Beloved Columbia professor who helped drug and alcohol addicts is found dead in his apartment 'after heavy drinking spree'

  • Donald McVinney, 66, specialized in substance abuse and alcohol treatment
  • But on Tuesday his body was found along with many empty bottles
  • His brother said he thinks McVinney may have lost his job without telling anyone
  • McVinney, a celebrated academic, had struggled with abuse previously  

By Dailymail.com Reporter

Published: 18:19 EST, 21 December 2016 | Updated: 20:46 EST, 21 December 2016

Dead: Professor Donald McVinney, 66, was found dead Tuesday, with many empty bottles. He had been a celebrated expert in substance abuse treatment

A Columbia university professor who had made it his life's work to help people struggling with addiction was found dead in his apartment surrounded by bottles, it has emerged.

The body of Donald McVinney, 66, a respected academic who specialized in alcoholism and substance abuse treatment, was found in his Manhattan apartment on Tuesday, during a wellness check. 

Empty bottles were found scattered around the apartment, sources told The New York Post. 

Police said there were no signs of foul play and that he had been known to have a drinking problem. 

'I was told there were many wine bottles littering the apartment,' his brother Barry said. 

'This has totally floored me. He hadn't been a drinker or drug user, as far as I know, for decades.'

He told the Post that his brother could have been laid off without telling anyone, and that he'd been struggling for money.

McVinney had spend time in the New York art scene when younger - including working with Andy Warhol - but gravitated towards social work and helping addicts. 

He taught classes on treating addiction at Harlem United and Columbia’s School of Social Work.

He also wrote the book Chemical Dependency Treatment: Innovative Group Approaches, published in 1997.

In 1999 he was given both the Columbia University President's Award for outstanding Teaching by a Graduate Student, and named Outstanding Professor of the Year by the university. 

Troubled: McVinney had struggled with alcohol abuse before. His brother said he may have been laid off and not told anyone. Pictured: McVinney's New York apartment

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