In late 2025, the Whiting School lost three esteemed members of its alumni community: L. Gordon Croft, Engr ’56, Richard A. Swirnow, Engr ’55, and Michael J. Zinner, Engr ’67. Croft passed away on September 5; Swirnow passed away on October 1; and Zinner passed away on October 25.

“The passing of these three friends and advisors, L. Gordon Croft, Richard Swirnow, and Michael Zinner, leaves a profound void in the Johns Hopkins community,” says Ed Schlesinger, Benjamin T. Rome Dean of the Whiting School. “Each of them embodied the spirit of in

L. Gordon Croft, Engr ’56

quiry, compassion, and service that defines a Johns Hopkins education. They not only excelled in their respective fields but also enriched the lives of those around them through mentorship, advocacy, and creativity. As alumni, they contributed in meaningful, tangible ways to the university’s mission, inspired countless students, and directly supported and contributed to groundbreaking research. Their impacts will be felt for years to come.”

Croft graduated from Johns Hopkins with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering in 1956 and went on to build the highly respected Croft Leominster Investment Management Co. in Baltimore, Maryland. He

established endowments for an undergraduate scholarship to support admitted engineering students from his native Port Tobacco in Charles County, Maryland; funded four graduate fellowships and a jun

ior professorship for research in energy; and endowed the Billig-Croft Lecture in honor of his friend, the late Frederick Billig, Engr ’56, a widely respected Johns Hopkins graduate who conducted research at the university’s Applied Physics Laboratory.

In recognition of his lifelong support and generosity, the New Engineering Building on the Homewood campus was renamed “Croft Hall” in 2013. Located on the Wyman Quadrangle, Croft Hall provides 38,000 square feet of office and research space and houses the Institute for NanoBioTechnology.