George Roche III

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

George C. Roche III (1935-May 5, 2006) was the 11th president of Hillsdale College, serving from 1971 to 1999. Although Roche led Hillsdale out of a near financial collapse and raised the college to national prominence, his vast contributions are often overshadowed by a scandal surrounding an alleged affair between Roche and his daughter-in-law, Lissa Jackson Roche, which led him to resign.

The Center for Constructive Alternatives seminar program and the college's widely circulated speech digest, Imprimis, were started during Roche's years as college president. Under his leadership, many new buildings were constructed, including the George C. Roche Sports Complex, named in his honor. Roche authored many books, such as Legacy of Freedom, The Bewildered Society, and The Book of Heroes, although it is believed that Lissa Roche, who worked at the college, was the ghost writer for his later books.

The scandal broke out in 1999 when the wife of George Roche IV, Lissa Jackson Roche, claimed to have had an affair spanning 19 years with her husband's father. Shortly after, she was found dead in the college's arboretum with a handgun, and the death was ruled a suicide. Following his resignation in November 1999, Roche left public life and moved to Colorado. The widely publicized scandal brought national attention to Roche and Hillsdale. A 2000 book, Hillsdale: Greek Tragedy in America's Heartland, was published concerning the controversial events. The book questioned whether Lissa Roche's death was actually a suicide.

Despite doubts about whether the death of Lissa Jackson Roche was actually a suicide, and the suspicious nature of her death, Roche was never formally charged with any crime. Lissa Roche was also alleged by some to have had mental health problems. The alleged 19-year affair was never positively verified. In spite of this, Roche's reputation was never fully vindicated.

The scandal resulted in Roche's move to a remote cabin in Colorado where he spent the remaining days of his life. Roche returned to Michigan briefly in 2005 to celebrate his seventieth birthday.^{[citation needed]} He died on May 5, 2006, in Louisville, Kentucky.