Vanderbilt University is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1 million endowment in the hopes that his gift and the greater work of the university would help to heal the sectional wounds inflicted by the American Civil War. Vanderbilt is a founding member of the Southeastern Conference and has been the conference's only private school since 1966.
John Edward Sexton is an American legal scholar. He is the Benjamin F. Butler Professor of Law at New York University where he teaches at the law school and NYU's undergraduate colleges. Sexton served as the fifteenth president of NYU, from 2002 to 2015. During his time as president, NYU's stature rose dramatically into the ranks of the world's top universities, and it became the world's first global network university. Sexton has been called a "transformational" figure in higher education and was named by Time Magazine as one of the United States' 10 best college presidents.
The New York University School of Law is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New York State. Located in Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan, NYU Law offers J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in law.
Martin Lipton is an American lawyer, a founding partner of the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz specializing in advising on mergers and acquisitions and matters affecting corporate policy and strategy. From 1958–1978 he taught courses on Federal Regulation of Securities and Corporation Law as a lecturer and adjunct professor of law at New York University School of Law.
Vanderbilt University Law School is a graduate school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law enrolls approximately 640 students, with each entering Juris Doctor class consisting of approximately 175 students.
Robert Allen Katzmann was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He served as chief judge from September 1, 2013, to August 31, 2020.
Mario Joseph Gabelli is an American stock investor, investment advisor, and financial analyst. He is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Gabelli Asset Management Company Investors, an investment firm headquartered in Rye, New York. Forbes Magazine listed him as #1725 in December 2023 on the list of Billionaires, with a net worth of $1.7 billion US dollars. On January 10, 2000, Gabelli was inducted into the "Barron's All Century Team," their list of the most influential mutual fund industry portfolio managers. Mr. Gabelli was named an honorary member of Local 6 and the Hotel Trades Council in December 2019 and formally inducted into the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans on April 2–4, 2020, during the Association's 73rd Horatio Alger Award Induction Ceremonies in Washington, D.C.
The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans is a nonprofit organization based in Alexandria, Virginia, that was founded in 1947 to honor the achievements of outstanding Americans who have succeeded in spite of adversity and to emphasize the importance of higher education. The association is named for Horatio Alger, a 19th-century author of hundreds of dime novels in the "rags-to-riches" genre who extolled the importance of perseverance and hard work.
Mark Victor Hansen is an American inspirational and motivational speaker, trainer and author. He is best known as the founder and co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series.
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by a group of New Yorkers led by Albert Gallatin as a non-denominational all-male institution near City Hall based on a curriculum focused on a secular education. The university moved in 1833 and has maintained its main campus in Greenwich Village surrounding Washington Square Park. Since then, the university has added an engineering school in Brooklyn's MetroTech Center and graduate schools throughout Manhattan. NYU has become the largest private university in the United States by enrollment, with a total of 51,848 enrolled students, including 26,733 undergraduate students and 25,115 graduate students in 2019. It is one of the most applied-to schools in the country and admissions are considered selective.
John Francis Sandner was an American business executive and community leader. He served three stints as the chairman of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), now the CME Group, in the 1980s and 1990s.
Kent D. Syverud is the 12th Chancellor and President of Syracuse University. He began his term of office on January 13, 2014. He was previously the dean at Washington University School of Law and Vanderbilt University Law School.
Clarence Thomas is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to succeed Thurgood Marshall and has served since 1991. After Marshall, Thomas is the second African American to serve on the Supreme Court and has been its longest-serving member since Anthony Kennedy's retirement in 2018. Since Stephen Breyer's retirement in 2022, he is also the Court's oldest member.
The Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship is a full-tuition public service scholarship for students at New York University School of Law. It is widely considered to be the most prestigious public interest scholarship for law students in the United States.
Wanda M. Austin is a former president and CEO of The Aerospace Corporation. She was both the first woman, and the first African-American, to hold this position. Austin also served as interim president for the University of Southern California, following the resignation of C. L. Max Nikias. She was both the first woman, and the first African-American, to hold this position.
Harlan Rogers Crow is an American-Kittitian real estate developer. He is the former chairman and CEO of the Trammell Crow Company, which was founded by his father, Trammell Crow. His father was described as the "largest landlord in the United States" by Forbes magazine.
William F. Farley is an American businessman, financier and philanthropist. He is the sole owner of Farley Industries, a private equity firm based in Chicago, and a co-owner of the Chicago White Sox. For 15 years (1985–99), he was the chairman and CEO of Fruit of the Loom until he was ousted by the board of directors on August 30, 1999. He is currently the founder, CEO and majority owner of Zrii, a multilevel marketing company based in Salt Lake City.
Wallace Rasmussen was an American businessman and prominent philanthropist. Hired at Beatrice Foods Company in 1934 as an ice hauler, Rasmussen served as president and then chairman and chief executive officer of the former international food conglomerate, Beatrice, from 1976 until his retirement in 1980. Rasmussen rose to the top of the business with just a high school diploma.
Deborah N. Archer is an American civil rights lawyer and law professor. She is the Jacob K. Javits Professor at New York University and professor of clinical law at New York University School of Law. She also directs the Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law and the Civil Rights Clinic at NYU School of Law. In January 2021, she was elected president of the American Civil Liberties Union, becoming the first African American to hold the position in the organization’s history.
Gwilym Alexander Price was a lawyer, Pennsylvania state legislator, banker, and industrialist.
