Trudy Conway in her office
Gertrude D. “Trudy” Conway, Ph.D. August 12, 1950 – July 30, 2021 TRUDY CONWAY, PH.D., PROFESSOR EMERITA, died Friday, July 30, 2021, at home surrounded by her loved ones after an extended illness. She was 70 years old. The much loved and widely accomplished professor of philosophy began her career at the Mount in 1979, when she returned to the United States with her husband Abdolreza “Huschang” Banan from Iran where she and Dr. Banan had been teaching at Shiraz University. Conway loved teaching, learning and giving. She approached each day with a kind of joie de vivre that drew students and faculty to her. Ever the curious deep thinker with a penetrating intelligence, she graduated from The Mary Louis Academy in Queens with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood (1968), and continued on to The College of New Rochelle for her bachelor’s degree (1972). She earned her doctorate in philosophy from Fordham University.
Students present Dr. Conway with flowers upon her retirement
She savored the challenge and reward of academic life, immersing herself in numerous research areas including cross-cultural dialogue and restorative justice. Her body of scholarly work is a testament to her intellect and work ethic and an enduring contribution to the academic community. She published two of her own books, Wittgenstein on Foundations (1989) and Cross-Cultural Dialogue on the Virtues: The Contribution of Fethullah Gülen (2014), and edited two more, Where Justice and Mercy Meet: Catholic Opposition to the Death Penalty (2013) and Redemption and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Restorative Justice (2017) with David M. McCarthy, Ph.D., and Vicki Schieber, Ph.D. In addition to the decades she spent in the classroom, mentoring students and faculty alike, Conway found time to write several books and multiple scholarly articles, serve as associate dean of the college, begin the University Honors Program and initiate a study abroad program that would become the model for the Mount's current international studies program. Conway chaired the Department of Philosophy from 1999-2005, was the inaugural holder of the Delaplaine Professorship and held another endowed chair, the Msgr. Klein Chair of Philosophy, for many years. Conway was also instrumental in establishing a chapter of the Delta Epsilon Sigma Honor Society at the Mount, and served as its advisor until her retirement in 2015. Her work with students at the Mount to end the death penalty in Maryland was legendary and most effective.
Trudy Conway with Philosophy Department
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CLASS NOTES FALL 2021
Trudy’s love for experiencing other cultures was evident in her travels, teaching, home and community life. She was married for 44 years to Dr. Abdolreza Banan, and together they raised their children, Sedira and Daniel, in a bi-cultural, bi-religious home, in which they embraced the virtues of hospitality, tolerance and generosity.
