A tribute to Hon. George Bundy Smith: welcome and introduction.

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Date: 01 April 2007
• Author: Treanor, William Michael

Good evening and welcome. I am Bill Treanor, Dean of Fordham Law School. Tonight is a very special occasion. We pay tribute to a great jurist and a great man, a leader who has inspired us all with his personal courage, his intellectual strength, and his profound commitment to justice and equality. Tonight, we pay tribute to the Honorable George Bundy Smith.

At Fordham Law, we have just concluded our centennial year. The Law School's first dean was a man named Paul Francisco Fuller. As a child he had been homeless, an orphan growing up alone on the streets of New York. He achieved the pinnacle of the legal profession, becoming one of the preeminent international lawyers of his generation. At the end of his career, he gave back by remembering all that he had overcome and starting this school. Dean Fuller started a school dedicated to the twin goals of promoting excellence in the legal profession and to opening doors.

As we start our second century, it is very fitting that we are honoring a member of this community whose career beautifully reflects those twin goals of excellence and opening doors.

Tonight, we will hear from many people who know Judge Smith well. Former clerks, colleagues, and friends will share stories of his life, character, and career. The details of his career success will be presented here tonight in detail. As we begin, I would like to share with you Judge Smith's special connection to this Law...