The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University mourns the loss of William R. Berkley, our inspirational benefactor and devoted friend.
Bill passed away recently at the age of eighty. A brilliant business leader who built the W. R. Berkley Corporation from humble beginnings into a global insurance powerhouse, Bill's success was matched by his generosity as a philanthropist. Georgetown is among the many beneficiaries of his vision and steadfast support. Most recently, just last year, the Berkley family made a transformative gift to create our Berkley School of Nursing.
Bill’s foundational support for the Berkley Center goes back two decades. Following the September 11 attacks, Georgetown’s then-president, John J. DeGioia, perceived a need for universities to grapple more deeply with the new salience of religion in world affairs. Bill, a member of our board of directors at the time, was convinced that Georgetown, a global Jesuit institution in the nation’s capital, was uniquely positioned to take the lead. Since the center’s founding in 2006, we have worked with partners inside and outside the university to build knowledge and promote dialogue and cooperation around issues of religion and world affairs. Through it all, we have been inspired by Bill’s conviction that patient and respectful engagement across faith traditions, however difficult, can contribute to peace.
The father of two Georgetown graduates—including W. Robert Berkley, who now serves on the university’s board of directors—Bill prized Georgetown’s Jesuit values and openness to dialogue with other traditions and the wider world. Those commitments will remain at the heart of the Berkley Center’s teaching, research, and service into the future. We remember Bill with deep fondness and gratitude and will carry on our work in honor of his memory.
—Thomas Banchoff, Berkley Center founding Director
Image: Bill Berkley (second from right) at the tenth anniversary celebration of the Berkley Center in 2016.
To make a donation in memory of William R. Berkley, please click here.