In a ceremony on September 23, NYU Law honored Frank J. Guarini ’50, LLM ’55, a former congressman and former US representative to the United Nations General Assembly, with the dedication of the newly named Frank J. Guarini Courtyard in front of Vanderbilt Hall—a cherished gathering place for generations of Law School community members.
In remarks, David Tanner ’84, chair of NYU Law’s Board of Trustees, alluded to Guarini’s many accomplishments as a politician, public servant, and real estate developer. Tanner characterized Guarini as “a vocal champion for higher education” who had established centers and institutes at multiple institutions—NYU Law, his undergraduate alma mater Dartmouth College, Saint Peter’s University, New Jersey City University, and John Cabot University in Rome—and earned several advanced degrees after seeing active combat in the US Navy during World War II.
Calling Guarini “an exemplary alum,” Dean Troy McKenzie ’00 noted that Guarini has dedicated his time and talents toward many organizations, helping develop his hometown of Jersey City along with establishing NYU Law’s Guarini Institute for Global Legal Studies and Guarini Center on Environmental, Energy, and Land Use Law. Guarini, a former New Jersey state senator, has received the NYU Presidential Medal of Honor; numerous honorary doctorates; and Italy’s highest honor, the Knight of the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.
McKenzie illustrated Guarini’s longstanding connection to the Law School by holding up the trowel that former Dean Arthur Vanderbilt—for whom Vanderbilt Hall was named—used to lay the building’s cornerstone back in 1950. Guarini had been present on that occasion, McKenzie added.
Addressing Guarini, who had turned 100 years old in August, McKenzie continued: “You exhibit all the qualities that we have aimed to instill in our students since the founding of this law school in 1835: innovation, passion, and a keen eye for how lawyers use their expertise to make the world a better place.”
Carol Maurer, Guarini’s niece and the managing partner of the firm Guarini & Guarini, recounted that, as a student in 1947—attending law school on the G.I. Bill—Guarini donated $15 ($200 in today’s currency) toward the construction of Vanderbilt Hall. The naming of that building’s courtyard has brought everything full circle, she said.
“This historic courtyard signifies Frank’s enthusiasm and dedication to New York University’s law school as well as his belief in the importance of higher education,” said Maurer.
The audience applauded as McKenzie and Maurer unveiled a plaque near the courtyard’s entrance with an image of Guarini and a brief biography. Nearby stood a bench with another plaque bearing Guarini’s name, dedicated in his honor on his 100th birthday by his friends at Dartmouth and NYU. As the ceremony concluded, members of the NYU Law community lingered in the Frank J. Guarini Courtyard to talk with one another and to greet the man of the hour.
Posted October 4, 2024