Barbara Monroe Morrisson, BA '42
March 15, 2011
New Canaan, Conn.
William A. Potter, BA '70
May 29, 2011
Dover, N.H.
Charles Plotkin, MD '83
Dec. 2, 2010
Greenville, N.C.
Alison B. Matela, BA '04
April 3, 2011
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Charles T. Manatt, JD '62, former chairman of the GW Board of Trustees, died July 22.
Mr. Manatt served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1981 to 1985 and as U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic from 1999 to 2001.
A 1962 graduate of the Law School, Mr. Manatt served as a member of the GW Board of Trustees from 1980 to 2008 and as its chairman from 2001 to 2007. He was then elected chairman emeritus and the university awarded Mr. Manatt an honorary Doctor of Laws in 2008.
Mr. Manatt and his wife, Kathleen, funded a professorship in the international rule of law at GW to help law students from developing countries learn the intricacies of international human rights and commercial rights law. He also joined Frank Fahrenkopf, his counterpart as former chairman of the Republican National Committee, in endowing a guest lectureship in the Graduate School of Political Management.
During Mr. Manatt's board chairmanship, the university developed the Strategic Plan for Academic Excellence and approved a fixed tuition and guaranteed aid policy. Under his stewardship, George Washington also became the first university in the nation's capital to reach a $1 billion endowment.
In addition to his roles as a statesman and university leader, Mr. Manatt founded the widely respected law practice of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP, and served on the board of the Wesley Foundation, the Mayo Foundation, the National Legal Center for the Public Interest, and the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. He was a member of the National Endowment for Democracy, the board of directors of FedEx Corp., and the board of directors of Oak Value Management Inc.
Gen. John ShalikashviliGen. John Shalikashvili, who earned a master's degree in international affairs from GW in 1970 and was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2004, passed away from complications due to a stroke on July 23. He was 75.
Mr. Shalikashvili, who received a Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award in 1993, won a Presidential Medal of Freedom and honors from 18 foreign nations. A native of Warsaw, Poland, he was the first foreign-born person to be appointed chairman of the Joint Chiefs. He succeeded fellow GW alumnus Colin Powell, MBA '71, when former President Bill Clinton appointed him to the position in 1993.
Prior to being appointed chairman of the Joint Chiefs, he served as NATO's supreme allied commander and commander in chief of U.S. armed forces in Europe.
Salvatore "Sal" Divita, professor emeritus of marketing, died July 15. Mr. Divita taught at the School of Business over the course of four decades.
He earned a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from New York University, an MBA from Ohio State University (pursuing the degree while on active duty with the United States Air Force), and a DBA from Harvard School of Business. He was a full-time consultant at IBM for 10 years before teaching part time at American University and GW. He became a full-time member of the GWSB faculty in 1972 and retired from GWSB in 2008.
An active member of the American Marketing Association, Mr. Divita wrote a regular column for the association magazine and appeared as a guest speaker at chapters across the country. He and his wife, Frances, were married for 58 years and had four children, 10 grandchildren, five step-grandchildren, and four step-great-grandchildren.
His research focused on developing effective marketing tactics and strategies based on understanding human behaviors and personality types.
