Claire Gaudiani

Claire Gaudiani, who as president of Connecticut College sought to implement a sweeping vision of redeveloping the college’s host city, New London, which led to a landmark Supreme Court case on eminent domain — and to a faculty revolt that helped force her resignation after 13 years — died on Oct. 16 2024 in Manhattan. She was 79. She became president of Connecticut College in 1988, at 43. She also became chief executive of the New London Development Corporation, a quasi-public entity that used taxpayer money to revitalize the city, one of the poorest in Connecticut. Well before the Supreme Court sided with the developers, Ms. Gaudiani faced a backlash from Connecticut College’s faculty and students. Her take-charge style irritated professors, who felt left out of the decision-making process about college affairs. Students protested the school’s efforts to bulldoze longtime city residents’ homes. In October 2000, Ms. Gaudiani announced that she would step down at the end of the academic year. Claire Lynn Gaudiani was born on Nov. 10, 1944, in Venice, Florida. She arned a B.A. in French language and literature from Connecticut College in 1966 and a master’s and Ph.D. from Indiana University. She met David Burnett when they were both graduate students; they married in 1968. He became a dean at the University of Pennsylvania and an executive with Pfizer. Besides their son, she is survived by her husband; their daughter, Maria Burnett; five grandchildren; her parents; a sister, Linda Gaudiani; and two brothers, Vincent and Michael.