Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court, had a close association with Fordham University, especially the Law School, for many years. Justice O’Connor died on Friday, December 1, and the University and Law School remembered her contributions.
“Justice O’Connor was generous with her time and support of the school. She graciously spoke at the dedication of our new building in 1984 and at the school’s Millennium Celebration,” said Dean Matthew Diller. “Our Law School joins the country in mourning this legal pioneer and true friend of Fordham.”
Justice O’Connor was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan and served from 1981 until 2006. In recognition of her lifetime accomplishments, President Barack Obama awarded Justice O’Connor with the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, on August 12, 2009.
Her involvement with Fordham Law School and the University included several milestones, beginning in 1984, when she spoke at the dedication of a new wing at the Law School and was conferred with an honorary doctorate of laws. Her speech on legal education and social responsibility was published in the Fordham Law Review.
Starting in 1986, and for years afterwards, Justice O’Connor attended the annual Fordham Law Alumni Supreme Court Admission Ceremonies in Washington D.C., and at least once, served as the program’s lunchtime speaker.
In 1992, Justice O’Connor was honored with the Fordham-Stein Prize, which is presented annually by the Law School to a member of the legal profession whose work embodies the highest standards of the legal profession.
She also taught a course in International Law and Relations as part of the Fordham Law summer program in Ireland.
In 2012, she joined the Law School for a conversation with Judith S. Kaye, former chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals, for the annual Robert L. Levine Distinguished Lecture, one of the Law School’s premier events.
“I’ve had the privilege to have met many prominent judges, practitioners, and leaders during my time at Fordham, but at the top of that list was Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. She was a role model on and off the bench to many in our Law School community,” said Professor Constantine “Gus” Katsoris, who participated in many of the events involving Justice O’Connor. “I’ll never forget when she stepped in at one of our Supreme Court Admission Ceremonies when the chief justice was absent, to admit our alumni to practice before the Court—it was the first time in the history of the Supreme Court that the ceremony was presided over by a woman. I fondly remember calling her the unofficial ‘First Lady of Fordham Law School,’ which no one ever questioned.”