Maxwell School News and Commentary

Valerie earned a bachelor’s degree in policy studies in the spring of 2024 after just three years and with a 4.0 GPA, and was in her first year with the organization Teach for America. She passed away on Dec. 23, 2024.

Townsend joined the faculty in 1973, and through the decades served as a professor, mentor, writer and researcher in the Anthropology Department. He faced long-term health conditions but, so devoted to his craft and his students, he continued to teach through the spring of 2024. He passed away on Jan. 22, 2025, at the age of 83. 

Baldanza, a longtime Maxwell supporter and innovative business leader who helped transform the airline industry, passed away on Nov. 5, 2024. He was 62.

Kissel—a devoted supporter of Maxwell—passed away on July 21, 2024, at her home in Washington, D.C. She was 76.

Doris “Dottie” Payson ’57 passed away on Feb. 12, 2024, at the age of 87. She served on the Maxwell Advisory Board from 1998 to 2013 and was a life member of the University’s Board of Trustees, which she joined in 2000.

Ralph Hockley ’49 B.A. (RusSt) passed away on Nov. 8, 2023. He was 98. He fought valiantly to defend the U.S. and other allied countries against Nazis and threats to democracy through two wars and beyond. 

Roland Droitsch ’65 M.A. (PSc), who served as the deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Labor, passed away in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Jan. 26, 2024. He was 82.

Susan M. Walter ’69 B.A. (Hist)/’71 M.A. (PSc) passed away on April, 23, 2023, at the age of 75. She had a distinguished career in government and private industry and authored two books.

Chris Snow ’03 B.A. (PSt) passed away on Sept. 30, 2023, at the age of 42. He had a successful career in professional hockey and publicly lobbied, fundraised and raised awareness to help find a cure for ALS. 

Thomas P. Lauth ’76 Ph.D. (PSc) passed away on May 13, 2023, at the age of 85. He was a highly regarded professor and administrator.