Philip Merrill was reported missing after his boat was found empty Saturday.

Shortly after becoming the new dean of the journalism school in 2000, Tom Kunkel remembers being invited by Philip Merrill for a “little chat” to get to know one another.

Kunkel arrived at 11:30 a.m. with his wife and didn’t leave until 5:30 p.m.

“That was Phil in a nutshell,” Kunkel said in an e-mail interview. “Inquisitive, garrulous, keenly interested in what you thought and not bashful in telling you what he thought.”

Merrill, 72, the namesake of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, was reported missing after he failed to return from a sailing trip on the Chesapeake Bay Saturday. He is now presumed dead, leaving the university community to cope with the disappearance.

“Phil Merrill, journalist, publisher, national servant, environmentalist and passionate believer in higher education, is among a small handful of the greatest supporters of the University of Maryland in its history,” university president and Merrill family friend Dan Mote said in a statement while traveling in China. “His vision, counsel and financial support of the College of Journalism have been of monumental importance to its prominence.”

Merrill’s 41-foot sailboat, the Merrilly, was found undamaged near Breezy Point with the engine running and his wallet on board. At least four life jackets were also found on the boat. Merrill usually does not wear a life jacket while sailing, according to a June 11 article in The Capital, one of seven publications Merrill owns.

Merrill “has been an avid yachtsman since he first learned to sail at age 7. He has been actively cruising the Chesapeake since 1958,” the Merrill family said in a statement issued by Tom Marquardt, executive editor of The Capital. “If there was anyone who could captain a boat competently alone, it was Phil.”

Merrill and his wife Eleanor have been involved with the university – especially the journalism school – since 1983, when Eleanor was named to the Board of Visitors.

Former journalism school dean and faculty member Reese Cleghorn remembered Merrill showing up at some board meetings as a “spouse,” which is an unusual practice.

“He was a very vivid figure. He could be very serious while often being very light-hearted,” Cleghorn said. “He was a very smart and intuitive man.”

The university had previously approached the Merrills about donating to the journalism school, but it wasn’t until 2001 that Merrill made a $10 million donation to the university and the journalism school. The college was renamed in his honor.

The donation came with instructions that it be used to endow three new faculty chairs, update equipment and support student scholarships and fellowships. The Merrills both attended school on scholarships, and it was important for them to make sure others could do the same, Cleghorn said.

“The Merrill gift in 2001 was transformational in that it helped us immediately in so many ways,” Kunkel said. “It touched every aspect of the school and put us on a more level playing field.”

In addition to contributions to the university, Merrill was the owner and publisher of The Capital, The Maryland Gazette, Washingtonian magazine and four other area newspapers.

Eleanor will succeed her husband as publisher, Marquardt said. No date has been set on when she will take over daily duties or when the masthead will change.

“I assure our readers and employees that I will continue his work and stay faithful to his spirit,” Eleanor said in a statement on The Capital’s website.

Merrill was the former chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, appointed by President Bush in 2002. He also held other federal duties in the Defense and State departments.

Both Kunkel and Cleghorn described Merrill’s role as publisher as a throwback because he was visible in the public and outspoken about his beliefs.

“Phil was not a halfway kind of person,” Kunkel said. “He probably infuriated most of the important figures in Maryland at one time or another. It was all part of the rough and tumble that he loved.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact reporter Caren Oppenheim at newsdesk@dbk.umd.edu.