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In Memoriam | Winter 2024

In Memoriam: Faculty & Friends

Notices sorted by graduation date

Laurence “Larry” W. Fredrick of Charlottesville died May 19, 2024. He joined UVA in 1963 as the first chair of the astronomy department. Under his leadership, and through strategic hiring, the department grew into a modern research-oriented program and attained national prominence. He established Fan Mountain Observatory in Albemarle County and supported the effort to bring the headquarters for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory to Charlottesville. In 1963, he presented a study to the Langley Research Center about large space-based telescopes, landing him a role on the Hubble Space Telescope astrometry support team. He served as secretary of the American Astronomical Society and served as a member of many professional societies, including the Virginia Academy of Science, the Royal Astronomical Society and the National Space Society. He retired from UVA as a professor emeritus in 1995 but remained involved in the department’s social life. Outside of astronomy, he enjoyed golf, photography and UVA sports. Survivors include three children, including Rebecca L. Mesarch (Engr ’88 CM); a sister; eight grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.

Jeffrey Hopkins of Vancouver, British Columbia, died July 1, 2024. After earning his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and his doctorate from the University of Wisconsin, he came to UVA as an assistant professor of Tibetan Buddhist studies in 1973. He founded a doctoral program in Tibetan Buddhist studies two years later. He worked to expand Buddhist studies at the University by hiring other experts. He was the recipient of three Fulbright fellowships and made 12 trips to India and five to Tibet for research. He also served as the chief translator for the Dalai Lama from 1979 to 1989 on tours of the U.S., Canada, Europe, Southeast Asia and Australia. He published over 50 books and mentored 18 Ph.D. graduates, retiring from UVA in 2005 as a professor emeritus.

Frederick “Fred” Schauer of Charlottesville died Sept. 1, 2024. A leading legal theorist and free speech scholar, he spent 16 years on the UVA School of Law faculty. He earned his bachelor’s degree and business degree at Dartmouth and his law degree from Harvard. After a few years working in Boston law firms, he joined academia. He held positions at several schools—including the West Virginia University College of Law, Cambridge University, the College of William & Mary Law School, and the University of Michigan Law School—before joining Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1990. There he spent 18 years teaching courses on the First Amendment, supervising graduate students in jurisprudence and comparative constitutional law, and serving as academic dean and acting dean. In 2008 he headed to Charlottesville to become UVA’s David and Mary Harrison Distinguished Professor of Law. He took pride in mentoring young legal scholars and supporting first-generation students. Over the course of his career, he wrote more than 300 works on freedom of speech, constitutional law and the philosophy of law, including the books The Proof: Uses of Evidence in Law, Politics and Everything Else and Thinking Like a Lawyer: A New Introduction to Legal Reasoning. In 2021, the University of Chicago Law School listed him as one of the top 20 most cited legal scholars of all time. In his free time, he enjoyed photography and woodworking. Survivors include his wife, Barbara Spellman, who is also a professor on the UVA School of Law faculty.

Harold R. “Harry” Strang of Charlottesville died April 20, 2023. He spent nearly 40 years as a professor and researcher at UVA’s School of Education and Human Development (formerly the Curry School of Education). He earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from Harpur College in Endicott, New York. He joined the U.S. Army and, upon completing his training, transferred to the National Guard so he could continue his education and teach while serving his country. He taught biology for two years in Lake Mohegan, New York, before earning a master’s from SUNY Albany and a doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Kansas. After two years of postdoctoral research, he received a federal grant funding automated reading research and landed at UVA. Over the next 39 years, he taught development and learning courses year-round. He worked with graduate students who assisted him with his research, focusing on computer simulation of classroom experiences including fundamental teaching skills, classroom and behavior management, student-teacher dialogue, and assisting special education students. He also served on the doctoral committees of many students and served as marshal at many graduations. After retiring in 2008, he pursued a lifelong love of woodworking. After he underwent brain surgery in 2012, he and his wife, Alice Strang (Educ ’79), established the Strang Neuroscience Research Award at UVA. The endowment provides seed money for young scientists to investigate traumatic brain injuries, stem cell therapies and Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to his wife, survivors include two children, including Dana Strang Peterson (Educ ’99); a brother; and two grandchildren.