Winter Luncheon Remarks by Henry Monaghan – Feb. 5, 2010
Harlan Fiske Stone Professor of Constitutional Law
Thanks very much, Jack, and for the kind remarks. I must say that I suspect that when academics are given medals of excellence their excellence consists in significant part in their longevity. Nonetheless, I especially appreciate Jack’s expressions because he told me that he had worked on his remarks for some time. No doubt he was trying to think of appropriate things to say about me in the context of such an award. I was able to remove his writing block, however. I said that he should imagine that two different medals were being given today. One was the traditional medal, based on the traditional criteria which has been given to the Attorney General. The other might be conceived of in a rather more sprightly mode: a sort of medal in lieu of excellence, an award that thereby allowed the person introducing the recipient a much greater poetic license. Be all that as it may, another colleague suggested that I begin my remarks with a strong and familiar refrain, such as “nearly four score and seven years ago.” The gentle pull of modesty convinced me that the Gettysburg address model was not quite appropriate for this occasion. And so, I adopted the dean’s suggestion. He said that I might talk briefly – he seemed rather to underscore that word - about teaching at Columbia over the last 25 years or so.
For me, these have been the happiest years of my life. First, I have been blessed with a wonderful marriage. I met Nancy only a few weeks after I came here, and we have been together since. My son Brendan, of whom I am enormously fond and proud, lives in the city. Like Nancy, he is here today. Then, of course, there is the city itself. For those who love city life, and I certainly do, New York must be characterized as the Romans characterized their imperial city: caput mundi, the head of the world. And, to this audience, let me add that I include as part of New York’s greatness the excellence of its bar, the fact of which I have been constantly reminded over the years. To have all this to start with and then to be able to teach at the law school is to be in a wonderful situation. I love the school; I go to the office everyday and I have always loved that experience. That said, enough about me teaching at Columbia.
Instead, I want to leave you with two thoughts. Both are related to David’s state of Columbia Law School. First, we are all aware that there are other fine law schools. In that context, I believe that today the law school is at its strongest point in my tenure. I can think of no time during my experience in which the school has been stronger in so many different ways – from faculty to students to facilities.
Second, I want to emphasize one important source of this strength, one in which I take a special delight. That is, our younger faculty, particularly at the very junior level. We have been enormously successful in recruiting younger faculty, each one of whom is very special, and each of whom contributes to the life of the law school. At the entry level – with young people seeking their first appointment – we have been almost unbeatable. We haven’t been as dominant as say the Conn. women’s basketball team, but we have a truly imposing record. This year, for example, we grabbed a person who was, I believe, by far the number one draft pick on the entry-level market, even though the dean of a law school only 90 short miles away was engaged in a sustained full court press to prevent that result. And she is fabulous, and she is by no means alone among her colleagues in that regard. What is especially pleasing to me about my young colleagues is how much they enjoy one another, and how well they interact with each other. (They actually interact well with the senior cardinals also).
Columbia Law School is a vigorous and happy place, and that fact simply increases the great pleasure I take in going to my office.
In closing, let me say that there are a number of people to whom this medal could be given to the extent it reflects efforts to contribute to our law school. My dear friend Jack, of course, is one. Jack has time, however. He is still quite young. Year after year he insists that he is 39 years old. We may yet name him the Jack Benny Professor of Law. I would call your special attention to, however, is our dean. During my tenure the law school has been blessed with a line of deans each of whom has made valuable contributions to the school. David is a strong representative of that tradition. His is a tough job - make no mistake about it. I sometimes think the dean’s role is largely that of a warden of some institution. But David has been splendid in maintaining the direction and life of the school.
And so, David, I want to thank you for the award. I want to thank you and Jack and all my colleagues for making Columbia Law School such a great institution to be at. And finally, I want to thank all of you for making this such a memorable occasion for me and my family.