News
The End of an Era: John DeWitt Gregory to Retire
‘‘
I was new to academia when I first met John, and what a pleasure — and inspiration — it has been ever since that first meeting. I shall miss John’s uncanny wit, unwavering honesty and courage to give voice to injustices ill reflected or addressed. As a teacher, I aim to continue with John’s legacy in the classroom and beyond. — Professor Akilah N. Folami
ulty, John DeWitt Gregory, the Sidney and Walter Siben
‘‘ ‘‘
‘‘
After more than 40 years as a member of the fac-
John is a lawyer’s lawyer and a scholar’s scholar. That makes him a rare breed and an invaluable colleague. — Professor Grant Hayden
Distinguished Professor of Family Law, is retiring with emeritus status following the 2012-2013 school year. His years of dedication and service have helped build and maintain the Maurice A. Deane School of Law’s tradition of excellence and bolster its reputation within the legal community. A graduate of Howard University and Harvard Law School and a Korean War veteran, Gregory was invited by Founding Dean Malachy T. Mahon to join the faculty at Hofstra Law as an associate professor in 1971, just one year after the Law School’s founding. He previously had practiced law in Harlem and had served as an assistant New York state attorney general. At the time of his appointment, he was general counsel and executive director of Community Action for Legal Services, Inc., in New York City, the largest government-financed network of neighborhood law offices in the nation. Accepting the appointment at Hofstra Law, Gregory says, was “not a hard decision,” because of the “impressive” group of founding faculty and its consistent commitment to teaching. “I was very aware,” he says, “that it was a new school and that there would be an opportunity to do some things that were certainly personally and intellectually rewarding.” Gregory, who was promoted to professor in 1974, was the driving force in the development and growth of Hofstra
‘‘
Photo by Ricardo Horatio Nelson
John demonstrated that one could be highly successful as a law professor spending more than 40 years teaching only two issues: what is in the best interest of the child (family law), and then branching out to what is in the best interest of the child’s dog (animal law). — Professor Alan N. Resnick
Hofstra Law Report • SPRING 2013
12
”