Dr. Kelly Frailing, an associate professor at Loyola’s criminology and justice department, died, according to an announcement sent by department chair Rae Taylor.

Frailing’s passing followed an announcement sent Sunday night that Frailing would be out on unexpected leave for the rest of the semester.

“In conjunction with Dean Calzada and Provost Singh, we have worked out a plan for grading your final assignments and issuing your final course grades,” Taylor said in a Canvas notification to students enrolled in Frailing’s courses.

A day after this Canvas message was sent, Taylor announced to students on Monday afternoon that she had died.

Frailing, according to her profile on Loyola’s website, was “the country’s (and probably the world’s) foremost expert on crime in the wake of disaster and has been credited as one of the driving forces in the development of criminology of disaster.”

Frailing’s profile also said she was an expert on specialty courts and programs, particularly those that serve people with mental illness and substance abuse challenges.

“I understand this is shocking and devastating, and you may need some time to process this,” Taylor said in the notification to students. “We will get through this together.”

The University Counseling Center offers resources for those in need.