The 2009 Awardees

M. William Benedetto

AB 1962
New York, NY

William ("Bill") Benedetto, former executive vice president and director of the investment bank at the New York investment company Dean Witter Reynolds and received the John Carroll Award in ceremonies held at the Grand Hyatt, New York, NY, on April 18, 2009.

A 1962 graduate of the College, Benedetto began a career in finance following military service in the U.S. Air Force. By 1980, he was head of corporate finance at Warburg, Paribas Becker and served as executive vice president, director and manager of Dean Witter Reynolds from 1983 to 1988. The chairman emeritus of the private equity firm of Benedetto, Gartland, and Co., he served on the boards of Donna Karan International , Michael Kors Holdings Ltd., and the New York State Catholic Health Plan, Inc.

A former member of the University's Board of Directors, Benedetto is also a former chair of the Board of Regents.

Jules B. Kroll

LLB 1966
Rye, NY

Jules Kroll, founder and former CEO of the corporate risk strategy company Kroll Inc., received the John Carroll Award in ceremonies held at the Grand Hyatt, New York, NY, on April 18, 2009.

Born in 1941 in New York, Kroll earned a BA from Cornell University and a LLB from the Georgetown University Law Center. A former assistant district attorney in Manhattan, he founded J. Kroll Associates in 1972. His biography notes that " By employing former prosecutors, law enforcement officials, journalists, and academics who used sophisticated fact-finding techniques to address decision-makers' need for accurate information, Jules established investigations and risk consulting as indispensable corporate services."

With a worldwide presence in tracing assets and financial forensics, Kroll Inc. was sought after by companies and governments alike. In 2004, he sold Kroll to Marsh & McLennan for $117 million, and founded two new companies: Kroll Bond Rating Agency and K2 Intelligence.

"Jules Kroll was already legendary for hunting down the hidden assets of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, Haiti's "Baby Doc" Duvalier, and Saddam Hussein," said Forbes Magazine.

A trusted adviser to the University, Kroll served on the University's Board of Directors and Board of Regents.

Rev. Scott R. Pilarz, S.J.
(1959-2021)

AB 1981
Scranton, PA

Rev. Scott Pilarz, who served as president of the University of Scranton and Marquette University, received the John Carroll Award in ceremonies held at the Grand Hyatt, New York, NY, on April 18, 2009.

Born in Camden, NJ, Pilarz studied English at Georgetown and was a member of the campus theater group Mask & Bauble, but saw his calling with the Jesuits. He held postgraduate degrees from Fordham, Weston School of Theology, and the City University of New York.

Rev. Pilarz was ordained in 1992 and began teaching at Georgetown in 1996. The recipient of the Edward B. Bunn, S.J., Award for Faculty Excellence in 1999, he served as University chaplain in addition to his unofficial role as the caretaker for Georgetown's bulldog mascot, Jack.

In 2003, the 43 year old Pilarz was named president at the University of Scranton, leading that school through a $125 million capital campaign. A member of the board of trustees at Marquette University, he was selected as president by that university in 2011, but resigned after two years at the post under criticism that he wasn't raising enough money for the school.

After three years as the president of Georgetown Prep, Pilarz was selected for a second term at Scranton in 2017.

"The University of Scranton is a place I love and believe in deeply," Pilarz said. "There's nothing in my mind more authentically Jesuit than the mission of the University and the way that mission is lived by the members of that community. I am returning to a University positioned well for the future."

One month after his inauguration as Scranton's president, Pilarz was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He served as president until his death in 2021 at the age of 61.

Joan Riley

BSN 1976, MS 1997
Potomac, MD

Joan Burggraf Riley, assistant professor of nursing at Georgetown University, received the John Carroll Award in ceremonies held at the Grand Hyatt, New York, NY, on April 18, 2009.

Riley has taught at Georgetown for 40 years. She earned a bachelor's degree in nursing from Georgetown and a master's in nursing from Catholic University of America. In 1997, she earned a second degree from Georgetown.

In 2009, at the time of the award, she was the recipient of the 2009 District of Columbia Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

"I have known Joan for many years, and her commitment to the development and well-being of our undergraduates is a model for all of us in the academy," said University president John J. DeGioia (C'79, G'95) . "For more than 35 years, first as a student and now as a faculty member, Joan Riley has exemplified the ideals of Georgetown University. Without her, our community would be a far different and much less powerful place."

"This is my passion, teaching undergraduates," Riley said in 2009. "The inspiration they provide me is what keeps me going every day."

Edmond D. Villani

AB 1968
Mamoraneck, NY

Edmond ("Ed") Villani, former chief executive officer of Scudder, Stevens & Clark, Inc. received the John Carroll Award in ceremonies held at the Grand Hyatt, New York, NY, on April 18, 2009.

Following his double major in mathematics and economics from Georgetown, Villani pursued a Ph.D. degree in economics at the university of Pennsylvania, with a dissertation in "an econometric model of the determinants in the development costs in the chemical industry." Villani joined the asset management group at Scudder, Stevens & Clark in 1974 and later became its chief economist, CIO, and CEO. Following Scudder's merger with Zurich Group and later Deutche Bank, Villani served as managing director though his retirement in 2005.

Villani served on the board of Directors at Georgetown for seven years, including a term as chairman.