Richard J. Sweeney *72

Body

Dick died July 30, 2023, in Pomona, Calif.

Born in San Diego Jan. 13, 1944, Dick did his undergraduate studies at UCLA, graduating in 1965. He earned his Ph.D. in economics from Princeton in 1972.

Dick taught at UCLA and Texas A&M, then worked in policy research at the Department of the Treasury. From 1977 to 1989, he was Stone Professor of Finance at Claremont McKenna College and Claremont Graduate University. He was Bolton Sullivan/Thomas Dean Professor of International Finance at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business until his retirement in 2015.

He spent summers and sabbaticals teaching at the University of Gothenburg and the Copenhagen Business School. Traveling in Eastern Europe, he witnessed the changes in Poland, Lithuania, and Estonia after the end of the Soviet Union.

Dick enjoyed recounting his career as a movie extra. While in college, he worked in the summer as a movie extra at Columbia Studios. He joined the Screen Extras Guild and made enough money each summer that he didn’t have to find a job during the school year and could concentrate on his studies.

Dick is survived by his wife, Joan; son Robin; daughter Erin; and grandson Eliott.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.

No responses yet

Join the conversation

Plain text

Full name and Princeton affiliation (if applicable) are required for all published comments. For more information, view our commenting policy. Responses are limited to 500 words for online and 250 words for print consideration.

Paw in print

Image
The October 2025 cover of PAW, featuring an illustration of a woman dressed like Superman, but the S on her chest is a dollar sign.
The Latest Issue

October 2025

Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott ’92; President Eisgruber ’83 defends higher ed; Julia Ioffe ’05 explains Russia.