New York University

New York University

The Office of Public Affairs

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

N-455, 2007-08

New York University President John Sexton today bestowed an honorary doctorate on constitutional scholar and Harvard Law professor Laurence H. Tribe at NYU’s 176th Commencement Exercises in Yankee Stadium. Over 25,000 graduates, faculty, staff, and guests attended the morning ceremony.

The following citation was read in conferring the Doctor of Laws degree, honoris causa, on Laurence H. Tribe:

“Laurence Henry Tribe-eminent professor of constitutional law and Carl M. Loeb University Professor of Harvard Law School, one of the nation’s foremost authorities on constitutional law and Supreme Court practitioners, you entered Harvard College at age 16 and graduated summa cum laude in mathematics and magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. National champion and teacher of debate, inventor of the modern ‘flow’ system of recording arguments, celebrated scholar and professor, you have given us the masterful treatise on constitutional law, American Constitutional Law-a work stunning in its sweep and substance. Fiercely independent, marching to no other drum but your own, you have been in the vanguard of the nation’s struggle for civil liberties-bridging the practical and legal worlds. The late Erwin Griswold, former dean of Harvard Law School and former solicitor general of the United States, said, ‘Professor Tribe has had a greater impact on constitutional law than anyone in the country’s history who has not been a member of the U.S. Supreme Court.’ Lauded also as poet, painter, philosopher, and pragmatist, you have used your formidable intelligence and exquisite eloquence in the deep and devoted service of law and learning.

“Laurence Henry Tribe-a principal influence on American constitutional law, you have helped shape a society grounded in democracy, freedom, equality, and the rule of law. By virtue of the authority vested in me by New York University, I am pleased to confer upon you the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.”