Chronicle of Higher Education - web daily - November 10, 1999
Suspended President to Be Questioned About Daughter-in-Law's Apparent Suicide
By MARTIN VAN DER WERF
Police investigators plan to question George C. Roche III, the suspended president of Hillsdale College, about the apparent suicide of his daughter-in-law, amid rumors that he had been carrying on a long-term affair with her.
"We have no reason to believe it was anything other than a suicide," Hillsdale (Mich.) Police Detective Brad Martin said of the October 17 death of Lissa Roche, who apparently shot herself to death and whose body was found on the campus of the conservative college. "We want to interview people who might have knowledge of the death who have so far been unavailable."
Mr. Roche has reportedly been on his honeymoon in Hawaii. He was married in September. Ms. Roche, who had worked at the college for 15 years, quit her job about the same time as the marriage, according to several former and current faculty members. But she was persuaded to return, and had resumed working at Hillsdale shortly before her death.
One professor, who insisted on anonymity, said that rumors of an affair between the president and his daughter-in-law dated to 1990. Mr. Roche divorced his wife of 44 years earlier this year. His daughter-in-law was managing editor of Imprimis, a newspaper filled with conservative and Libertarian articles about social and political topics that was a leading fund-raising tool for the college. While not affiliated with any religious denomination, Hillsdale advertises itself as a Christian college that aims to build character in its students. The college refuses all federal money, allowing it to be exempt from federal affirmative-action laws and many government rules.
The Hillsdale Board of Trustees is scheduled to meet today to talk about Mr. Roche's future at the college. The trustees placed him on a leave of absence last week without explanation. Since then, the campus has been alive with rumors about what led to the suspension.
The Hillsdale Liberation Organization, a student group that is critical of the administration, posted a statement last weekend on the World-Wide Web saying that Mr. Roche was under investigation for many things, including the alleged affair with Lissa Roche. "We've heard this from too many sources, and too many reliable source [sic] to discount," the statement reads.
Several former and current faculty members told The Chronicle that the alleged affair was being openly discussed on the campus. Mr. Roche could not be reached for comment.
Ronald L. Trowbridge, Hillsdale's vice-president for external programs and communications, said he could not comment on the rumored affair, or whether it was the cause of Mr. Roche's suspension. "I can't respond to that. That's just not something I can talk about," he said.
Detective Martin said the investigation into Ms. Roche's death remained open. The police department is still awaiting the results of an autopsy and an analysis of fingerprints on the gun used in the shooting.