March 19, 2002
Establishing a Legal Cornerstone
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia Presides at the
Official Dedication of the Law School’s New Cornerstone Building
By Thomas
Kohout
Associate Justice Antonin Scalia joined President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg,
Board of Trustees Chair Charles Manatt, Law School Dean Michael Young,
and scores of donors, alumni, faculty, and students for the dedication
of the new cornerstone of the Law School complex March 8. Following
a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony outside the 20th and G streets facility,
Scalia addressed the crowd in the Media and Public Affairs Building.
Scalia opened his remarks by directing some particularly poignant and
wistful comments to the faculty.
“Before I became part of the problem in Washington,” he told
the audience, “I used to do what you do… and I miss it.”
He confessed that nearing the end of his teaching career he had reached
a point where he begrudged the time teaching took away from his research
and his writing. However, with the benefit of time outside the classroom,
he realized that the impact of an article in the American Law Journal
is brief in comparison to the influence in the classroom.
“Do not delude yourselves, research and writing is, of course,
part of the academic life and perhaps the part that makes you best known
for the time being beyond the walls of your own institution. But the
reality is the part of your academic career that will have the most
lasting impact and that will be remembered long after you are gone,
is those hours producing a living intellectual legacy in the classroom.”
Prior to Scalia’s remarks, Young and others took a moment to fill
a time capsule with several symbolic tokens of the school’s life.
The contents, to be sealed behind the cornerstone of the building, include
letters from Dennis Hastert (R–IL), speaker of the House of Representatives,
and President George W. Bush, in which the president remarked on the
events that currently challenge the nation; a scroll listing the alumni
donors to the new Law School building presented by Manatt; a signed
copy of President Trachtenberg’s book Thinking Out Loud; a piece
of the original roof with a plaque that reads “700 20th St., NW,
Piece of original roofing 1892;” the engraved ceremonial scissors
used earlier that morning to cut the ribbon on the new facility; a photograph
of the Law School faculty presented by Peter Raven-Hansen and Todd Peterson;
a book signed by members of the current student body with their thoughts,
memories, and reflections about the Law School, donated by the incoming
and outgoing presidents and vice presidents of the Student Law Association;
copies of the 2001–02 Law School bulletin, the fall 2001 picture
book, a picture of the staff from a recent staff retreat, and the salary
scale for Law School employees on behalf of the staff; and a copy of
the days remarks from Justice Scalia.
Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu
