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In the Summer of 2000, I completed my term of office on the New York State Court of Appeals, a tribunal renowned through the work and writings of Chief Judge Benjamin Nathan Cardozo. A unique consilience came to mind because, in 1928, he gave the Commencement Address to the first St. John's Law School graduating class. (For inspiration and reinforcement of one's desire and reason to be a lawyer, see "Our Lady of the Common Law" [1928, Selected Writings of Benjamin Nathan Cardozo, Margaret E. Hall (ed.), Matthew Bender and Co., New York, 1947, p.87]). That Judge summoned those St. John's graduates to a ministry of noble services:
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"How it lies with you to uplift what is low, to erase what is false, to redeem what has been lost, till all the world shall see, and seeing shall understand, that union of the scholars thought, the mystics yearning, the knights ardor, and the heros passion, which is still, in truest moments of self-expression, the spirit of the bar!"
St. John's University School of Law, my Alma Mater (C'59, L'61), gave me an excellent education and outstanding opportunities in a magnificent profession. St. John's continues to instill in its students a fundamental understanding of fiduciary trust and the virtue of professional responsibility; it teaches law in theory and practice; and it inculcates the University-wide Vincentian Mission of helping people, especially the neediest, and serving communities. This School has always set the highest legal standards and moral vision, and provided access to a special education for those who would aspire to the profound responsibility of being private or public attorneys and counselors at law.
This 75th Anniversary Year of St. John's School of Law has witnessed a resurgence of energy and renewal of spirit resonant to Judge Cardozo's uplifting message and my realization of it. Now it is the turn for many others as new opportunities await and challenges confront those who next enter this Law School. The faculty, students and graduates form a consortium of committed individuals who, while diverse, strive with a unity of purpose for excellence in learning and in lawyering. On behalf of the St. John's community, I welcome interest and potential affiliation with this Law School.
Showcase programs this past academic year have celebrated the variety of our educational experiences:
Extraordinary leaders graced our School's lecterns with messages of importance: United States Supreme Court Justices Scalia and Kennedy; Federal Judges Weinstein and Noonan; Honorable Kenneth W. Starr; Former California Governor George Deukmejian, L'52; Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Bill Lann Lee; Cardinals Anthony Bevilacqua, L'75, Pio Laghi, and the late John OConnor.
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The Rev. Joseph T. Tinnelly, C.M. Moot Court Competition featured New York Governor George E. Pataki, Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals Judith S. Kaye, and myself, who served as the Final Bench for the student advocates.
Special educational conferences focused on cutting-edge issues of constitutional federalism, law and religion, securities law, employment law, and others. Faculty recognitions, scholarship and authored books multiplied.
A 97% job placement rate was achieved within nine months of graduation.
The Law School significantly increased scholarship aid.
The Law School benefitted from expanding support of devoted benefactors, such as Jerome (L'48) and Maxine Belson's newest gift of $2.5 million for a state-of-the-art Moot Court Room; this has inspired and stimulated an overall revitalization of alumni giving and participation by an enlarging cross-section among the 13,000 Law School graduates.
New commitments in technology are planned with University matching resources.
The University produced first-time campus residence halls, with availability to law students.
The Law School inaugurated a groundbreaking LL.M. Bankruptcy Program, the first of its kind in the nation.
The Rittenberg Law Library established a Center for Civil Rights in the name of the Honorable Ronald H. Brown, L'70 (the late U.S. Commerce Cabinet Secretary).
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These highlights are mentioned to emphasize some of the reasons why I have returned to my own beloved School, after closing the book on my public career. I was also attracted by my St. John's affiliations as a student, former faculty member and administrator, former member of the University Board of Trustees and active alumni member throughout my 40-year career. My optimism and enthusiasm glow with the confident knowledge that St. John's Law School is an outstanding school, offering individuals an excellent education and opportunities that stretch the destinies of each qualified applicant and graduate. The will, the resources and the people at St. John's are committed to maintaining and improving its fine teaching and superb scholarship products.
The bright and clear goal is to train our enrollees and graduates so that they might serve their clients and communities with distinction and honor.
To build on and to reaffirm the Schools objectives, I have proposed several priority objectives, as I start my tenure as Dean, including an Immigration Law Clinic, a Student Loan Forgiveness Program in conjunction with Public Service Employment, and major technology advancements. My best efforts will be directed toward finding the resources to bring these dreams to reality.
I cordially invite applicants to partake of what this School offers. We have intelligence, experience, wisdom, commitment and orientation to professional virtues, exemplified and taught by an outstanding faculty. We value our talented and diverse student body. And St. John's is gifted with prominent, involved, and successful alumni across the spectrum of professional endeavors. You are encouraged to share your dreams with us, so we can add your achievements to the celebrated record of this Schools 75 years of distinguished graduates who have and are serving clients and communities in the best tradition of a learned profession and of this Vincentian-spirited institution.
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