November 07, 2007
Dr. Sexton Talks of Faith and Love During
Moving Speech to Honored Guests
Rev. Donald
J. Harrington, C.M., President of St. John’s University,
conferred an honorary degree upon New York University President Dr.
John E. Sexton this afternoon during a special convocation held in
the St. John’s University School of Law.
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In celebration of over 40 years as an outstanding teacher and
leader, who has inspired New York City, the nation and the world
toward excellence, Dr. Sexton was awarded, honoris causa,
the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.
“When you find someone who understands the struggles and
challenges, but at the same time, also understands the vision, it’s
greatly reassuring,” Rev. Harrington, C.M. said of his colleague
and friend Dr. Sexton. “He’s a very good person, first and
foremost and he’s the person that I go to when I need advice,
because of the person – not the President, that he is.”
Dr. Sexton’s address, titled: “Faith In/And the University”
spoke of his religious life and beliefs, while providing a moving
personal account of the spiritual journey he has taken since the
passing of his wife of 31 years, Lisa, this past January.
Books he received from family and friends, C.S. Lewis’ Grief
Observed, Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking,
and Calvin Trillin’s About Alice helped him in
rationalizing his loss and allowed his faith in God to
grow.
“My belief has become much more real over these last eight
months,” Dr. Sexton said. “I know that human life has
transcendence and I know that when I pass from this physical earth
we will be united in our love.”
Dr. Sexton was inaugurated the fifteenth President of NYU on
September 26, 2002. He also is the Benjamin Butler Professor of Law
and the NYU Law School’s Dean Emeritus. Before coming to NYU,
some of Dr. Sexton’s career highlights included serving as
Department Chair of Religion at Saint Francis College in Brooklyn
(1970-1975); serving as Law Clerk to Chief Justice Warren Burger of
the United States Supreme Court (1980-81) and to Judges David
Bazelon and Harold Leventhal of the United States Court of Appeals.
For ten years he also served as Special Master Supervising Pretrial
Proceedings in the Love Canal Litigation (1983-1993).
St. John’s University Provost, Julia A. Upton, RSM,
Ph.D., welcomed all in attendance and introduced Rev.
Harrington, C.M. and Dr. Sexton for the conferral of the degree,
which was presented by James P. Pellow, Ed.D., Executive Vice
President and Chief Operating Officer at St. John’s.
For more information, please contact Dominic Scianna, Director
of Media Relations at St. John’s University, by calling (718)
990-6185, or by e-mail to sciannad@stjohns.edu.
For additional news about St. John’s, please visit www.stjohns.edu/news.