University of Massachusets Athletics
Alumna Journalist Jill Carroll Released in Iraq; News Welcomed on Campus
March 30, 2006 | Women's Swimming & Diving
March 30, 2006
AMHERST, Mass. - Alumna freelance journalist Jill Carroll was freed in Iraq today after nearly three months in captivity.
News accounts said Carroll is in good health and told reporters that she was treated well by her captors, but said she did not know why she was kidnapped. Her release came a day after her twin sister, Katie, made a televised appeal for her freedom.
Carroll, 28, was abducted Jan. 7 in Baghdad while on assignment for The Christian Science Monitor. Her kidnappers threatened to kill her if female Iraqi detainees were not freed by U.S. and Iraqi security forces. Two deadlines set by the group passed without word of Carroll's fate.
"We are thrilled and relieved at the safe return of my daughter, Jill," her father, Jim Carroll, said in a statement read on NBC`s "Today" show. "We want to thank the thousands of people that prayed and especially the people at The Christian Science Monitor who did so much to keep her image alive in Iraq."
The announcement of her safe release was also hailed on campus, where Carroll earned her B.A. in journalism in 1999.
"All of Jill Carroll's friends and fellow alumni of the University of Massachusetts Amherst celebrate her safe release announced today," said Chancellor John V. Lombardi. "The prayers and hopes of so many have been answered and our relief and joy at her safe return knows no limits. We welcome her home."
Karen List, director of the journalism program and one of Carroll's former teachers, said faculty and students are "thrilled" by the news.
"Jill's courageous work in Iraq embodies the best principles of journalism, and we are proud to have worked with her as a student and to count her as a colleague," said List. "Our love and admiration for her are matched only by our immense relief that this ordeal has ended. We look forward to welcoming her back to campus and introducing her to the next generation of young journalists. We can't think of a better role model for our students."
Originally from Ann Arbor, Mich., Carroll was a reporter for the Daily Collegian as an undergraduate. She was also a member of the swimming and water polo teams.
"The whole UMass aquatic family is happy to hear about Jill's safe return," said Head Swim Coach Bob Newcomb. "We are ecstatic for Jill and her family and are relieved that this situation was resolved in such a positive manner."
