Quotes & comments
Quotes & Comments
- "The Seligman Era" (Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, October 23, 2005)
STATEMENT FROM JOEL SELIGMAN
President Designate, University of Rochester
"I am delighted to accept the opportunity to serve the University of Rochester and to live in the city of Rochester. The University of Rochester is a national institution with a well deserved reputation for outstanding scholarship and wonderful teaching. In recent years, under the inspired leadership of Tom Jackson, the undergraduate program and the Medical Center have been strikingly strengthened. I have been so impressed by the enthusiasm, collegiality, and dedication of the faculty, administration, students, and trustees I have met! I am honored to join you."
STATEMENT FROM MARK S. WRIGHTON
Chancellor, Washington University in St. Louis
"Joel Seligman is an accomplished academic leader and will be a wonderful president for the University of Rochester. During his tenure as Dean of the School of Law at Washington University he has contributed significantly to the progress of the school and has served the university in many ways. His dedication to students and faculty is a genuine strength, and he inspires the entire community he serves. He has the ability to develop a strategic plan and to lead its execution.
"His departure from Washington University in St. Louis is a loss for us, but he is destined to make contributions to American higher education as the president of a major research university, and I welcome the opportunity to work with him in his new capacity as a fellow leader of a member university in the Association of American Universities. I will look forward, too, to friendly competition when the Washington University Bears take on the University of Rochester Yellowjackets in University Athletic Association league play!"
STATEMENT FROM LEE C. BOLLINGER
President, Columbia University
"I've known Joel for nearly two decades, since he first joined the faculty at the University of Michigan law school. I knew him then as an outstanding scholar and teacher and also someone who was very engaged in public service. And, now, Joel has turned out to be one of the most successful academic leaders in the country. Recently I was able to spend some time with him and found myself truly and deeply impressed by his abilities to think through complicated issues and find just the right resolution. This is someone of amazing talents for the role that he now is going to assume; he understands every single dimension of what's involved in being president of a great university."
STATEMENT FROM JEFFREY S. LEHMAN
President, Cornell University
"Congratulations to Rochester on a splendid choice! It is wonderful to know that our sister institution in upstate New York will be building on Tom Jackson's legacy of leadership with a person of Joel Seligman's distinction. Joel is a rare intellect, equally at home in conversations about political philosophy, securities law, and baseball. He has already made great contributions within the legal academy. I look forward to close collaborations with him as we work together to promote the contributions of higher education to the life of the region."
STATEMENT FROM JOHN SEXTON
President, New York University
"I have known and admired Joel Seligman for well over a decade. He makes each institution he touches better. Now, as he joins a great university as its president, his impact will be felt not only at the University of Rochester but throughout all of higher education. Congratulations on a great choice!"
STATEMENT FROM ARTHUR LEVITT
Former Chairman (1993-2001), Securities and Exchange Commission
"Joel combines those qualities of scholarship, creativity, and compassion that in my judgment make him the ideal leader to steer the University of Rochester through the challenging economic and political times that confront us. I wish Joel the very best in his new position as a university president."
STATEMENT FROM JUSTIN VIGDOR
Senior Counsel, Boylan Brown Attorneys at Law, Rochester, NY, and NYS Uniform Law Commissioner
"As vice-chair, and then chair, of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws' Drafting Committee to revise the Uniform Securities Act, I have had the opportunity to work closely with Joel Seligman over a period of several years starting in 1998. Joel was the committee's 'reporter,' the expert who advises the committee on the intricate issues of law and public policy, proposes the statutory language, and assists the committee in bringing the various interested constituencies to consensus. Given his eminence in the field, we were delighted to have him work with us. He has a brilliant mind, seemingly total recall, and an encyclopedic knowledge of securities laws and regulations. Joel was truly instrumental in helping us to find ways of bridging differences and finding common ground—and he's a pleasure to work with. I am personally thrilled that he's coming to the University. He's fortunate and the University is fortunate. It's a great marriage."
