From L to R: Katie Crowley, associate dean for administration and chief of staff at the Columbus School of Law; Marc DeGirolami; and University President Peter Kilpatrick

Marc DeGirolami, professor of law, was installed as the inaugural St. John Henry Newman Endowed Chair in a ceremony held at the Columbus School of Law on Nov. 4.

Also named the co-director of the Center for Law and the Human Person at the law school, he came to The Catholic University of America from St. John’s University School of Law. There he was the inaugural Cary Fields ‘86 (Honorary) Professor of Law and the co-director of the Mattone Center for Law and Religion.

During the installation ceremony, University President Peter Kilpatrick referenced St. John Henry, saying, “I can think of no better inspiration for this new endowed Chair. Religious freedom, the relationship between theology and law, the understanding of conscience, and concerns about relativism are a few of the many contributions the saint offers to the understanding of law.”

Funding for the St. John Henry Newman Endowed Chair was provided by the Marble Freedom Trust.

“Not only will this gift inspire generations of students in their study of the law but it will contribute significantly to shaping the national discourse around civil law and the study of religion and theology,” Kilpatrick said.

DeGirolami’s scholarship focuses on law and religion, constitutional theory, tort law, and criminal law. His publications include The Tragedy of Religious Freedom (Harvard University Press) and articles in the Yale Law Journal, Notre Dame Law Review, Washington University Law Review, Constitutional Commentary, and Boston College Law Review, among others. He has written for The New York Times, The New Republic, and First Things. He is working on a book about the role of tradition in constitutional law that will be published by Cambridge University Press.