Class of 2021 School of Law Commencement
School of Law Program
Tuesday, May 11, at 5 p.m.
Order of Exercises
Processional
Pomp and Circumstance, Sir Edward Elgar
Call to Commencement
Debra J. Liebowitz
Provost
National Anthem
Alexander Puzone, JD ‘21
Greetings
Judy D. Olian
President
Conferral of Honorary Degree
Judy D. Olian
Debra J. Liebowitz
Justice Andrew McDonald Connecticut Supreme Court
Citation: Angela Robinson
Waring and Carmen Partridge Faculty Fellow
Commencement Address
Justice Andrew McDonald
Administration of the Oath of Professionalism
Professor of the Year, Jennifer B. Levine
Assistant Professor of Law
Presentation of Candidates for Degrees and Awards
Jennifer Gerarda Brown
Dean of the School of Law
Hooders:
Neal R. Feigenson, Professor of Law
W. John Thomas, Professor of Law
Conferral of Degrees
Judy D. Olian
Remarks
George Morgan Jr., JD ‘21, Student Bar Association President
Recessional
Honorable Andrew J. McDonald
Senior Associate Justice
Connecticut Supreme Court
Andrew J. McDonald is the senior associate justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, lawyer and former state senator. He has ruled on some of highest profile court cases in Connecticut’s history and served the state’s legislative, judicial and executive branches for nearly three decades. A native of Stamford, McDonald graduated from Cornell University and received his JD, with honors, from the University of Connecticut School of Law. He was a litigation partner at Hartford-based law firm, Pullman & Comley, LLC, from 1991 to 2011. McDonald began his public service career with the Stamford Board of Representatives, on which he served from 1993-95. He served the city of Stamford in numerous other capacities, including as director of legal affairs and corporation counsel from 1999-02, before being elected to the senate in 2003 as a Democrat. McDonald chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee for the entirety of his legislative tenure, and was deputy majority leader from 2005-11. He left the senate in 2011 for the position of chief legal advisor to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. In this role, he provided legal counsel and analysis on all aspects of executive branch functions and operations. He was confirmed to the Supreme Court in 2013 and re-confirmed by the Lamont administration in 2021. McDonald resides in Hartford with his husband, Charles.
Doctoral Hooding Ceremony
The 12th and 13th centuries saw the formation of universities under the jurisdiction of the Church. Most students of the day were clerks in the Holy Order, monks or priests. Cowls or hoods adorned their habits and protected the young scholars from harsh weather and the pervading dampness of the stone buildings in which they studied. Hoods also served to cover tonsured heads before the use of the skullcap.
Today, the cap, gown and hood have taken on a symbolic meaning. Color and shape conform to an academic code signifying a university’s conferral of the degree and the nature of the degree conferred. Gowns for the doctoral degree carry velvet panels and three horizontal velvet bars on the upper arm of the full, round, bell-shaped sleeves.
Mace and Medallion
The mace — a symbol of authority — has antecedents in both Roman and Medieval history. The Roman mace (fasces) was carried by a lictor before the chief magistrate of the city, as well as before the legions. During the Middle Ages, the mace (mateola), a weapon of war, became first a symbol of victory and then a symbol of authority. The mace emblazoned with the Great Seal of England became a symbol of authority in Parliament by the end of the 13th century. It is this form of the mace that was the prototype of those symbols of authority, not only of legislative bodies, but also of cities and universities.
In 1246, following some 20 years of strife, the University of Paris was finally conceded the right to its own common seal. Since then, the use of the seal engraved on the mace has come to symbolize the authority of the academic community. In July 2000, Quinnipiac commissioned the noted sculptor Robert Meyer of Westport, Connecticut, to design and execute a new mace for Quinnipiac University. Cast in bronze, the mace incorporates elements of the university seal.
The medallion (medal of office), like the mace and the seal, is also a symbol of authority. It is possible that its roots may be traced back to the Roman “bulla” (a gold amulet of honor). The obverse of the medallion shows the seal of the office the wearer holds — in our case, the seal of the university. Not infrequently, the reverse would show the personal seal or coat of arms of the bearer. Since the High Middle Ages, the medallion has been worn by such officials as the chancellors of England, mayors of cities, and rectors of universities, and came to signify the high personal position such figures occupied in their respective governments. During the Renaissance, medallion design reached unique artistic heights, and in certain portraits the medallion was given particular prominence. The medallion is worn by the university’s president. The Quinnipiac medal showcases the university seal, sculpted in relief and cast in bronze.
University Mace Carrier and Professor of the Year
- Jennifer Levine, Assistant Professor of Law
About the Quinnipiac University School of Law
The program of studies at the School of Law provides students with excellent preparation for legal practice. The curriculum balances theoretical and skills training and offers students the choice to elect a general course of study or to concentrate their coursework and training in a number of specific practice areas.
Students also have opportunities to apply lessons learned in the classroom to real-world legal problems in several law clinics (Civil Justice, Defense Appellate, Mediation, Negotiation Prosecution Appellate, Tax, and Veterans Law) and 19 externship courses (Business Law, Corporate Counsel, Criminal Justice, Employment and Labor Law, Environmental and Energy Law, Family and Juvenile Law, Field Placement II, Health Law, Immigration Law, Intellectual Property Law, Judicial, Legal Services, Legislative, Mediation, Private Practice, Probate Law, Public Interest, Sports and Entertainment Law, and Tax Law). Faculty members come from a broad spectrum of distinguished backgrounds in legal practice and education and are committed to excellence in scholarship and teaching.
In the tradition of American law schools, the Quinnipiac University School of Law sponsors student-edited scholarly journals — the Quinnipiac Law Review, the Probate Law Journal and the Health Law Journal — which contribute to both student education and legal scholarship. Students also are actively involved in more than 30 student organizations in which they share interests, sponsor programs and engage in both social and community service activities.
Throughout its history, the Quinnipiac University School of Law has been devoted to rigorous teaching and has cultivated a reputation for producing highly qualified and skilled attorneys who are capable of assuming leadership roles in law practice, business and government service.
