November 14, 2011
On Thursday, November 10, 2011, the Law School community
came together to honor alumni and students who are active or
veteran military members.
Armed Forces Society president Emmanuel Ulubiyo ’12, a United
States Marine Corps sergeant who has served three tours of duty in
Iraq, welcomed the attendees and introduced the Law School’s
Alumni Association president, New York Army National Guard
Brigadier General (ret.) Thomas J. Principe ’73. A Legion of Merit
and Conspicuous Service Medal recipient who served in the Army JAG
Corps for 33 years, Principe acknowledged service members present
and absent, calling the event a “celebration of those who made
victory possible; brave men and women who believed in and fought
for a set of ideals.” He then spoke about the evening’s honoree,
Ray Kelly.
A true son of New York who devoted himself to public service
early on, Kelly was a member of the first class of the New York
City Police Cadet Corps. He took a leave from the police force to
accept a commission to the U.S. Marine Corps Officers Program and
served on active duty for three years, including a combat tour in
Vietnam. Kelly retired from the Marine Corps Reserves as a Colonel
after 30 years of dedicated service.
Returning to the NYPD in 1966, Kelly graduated the Police
Academy first in his class. In his 43 years with the NYPD, he has
held every rank and worked in 25 different commands. In 1992, New
York City Mayor David N. Dinkins named him Police Commissioner.
After serving in that capacity for two years, Kelly became Director
of the International Police Monitors of the Multinational Force in
Haiti, for which President Bill Clinton awarded him the
Exceptionally Meritorious Service Commendation. Kelly then served
as Under Secretary for Enforcement at the U.S. Treasury Department
and as Commissioner of the U.S. Customs Service.
After some time in the private sector, Kelly returned to public
service in 2002, when Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg named him Police
Commissioner. That same year, Kelly created the first police
department counterterrorism bureau in the country. He also
established a Real Time Crime Center where sophisticated data
mining is used to aid detectives in the field. In 2006, Kelly
received France’s highest decoration, the Legion of Honor.
Accepting the Distinguished Veteran Alumni Award from his St.
John’s family, Kelly recognized the military’s impressive work
defending our country in the post 9/11 age of terrorism. “Today’s
military is the best in our history, as individuals and as a
fighting force prosecuting a war in the most difficult area we’ve
ever fought in,” he said. Acknowledging the St. John’s alumni
currently in his ranks and recognizing the quality of the Law
School’s students and graduates, Kelly said “the NYPD’s doors are
always open to St. John’s lawyers.”