Law School Honors Scalia with Endowed Professorship

The Considine Family Foundation has endowed a Harvard Law School professorship in honor of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin G. Scalia, the school announced Friday.

Scalia, who died last February, graduated magna cum laude from the Law School in 1960 and served as an editor of the Law Review. As an associate justice of the Supreme Court, he was known for his strict interpretations of the Constitution. His family pledged to donate a collection of his papers in March, and those papers will become a part of the Law School library’s collection.

Antonin G. Scalia speaks on November 18, 1992 in this Crimson file photo. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1960. By Crimson file photo

Former Dean of the Law School Martha L. Minow said in a press release that a professorship in honor of Scalia is fitting because of his commitment to legal education.

“Justice Scalia had a singular impact on statutory analysis and legal thought. He also had a great love of learning, so it is especially meaningful that he will be honored with a professorship that will provide enduring support for teaching and scholarship at the Law School and beyond,” Minow said.

Terry M. Considine ’69, who started the Considine Family foundation with his wife Betsy C. Considine, wrote in an email that Minow felt strongly that Scalia’s Supreme Court service and legal scholarship merited recognition and asked their family’s foundation to contribute in his honor. He commended Scalia’s textualist approach to the Constitution and pragmatic relationship with fellow justices.

“A value embodied by Justice Scalia was to respect and even enjoy those with whom you disagree,” Considine said. “It is often said that his close friends on the Court included Justices Ginsburg and Kagan, notwithstanding frequent differences of opinion on issues before the Court.”

The individual to hold this position has yet to be selected, but will be chosen based on the recommendation of Dean of the Law School John F. Manning, who started in that role on July 1.

—Staff writer Jamie D. Halper can be reached at jamie.halper@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @JamieDHalper.