In Memoriam: November 2026

Ulrich Knoepflmacher *61, whose study of Victorian fiction and poetry eventually led him to create a popular undergraduate course on children’s literature, died Sept. 4 at age 95. Knoepflmacher joined the faculty in 1979 after teaching at the University of California, Berkeley, his undergraduate alma mater, and remained at Princeton for nearly three decades, studying, teaching, and writing about the works of Emily Brontë, George Eliot, and other Victorian giants. The era also was “the golden age of children’s literature,” he told PAW in 2006, which partly explained his interest in that often-overlooked genre. Knoepflmacher published his own children’s book, Franny, Randy, and the Over-the-Edge Cat Person, in 2009.

Van Zandt Williams Jr. ’65, who oversaw two successful capital campaigns during his 22 years as the University’s vice president for development, died Aug. 7 at age 82. Williams led Princeton’s first billion-dollar campaign, the Anniversary Campaign for Princeton (1995-2000), a major driver of the move to no-loan financial aid for undergraduates in 2001. Annual Giving more than tripled during his tenure, with the participation rate reaching 61%.