R.I.P.: J. Donald Freeze, SJ

[WilsonBlvdHoya]

I don't have access to the GU announcement so if anyone can provide a link it would be much appreciated....

Freeze was GU provost in the late 70s and 80s.........

[TBird41]

I don't have a link, but here's the email announcement:

"Colleagues and friends,

I am sorry to report that Father J. Donald Freeze, S.J., longtime Provost of Georgetown, passed away peacefully on Sunday, December 10th, at Manresa Hall Jesuit Community, St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia. I have walked in his footsteps now long enough to take the measure of a great and memorable Hoya.

Donald Freeze first came to the hilltop in 1971 as assistant dean for Georgetown College, then named assistant vice president for academic affairs to Rev. Aloysius Kelley in 1974 serving in that post until being appointed provost by then-President Timothy S. Healy, S.J. in 1979. After his resignation on June 30, 1991 he served as the academic director of Georgetown's Villa le Balze in Florence, Italy, for the 1991-1992 academic year. It was under his leadership that the gift of the Villa and use as a GU study abroad program was developed. Subsequently he was appointed Rector of Loyola Retreat House, Faulkner, Md. and then Treasurer of the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus.

During his tenure, Fr. Freeze addressed a wide range of issues facing the university, such as undergraduate curriculum revision and the physical renewal of campus facilities. He was a valued senior administrator and often acted as the president's closest assistant. Everything on the main campus crossed his desk, and university-wide
matters as well, in his role as executive vice president.

His hallmark was concern for students and for faculty he was accessible, responsive and effective. Fr. Freeze's Christian concern and saving humor were rich gifts.

Arrangements will be made for a Memorial Mass to be celebrated on
campus in January 2007.

There will be a wake preceding the Mass:
9:30 to 11:00 a.m
Loyola College Alumni Memorial Chapel
4501 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, Md.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Rev. Aloysius Kelly, S.J.:
Saturday, December 16, 2006
11:00 a.m.
Loyola College Alumni Memoial Chapel

Condolences may be directed to:
Liza Freeze Ebeling (niece)
1217 Boyce Avenue
Towson, MD 21204

Requiescat in pace.

James J. O'Donnell
Professor of Classics
Provost

[DanMcQ]

Perhaps most widely known to our class (and others) for his Sunday night mass, affectionately known as "Freeze's Breeze", in Copley's chapel. Yet another Jesuit in a high place who could easily connect with college students without any pretense. He'll be very much missed and left us far too soon.

[EasyEd]

Scroll down for the Post's article: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/12/AR2006121201424.html

[Healy]

My friends and I also enjoyed "Freeze's Breeze" Mass, as much or more for Father Freeze's homilies as for the conciseness of the service. Father Freeze was good at making a point relevant to the student, drawing on the gospel, but making it simple to put into action as a student at Georgetown. He was friendly and kind in his words.
To this day, as I sit through homilies of priests at Mass, many a time I have wondered why more of them have not been taught how to spread the Word of the Lord in terms that have real meaning to the listener, as Father Freeze did. (Of course, there are those that do. Just not enough.)
Thank you, Father Freeze.

danmcq said:

Perhaps most widely known to our class (and others) for his Sunday night mass, affectionately known as "Freeze's Breeze", in Copley's chapel. Yet another Jesuit in a high place who could easily connect with college students without any pretense. He'll be very much missed and left us far too soon.

[DFW HOYA]

While "Freeze's Breeze" wasn't as liturgically deep as most Masses, the homilies were always worth it.

My favorite recollection involved the side door from Copley that students would use to sneak in halfway during Mass...halfway during a 25 minute Mass, no less. During one homily on prayer, some people were trying to get in (late) but the door was locked.

Hearing the commotion outside, Freeze continued his homily, walked over to the door and wryly remarked to the latecomers, "Knock, and it shall be opened unto you."

Final thought: As late as the 1980's, the three most powerful posts on main campus (President, Provost, and College Dean) were all Jesuits: Tim Healy, J. Donald Freeze, and Royden Davis. We may not see their likes for a long time to come, but will we ever see one Jesuit in these posts again, much less three?

[hoyaLS05]

dfw said:

Final thought: As late as the 1980's, the three most powerful posts on main campus (President, Provost, and College Dean) were all Jesuits: Tim Healy, J. Donald Freeze, and Royden Davis. We may not see their likes for a long time to come, but will we ever see one Jesuit in these posts again, much less three?

I'm not fluent in Georgetown's internal politics but I do know of/about a decent number of the current administrators, and I feel like Fr. Maher is being groomed to -- or at the very least given a shot at -- move up pretty high one day. Just in his mid-40s, he was already an associate dean in the college before heading off to Qatar to be assistant dean of academic affairs, a move which has to help his career. In many ways, with his 8 p.m. mass always filling up and his eloquent speeches at GAAP weekend and freshman convocation, he became the most well-known administrator to quite a few students.

So here's hoping Fr. Maher (a Georgetown grad) has the chance to fill one of these positions one day, should he want to.

[AustinHoya03]

hoyals05 said:

I'm not fluent in Georgetown's internal politics but I do know of/about a decent number of the current administrators, and I feel like Fr. Maher is being groomed to -- or at the very least given a shot at -- move up pretty high one day. Just in his mid-40s, he was already an associate dean in the college before heading off to Qatar to be assistant dean of academic affairs, a move which has to help his career. In many ways, with his 8 p.m. mass always filling up and his eloquent speeches at GAAP weekend and freshman convocation, he became the most well-known administrator to quite a few students.

So here's hoping Fr. Maher (a Georgetown grad) has the chance to fill one of these positions one day, should he want to.

Fr. Pilarz also fit the bill before leaving to become President at U. Scranton. He'd be a good candidate for GU President whenever the post-DeGioia period begins.

[StPetersburgHoya (Inactive)]

What about Dan Porterfiled and Fr. Wildes who is currently at Loyola?

[hilltopper2000]

Fr. Pilarz has been rumored for years as a possible candidate, but he's going to have to move to a university like BC before he'll be considered to replace DeGioia, whose retirement I suspect is many many years off. No offense to Scranton, but it's not a likely GU feeder. Generally, college presidents were presidents at slightly less prestigious or peer institutions, or held very senior roles at superior institutions. Georgetown has never followed this model. But, as it attmepts to get its house in order, fiscal and otherwise, it has been making senior hiring decisions that are similar to its peer group.

The future of college administrators at GU and in general is an interesting topic. As college presidents become businessmen, I imagine that we will see fewer academic heavy-weights in those positions and far fewer members of the clergy.

[Jack]

In the current age, Freeze and Davis would have been snapped up by other Jesuit colleges to be Presidents, much as Pilarz, Wildes, Lawton, and von Arx are all current Jesuit college presidents who were at one point Georgetown administrators or faculty. There are just not enough good Jesuits to go around.

[reformation]

Georgetown needs the best available candidate for provost, dean, president etc. Being a jesuit is an important, but secondary factor. Elite higher ed. is a competitive world, putting marginal people in those roles can do real damage.(as Gtwn has already experienced)

[hoyaLS05]

reformation said:

Georgetown needs the best available candidate for provost, dean, president etc. Being a jesuit is an important, but secondary factor. Elite higher ed. is a competitive world, putting marginal people in those roles can do real damage.(as Gtwn has already experienced)

I don't think anyone disagrees with you, or at least I don't. I think the question is more can we find jesuits with the appropriate qualifications than will we give the spots to a jesuit.

[hoyaduck]

"June 11, 2021

Dear Members of the Georgetown University Alumni Community:

I am writing today to share actions taken in response to experiences shared with us by a former undergraduate student relating to deeply troubling and unacceptable behavior by the late J. Donald Freeze, S.J., who served in a variety of roles on campus, including as Provost from 1979-1991, and who was awarded an honorary degree in 1991.

I established a Working Group of the Board of Directors to oversee the University’s response. I join the Members of the Working Group in sharing the update below to the University community.

—

We are writing today to share actions the University is taking relating to deeply troubling and unacceptable behavior by the late J. Donald Freeze, S.J.

While this behavior—which involved non-consensual kissing and touching—occurred more than 30 years ago, it is particularly egregious due to Fr. Freeze’s role as both a member of the clergy and as our former Provost. We wish to acknowledge the courage of an alumnus in coming forward and to express our distress at the experiences that he has shared and the abuse of power that occurred. The Working Group of the Board of Directors was charged to address these allegations and advance our work with the regional province of the Society of Jesus (now the USA East Province) which assigns Jesuits to serve the Georgetown community. The Working Group, in collaboration with the alumnus, has helped to strengthen the work with the Province to ensure transparency and information-sharing between our institutions.

With the concurrence of our Board of Directors, Georgetown University expresses its deepest apology and has revoked Father Freeze’s honorary degree as well as all other university-sanctioned recognitions.

In partnership with the alumnus and as part of our ongoing work to prevent and address sexual misconduct, we have engaged the USA East Province, which has now committed to readdress and strengthen its policies and processes for sexual misconduct perpetrated against adults, and to more fully share with Georgetown information regarding sexual misconduct of any kind.

We see these steps as the continuation but not the end of our work, and we are committed to continuing to partner with the alumnus to ensure that not only University policies but also Province policies are as strong as possible in supporting survivors. We will also continue our response to the clerical sex abuse crisis, hosting public convenings and conversations that build awareness and supporting research into the effects of clerical sexual abuse on survivors and how to improve screening and assessments of candidates for the seminary.

The safety of the Georgetown community is our first priority. In the years since Father Freeze was Provost, we have implemented strong policies and procedures to provide support for sexual abuse survivors, including survivors of clergy sex abuse, and programs to safeguard our community from sexual misconduct of any kind by any member of our University.

We are grateful to the alumnus who came forward with his experiences and we condemn in the strongest possible terms any clergy abuse. Campus Ministers and members of the Society of Jesus play a unique and trusted role in our community. We must continue to create a trusted environment that encourages survivors to come forward and provides them the best possible resources and support.

We understand that this information is deeply upsetting and we would encourage members of our community to reach out for support. We encourage all members of our community to report sexual misconduct and use the resources of the University to obtain support. Individuals can also report sexual misconduct by a Jesuit by contacting the province’s victim advocate at [e-mail].

Georgetown remains deeply committed to preventing and responding to sexual abuse and to protecting the most vulnerable among us. Our community has and will continue to be built on care and trust, as well as accountability and action.

Sincerely,

John J. DeGioia, President, Georgetown University
Bonnie W. Gwin, (F’82, MSFS’83), Member, Board of Directors Working Group
Tyree P. Jones, Jr., (L’86), Member, Board of Directors Working Group
Thomas A. Reynolds III, (B’74), Chair-Elect, Board of Directors, Member, Board of Directors Working Group"

view.advmail.georgetown.edu/?qs=7f80fbba07903c26328353d5339e58ca0c8de1ccf83ac53b55a9a15a168bb0f455e6c91adb52d391c17ba28722673e5649fdd9c68bba60f23dca7a38ad7c1eb0848a08819a15c9146e5dc97dc95bed45

[SSHoya]

Georgetown University has revoked an honorary degree held by a late priest and provost after reports of sexual misconduct, school officials said Friday.

www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/06/11/georgetown-revoke-priest-degree/

[SSHoya]

Yesterday at 11:39 a.m. EDT

A now-deceased Catholic priest who was the provost and executive vice president at Georgetown University, and was accused of sexual misconduct by one former student, has been accused by additional alumni, the university said. They include a man who said he tried to report an encounter with the priest to school officials in the 1980s but was referred to campus ministry — which he felt would answer to his alleged abuser.

www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/09/11/georgetown-provost-accused/