In Tribute to Three Friends
Swarthmore mourns the recent loss of three valued community members: two esteemed emeritus professors and a devoted member of the Public Safety staff.
Stephen Maurer ’67
, the Neil R. Grabois ’57 Professor Emeritus in the Natural Sciences and Engineering, died Aug. 25. He was 75.
A mathematics major at Swarthmore, Maurer returned to the College as a faculty member in 1979 and taught classes at all levels for nearly 40 years, including calculus, linear algebra, statistics, and discrete mathematics, his specialty. Maurer also relished opportunities to serve his department and the larger campus community, serving as associate provost for information technology in 2000–03, and twice chairing the Mathematics Department, first for a year in the early 1990s and again from 2004 to 2011.
“Steve was a born leader, one who brought energy and goodwill to any leadership role he held, and his dedication to teaching is legendary,” says Retired Professor of Mathematics and Statistics Deb Bergstrand. “I have such respect for him and his legacy as a dedicated colleague and all-around fine human being.”
Robinson Gill Hollister Jr.
, the Joseph Wharton Professor Emeritus of Economics, died Sept. 14. He was 86.
Hollister joined Swarthmore’s faculty in 1971 and for 44 years taught labor and social economics and econometrics, among other classes, to generations of students. In 1977, he co-founded the College’s public policy program, which for nearly 40 years provided students with internships and a senior thesis opportunity. But during a career devoted to the evaluation of public policies, Hollister is perhaps best known for his pioneering use and advocacy of randomized control trials, considered the gold standard for estimating the causal impact of social policy innovations.
“Rob Hollister was an institution in the Swarthmore Economics Department,” says Professor and Chair of Economics Amanda Bayer. “His colleagues and students will always remember him for his brilliant mind, quick wit, and big heart. He provided a wonderful model of how to use expertise in economics to help people.”
Edward Picciotti
, a longtime College shuttle bus driver, died Oct. 21. He was 71.
Picciotti came to Swarthmore in 2005 after retiring as a life member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98, where he worked in communications. In addition to his 16 years in Public Safety, Picciotti drove vans for the Chester Children’s Chorus and the Swarthmore Summer Scholars Program. He had recently switched to day-shift shuttle driver before retiring in the fall.
“Ed was a great listener and loved interacting with our students,” says Public Safety Office Manager Mary Lou Lawless. “What I truly loved about Ed the most was his love for his family. You could see it in his face and feel it in his voice.”
