Touro Law Celebrates the Class of 2014
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Touro Law Celebrates the Class of 2014
June 3, 2014On Sunday, May 25, Touro Law Center celebrated the class of 2014 at the 32nd annual commencement ceremony. This year’s graduation, held at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, honored 172 Juris Doctor candidates, 9 candidates for the LL.M. in U.S. Legal Studies as well as several December 2013 candidates including 29 Juris Doctor candidates, 1 LL.M. and 6 LL.M. in U.S. Legal Studies.
Dean Patricia Salkin welcomed graduates, their family and friends. She reminded the Class of 2014 that their education and training have prepared them well to succeed. She stated, “You will be joining an extraordinary group of more than 6,000 Touro Law Center alumni who are professionals serving in state and local elective office, on the bench, as law school and university faculty, general counsel of Fortune 500 corporations, partners and associates in major firms, senior law enforcement officers, prosecutors, defense counsel, public interest leaders, educators and business executives.”
The commencement address was delivered by New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. He addressed the graduates as his new colleagues and spoke about the important role of lawyers in the United States. He told them, “Think about the future you want for your children and grandchildren. Think about what role you want to play in advancing the arc of American justice.” He continued, “Challenge yourselves. Think big. Dream big...work for transformational change. Use your skills as lawyers…You are going to do great work and I look forward to working with many of you.”
The ceremony also included remarks from full-time valedictorian Paul Lipsky and part-time division valedictorian Keri Mahoney as well as class orator Deborah Lolai. Mr. Lipsky reminded his fellow classmates that doing what you love and doing it passionately is more important than making a lot of money. Ms. Mahoney told fellow graduates to rely on their dreams to push forward and accomplish success. Both students thanked family and friends for helping them along their journey to graduate from Touro Law.
At commencement three faculty awards were presented: Professor Deseriee Kennedy received an award for faculty scholarship; Professor Gary Shaw received an award for teaching excellence; and Professor Richard Klein received an award for Public Interest work.
This year, Touro Law also hosted a Commencement Award Ceremony the night prior to graduation. This ceremony honored graduating students who excelled academically and/or have made exceptional contributions to the Law Center community.
“This year’s class of graduates included extraordinary students,” said Dean Salkin. “The faculty, staff and alumni are all very proud of the class of 2014, and welcome them to the profession.”
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Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center’s 185,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility is located adjacent to both a state and a federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York. Touro Law’s proximity to the courthouses, coupled with programming developed to integrate the courtroom into the classroom, provide a one-of-a kind learning model for law students, combining a rigorous curriculum taught by expert faculty with a practical courtroom experience. Touro Law, which has a student body of approximately 750 and an alumni base of more than 5,000, offers full- and part-time J.D. programs, several dual degree programs and graduate law programs for US and foreign law graduates. Touro Law Center is part of the Touro College system.
About the Touro College and University System
Touro is a system of non-profit institutions of higher and professional education. Touro College was chartered in 1970 primarily to enrich the Jewish heritage, and to serve the larger American and global community. Approximately 19,000 students are currently enrolled in its various schools and divisions. Touro College has branch campuses, locations and instructional sites in the New York area, as well as branch campuses and programs in Berlin, Jerusalem, Moscow, Paris and Florida. New York Medical College, Touro University California and its Nevada branch campus, as well as Touro University Worldwide and its Touro College Los Angeles division are separately accredited institutions within the Touro College and University System. For further information on Touro College, please go to: http://www.touro.edu/media/.