In Memoriam: 1990s

Notices sorted by graduation date

Elena Lawrence (Law ’95 L/M) of Fort Collins, Colo., died Dec. 15, 2011. At the University, she was the editor of the Virginia Law Review. She moved to Denver and worked first in private practice and then for the Securities and Exchange Commission for many years.

Rakesh Chawla (Com ’96 L/M) of New York City died Dec. 20, 2011. He was a managing director at Greenhill. The firm has formed the Chawla Family Education Trust to pay for the education of Mr. Chawla’s three daughters.

John Boyd Noftsinger Jr. (Educ ’97) of Harrisonburg, Va., died Nov. 10, 2011. At the University, he received the Annette Gibbs Award for scholarly achievement in the Higher Education Program. He most recently served as vice provost for research and public service at James Madison University. Among other projects, Mr. Noftsinger led the movement to fund and start up the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery, which conducts humanitarian missions to clear mines around the world. More recently, he led the charge to attract the Stanford Research Institute International to open the Center for Advanced Drug Research in Harrisonburg. He co-authored a book, Understanding Homeland Security: Policy, Perspective, and Paradoxes, in 2007. Mr. Noftsinger played in the faculty hockey league at JMU, coached soccer and was the scoutmaster of his sons’ Boy Scout troop.