“So in some respects I wasn’t surprised that he went back to Harvard in an administrative capacity and has stayed there all these years.”Having worked with Fitzsimmons for several decades, McGrath believes that Fitzsimmons’s commitment to the University stems from a gratitude for “opportunities that Harvard provided for him” and an affinity for working with students, Welch said.For Fitzsimmons himself, though, the ability to give back to other students around the world was the most exciting.“I realized how precious an opportunity it was to attend Harvard and that there were many students from across the nation and around the world who might never think of applying,” Fitzsimmons wrote. View the profiles of professionals named "Bill Fitzsimmons" on LinkedIn. Boston
But admissions officers do consider it an important part of students’ life experience. Admissions Fitzsimmons responded that the handbook is a small part of how officers are trained, and that much information is passed “back and forth, from one admissions officer to another.”Hughes also showed passages from an economist’s analysis of Harvard admissions data that projected what the Class of 2019 would have looked like had race not been considered in admitting its members. “After that we probably spent a little time playing cards that we should’ve spent studying, but we managed to graduate anyway.”Fitzsimmons’s taste in music was also fondly remembered by his Lionel A-31 roommates, both of whom according to Casey did not bring any music of their own to Harvard.“His true favorite, true love in music was Tony Bennett,” Dolan said, “And so he had a Hi-Fi system that he played Tony Bennett all the time.”Most of all though, he had a diverse friend group with “quite different interests and backgrounds,” and according to Dolan, Fitzsimmons was able to get along well with all of them. There are 70+ professionals named "Bill Fitzsimmons", who use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas, and opportunities. William has 5 jobs listed on their profile. Welch fondly recalls Fitzsimmons’s underdog role during a close game the team played against Cornell, in which a brawl broke out.“The Cornell goalie was going to enter into the brawl, and lo, Billy Fitz from 100 feet down the rink comes flying up and tackles the Cornell goalie, evening the slate,” Welch said.Alan D. Bersin ’68, remembered Fitzsimmons as having played a unique role in Pi Eta, a social club which catered to students from blue-collar backgrounds who identified less with a traditional elite final club demographic.“At the Pi Eta, you could always find him willing to engage in intelligent discussion, not something that was always the case at the Pi Eta Club,” Bersin said.Even today, Fitzsimmons still continues to maintain friendships with several of his classmates. On Wednesday Hughes will continue to question Fitzsimmons. Freshman and sophomore-year roommate Michael B. Dolan ’67 recalled that playing Hearts was a favorite pastime of Fitzsimmons’s.“Freshman year was all nose to the grindstone,” Casey added. “What he knows is that families are different and he has a particular family story...For a kid from Weymouth, he has a remarkable sense of the complexity of the United States in every cultural way you can imagine.”McGrath has referred to Fitzsimmons as the creative leader and spearhead of Harvard’s modern financial aid program, which has been recognized as providing access for students of all backgrounds to Harvard.“Harvard’s been I think at the forefront of really creating a meritocracy, and it’s altogether fitting and proper that...Dean Fitzsimmons presided over that gateway,” Bersin said. According to Welch, Fitzsimmons will always “return my note.” Remaining an avid athlete, Fitzsimmons often golfs and travels with classmates, including Joseph J. O’Donnell ’67, who recalled a longtime friendship in the works.“Fitzy and I were a little bit kindred spirits,” O’Donnell, currently a fellow of the Harvard Corporation, said.