Lawyer Jay Gonzalez Selected as 15th President of Curry College

Attorney Jay Gonzalez assumed the presidency of Curry College in Milton, MA on July 31, 2023. In announcing the appointment, Board Chair Pat Hughs said, ““This is an opportunity for a transformational leader to join Curry and coalesce the community around a forward-thinking agenda. Jay will be deeply dedicated to Curry’s mission and through collaboration with our faculty, staff, and students, will define a clear vision and strategic path forward for the College. Jay will be the first Hispanic leader of the College, and he is a person of vision, energy, and experience who will embrace the institution’s mission and ethos. He will work with the faculty and staff to create a strategy for sustainable enrollment grown both by reaching new markets and enhancing the Curry student experience. We are thrilled to have this outstanding individual lead our college into a bright and distinguished future.” The press announcement further noted his breadth of experience in law, government, education, politics, advocacy and business leadership.

Prior to joining Curry College, Gonzalez was a partner at Hinckley Allen where he represented local governments in financing and developing capital projects. He had previously focused on pubic finance and was a partner at Angell Palmer & Dodge (now Locke Lord). He served in government as Secretary of Administration and Finance for MA Governor Deval Patrick, and he was the Democratic nominee for governor of MA in 2018. He also served as President at CEO of CeltiCare Health Plan of Massachusetts and New Hampshire Healthy Families. He also taught as an adjunct at Northeastern School of Law.

Gonzalez is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center.

Longest Serving Lawyer President E. Gordon Gee Announces Retirement in 2025

After extending his contract for one more year (from 2024 to 2025), E. Gordon Gee has announced he plans to retire. Read more about President Gee here

Famed Lawyer President and Higher Education Reformer Benno Schmidt Passed Earlier This Month

Benno C. Schmidt, Jr. the 20th President of Yale University, passed away on July 9, 2023. Schmidt was appointed President in 1986 as the University was dealing with challenging labor, fiscal and facilities issues. His $1.5 billion capital campaign was, at the time, the most ambitious in higher education. He served at Yale until 1992. At times his relationship with the faculty was rocky. He was aware of the importance of town-gown relationships and is credited with investing millions of dollars in the neighborhoods around campus.

Prior to serving as President of Yale, he was Dean of Columbia Law School for two years, where we awarded tenure as a law professor at the age of 29. He clerked for the Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren after his graduation from Yale School and then at the Justice Department before joining Columbia Law School. Schmidt was a noted First Amendment scholar.

In 1998, Schmidt was appointed by then Mayor Rudolph Guiliani to a task force charged with revamping the CUNY system. Soon thereafter he was appointed as vice chair and then chair of the CUNY Board of Trustees, a position he held until 2016. He has been credited with reserving a “spiral of decline” at CUNY.

Schmidt was not the first lawyer president at Yale University. The first lawyer president was Elisha William from 1729 to 1739. Attorney Theodore Dwight Woolsey served as President from 1846-1871, and lawyer Kingman Brewster, Jr. served from 1963-1977.