmative action, preferences, and a multitude of forms to fill out -- because Hillsdale accepted students on government scholarships and loans?

He made a courageous and entirely correct decision that, to avoid problems with the Department of "Education" and to protect its academic freedom, Hillsdale would not take any federal money, even in the form of scholarships and the GI Bill.

Instead, Hillsdale would find private donors to help needy students and build an endowment -- now almost $200 million -- so the college would not be held hostage to the whims of government "education" spending.

May George Roche's soul rest in eternal peace.

1 posted on 06/04/2006 10:51:30 PM PDT by logician2u
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To: logician2u
I have a theory as to why some conservatives like to beat up on their own: It is that they do not want to be perceived as knee-jerk conservatives, but rather as wise, disinterested arbiters of sound judgment, so they beat up on their own to prove it.

Man, ain't that the truth. Especially these days...

2 posted on 06/04/2006 10:58:18 PM PDT by T. Buzzard Trueblood ("No one cried when Clinton spied." -Crosslake)
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To: logician2u

I knew he had resigned, but never knew any details other than the basic charge. He did not mount much of a public defense, but I choose to believe he was innocent.

Guilty or innocent, he clearly put the good of the institution ahead of his own.

One other thing is certain: He built Hillsdale into a great institution.


3 posted on 06/04/2006 11:16:10 PM PDT by EternalHope (Boycott everything French forever. Including their vassal nations.)
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To: logician2u
It's hard to believe George Roche was only 35 when he became president of Hillsdale College.


I grew up in Hillsdale and was visiting family in Maumee in early Dec 99. Before heading back to the DC area I wanted to visit the Arboretum and see for myself where Lissa had chosen to end her life.

It was sill early on a cold Sunday morning as I walked toward the Gazebo where so many happier events had taken place. A lone man in an overcoat was the only other person around. He introduced himself as Sam Tanenhaus. It took a few seconds for it to register and then I told him how much I enjoyed his appearances on Booknotes and the Imus program when he talked about his book on Whitaker Chambers. He seemed delighted and we walked to the student center for a cup of coffee. He told me he was writing a piece for "Vanity Fair" and that he had been commissioned as William F. Buckley's biographer.

What's still fascinating to me is that on that cold Sunday morning, I was at ground zero, where two important characters (Chambers and Buckley) of the last half century have had great influence, and having coffee with their biographer.
4 posted on 06/04/2006 11:32:46 PM PDT by leadpenny
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To: Mrs Zip

ping


5 posted on 06/05/2006 3:54:13 AM PDT by zip (((Remember: DimocRat lies told often enough become truth to 48% of all Americans (NRA)))))
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To: EternalHope
The whole story will never be known, as the only people who knew the truth are now dead.

Unfortunately, too many otherwise rational commentators jumped the gun in 1999 and decided that where there's smoke there's fire. Dr. Thomas Sowell was one of Roche's few defenders in his time of need.

You should find the Friends of George Roche page of interest, even though it has not been updated since his death. (There's a link to a Washington Times article from last year summarizing the controversy with interviews of some people you'd recognize.)

7 posted on 06/05/2006 7:41:12 AM PDT by logician2u
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To: leadpenny

Thanks for telling your story. I'll be looking for that official biography of Buckley, having read several of the unofficial (i.e., negative) biographies in the past.


8 posted on 06/05/2006 7:44:21 AM PDT by logician2u
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To: 1234
As I recall, opinion was divided. Some were willing to move on to more pressing issues, but a core contingent fell into the habit of conservative cannibalism that is a hallmark of Free Republic.

I'll have to check my old bookmarks (Netscape variety) and see if I can locate some of those articles from 1999-2000. They are on my old computer, which hasn't been booted up for a few months. Keep your fingers crossed . . .

9 posted on 06/05/2006 7:50:15 AM PDT by logician2u
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To: leadpenny

fascinating!


10 posted on 06/05/2006 7:54:42 AM PDT by xsmommy
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To: logician2u

RIP.


12 posted on 06/05/2006 11:35:00 AM PDT by fieldmarshaldj (Cheney X -- Destroying the Liberal Democrat Traitors By Any Means Necessary -- Ya Dig ? Sho 'Nuff.)
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