The 1987 Awardees

James E. Connor
(1906-2003)

LLB 1926
Washington, DC

James E. Connor, a former vice president for the American Security and Trust Company, received the John Carroll Award in ceremonies held at the Westin Hotel, New Orleans, LA, on October 17, 1987.

Born in 1905 in Washington, Connor attended Eastern High School and enrolled in the Law School in 1923, during an era when an undergraduate degree was not required to attend law school. After graduate studies at Rutgers, Connor joined the American Security and Trust Company in 1928, working for 43 years and rising to the rank of vice president for trusts and estates.

Upon his retirement in 1971, Connor became a volunteer assistant for the Georgetown University Alumni Association , where he had served as its treasurer in 1954. Connor was a fixture at Alumni House for nearly two decades, where, according to the John Carroll Awards program of that year, Connor would attend daily Mass at Holy Trinity Church and walk over to Alumni House, often being the first one in the building every day.

James Connor died in 2003 at the age of 97.

Dr. Oscar B. Hunter Jr.
(1915-1991)

MD 1940, Honorary Degree 1984
Bethesda, MD

Oscar B. ("Ben") Hunter, a professor of pathology at Georgetown for 45 years, received the John Carroll Award in ceremonies held at the Westin Hotel, New Orleans, LA, on October 17, 1987.

Hunter grew up in Washington, where his father Oscar Sr. was a pathologist. He graduated from Western High School in 1932 and Catholic University in 1936, earning his medical degree from Georgetown in 1940.

Following his residency at the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Hunter returned to Washington in 1946. Over a distinguished career that spanned portions of six decades, he served as president of the College of American Pathologists, the Washington Society of Pathologists, and Southern Medical Association.

A past president of the Georgetown Club of Washington DC, Dr. Hunter's 45 years of service to the Medical School remains a lasting tribute to decades of service to alma mater. He died in 1991 at the age of 75.

E. Theodore Laborde

AB 1959
New Orleans, LA

E. Theodore ("Ted") Laborde, a regional executive with the insurance firm Marsh & McClennan, received the John Carroll Award in ceremonies held at the Westin Hotel, New Orleans, LA, on October 17, 1987.

"It comes as no surprise," read the awards program that year, "that a Georgetown dean recently commented [that] 'Ted Laborde has become synonymous with the name New Orleans at Georgetown.'" A native Louisianan, Laborde arrived on the Hilltop in 1956, finishing his degree in only three years and proceeding to attend law school at LSU.

In 1963, Laborde joined Marsh & McClennan and worked there for 35 years, serving as Managing Director of the New Orleans office. In retirement, he served on the board of directors of the Gulf Coast Bank and Trust Company and served on the Georgetown University Board of Directors.

Peter P. Mullen
(1927-2011)

AB 1948
Bronxville, NY

Peter Mullen, former chairman of the new York law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, received the John Carroll Award in ceremonies held at the Westin Hotel, New Orleans, LA, on October 17, 1987.

Born in 1928 in New York, Mullen as an honors graduate of Loyola High School before enrolling at Georgetown in 1944. An active member of the College class of 1948, he served as president of the Philodemic Society and editor in chief of The HOYA, succeeding Don Donahue (C'47), himself a 1981 John Carroll awardee.

Mullen earned a law degree from Columbia and joined Skadden Arps in 1961, making partner within one year and serving as a guiding force behind the firm's rapid growth. At his arrival, the firm numbered just ten attorneys; upon his retirement in 1994, Skadden Arps numbered over 1,000 attorneys and was a globally recognized firm in the area of mergers and acquisitions. According to the New York Times, it was the second largest law firm by revenues in the world.

A longtime Georgetown volunteer, Mullen served on the University's Board of Directors from 1982 to 1998 and was its chairman from 1985 to 1992, succeeding, of all people, the aforementioned Don Donahue, a close friend since college. In retirement, Mullen served as chairman of Orbis International.

Peter Mullen died in 2011 at the age of 83.

Paul A. Nalty
(1936-2009)

AB 1958, JD 1961
Metairie, LA

Paul A. Nalty, a New Orleans based attorney and Catholic deacon, received the John Carroll Award in ceremonies held at the Westin Hotel, New Orleans, LA, on October 17, 1987.

Raised in New Orleans, Nalty was a boarding student at Georgetown Prep and earned his bachelor's and law degrees from the University, serving as a legislative assistant to Rep. Hale Boggs . he returned to New Orleans in 1961 where he joined the law firm of Chaffee McCall, specializing in real estate and construction law. He served in private practice for over three decades.

In 1972, owing to changes that reestablished the permanent diaconate among lay candidates, Nalty entered formation to become a Catholic deacon. In 1974, he was one of the first married deacons in the nation, and served humbly in that role for 35 years. Honored by numerous local Catholic groups for his personal and professional calling, Nalty was a member of the Order of Malta and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.

Nalty served as a regional representative to the Board of Governors of the Georgetown University Alumni Association from 1968 to 1971, and served on the Board of Regents at the time of the awards ceremony.

Paul Nalty died in 2009 at the age of 72.

Paul A. Ritacco

BSBA 1964
Cabin John, MD

Paul Anthony Ritacco, local radio host and past president of the Georgetown University Alumni Association, received the John Carroll Award in ceremonies held at the Westin Hotel, New Orleans, LA, on October 17, 1987.

An active member of the campus radio station, WGTB-FM, Ritacco hosted a jazz show on the station and sought to go into broadcasting after graduation. His first job was as a announcer at a M Street club, The Shadows, before a Jesuit professor at Georgetown introduced him to WETA, the city's fledgling public television station. He became its first staff announcer in 1964 and has been a part of the station ever since.

A variety of roles across local radio followed under his stage name, Paul Anthony. He worked at WETA, WRC, and WGMS for many years, and was the announcer for the long running public affairs programs "Washington Week". he has hosted jazz programs on networks ranging from the Armed Forces Network to Sirius satellite radio.

Paul also provided the "sounder" heard by millions daily on all-news radio station WINS-AM in New York. Its famous tagline: "You give us 22 minutes, we'll give you the world."

One of the nation's leading jazz authorities, Ritacco has showcased the preeminent performers in the field. "I have stayed with jazz for many decades," he said. "It's really America's classical music." In 2006, he donated a collection of over 5,000 albums of the mid-20th century to the University of District of Columbia Jazz Studies Program.

Throughout his five decades as a Georgetown alumnus, Ritacco has been a distinguished alumni leader through the Georgetown Club of Metropolitan Washington, DC, the Board of Governors and the Board of Regents. He was elected as president of the Alumni Association from 1990 to 1992, and served as the popular master of ceremonies of the John Carroll Awards dinners from the early 1990's through 2019.

E. Harold Saer, Jr.
(1920-2015)

BSS 1942
Covington, LA

Edward H. ("Sandy") Saer, Jr., a New Orleans attorney, received the John Carroll Award in ceremonies held at the Westin Hotel, New Orleans, LA, on October 17, 1987.

Born in 1920, Saer attended Jesuit High School in New Orleans before receiving his degree from Georgetown in 1942, whereupon he served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Returning from wartime service, he earned a law degree from Tulane University and joined the firm of Chaffee McCall in 1950, rising to managing partner of the firm.

The first regional chairman of the Alumni Admissions Program for New Orleans, he served in that role for 20 years, as well as a term on the Board of Governors of the Georgetown University Alumni Association from 1963 to 1966.

Harold Saer died in 2015 at the age of 95.