Brian Gwitt ’98, the Law Alumni Association’s immediate past president.
Brian Gwitt '98 to lead the Law Alumni Association's Past Presidents Council
Drawing on the renewed energy of some of its most successful and committed graduates, the School of Law is convening a new alumni group for networking, mentoring and advocacy.
As its name indicates, the Council of UB Law Alumni Association Past Presidents includes more than a dozen alums who have led the alumni association in the past. It’s chaired by the association’s immediate past president, Brian Gwitt ’98, at the invitation of Vice Dean for Alumni Ilene R. Fleischmann.
“We thought that this was a wonderful resource to be able to tap into for the benefit of the Law Alumni Association, the School of Law and our students,” Fleischmann says. “These are successful, well-connected alumni who have maintained their ties to the Law Alumni Association and who think it’s a great idea to get together and help us.”
The group’s portfolio, Fleischmann says, is threefold: to provide mentoring to current students and recent graduates, to help connect them to employment opportunities in the Western New York legal community and beyond, and to think about how to raise the School of Law’s profile within state government in Albany.
Gwitt says initial outreach to his fellow past presidents was well received. “We’ve had a terrific response,” he says. “People were very interested.
“The School of Law very much wants to work with the student body in promoting their academic and professional success. We want to contribute our ideas for the school, but also tap into this network of people who can help with mentoring and introduce students to their network of people and the firms they work in.”
As for leveraging their clout in Albany, Gwitt says, “A number of our past presidents are just unbelievably successful statewide, and they have people they can speak to. We’re the only public law school in the State University of New York. Funding for the state university system, and the ability to manage our tuition so we can keep it affordable – are Albany decisions.”
Charter members of the Council of UB Law Alumni Association Past Presidents:
Laurie Styka Bloom ’83
Robert L. Boreanaz ’89
Douglas S. Coppola ’75
Hon. John M. Curran ’84
Richard F. DiGiacomo ’76
Robert P. Fine ’68
Terrance P. Flynn ’88
Hon. Lenora B. Foote-Beavers ’97
Margaret P. Gryko ’77
Brian D. Gwitt ’98
Robert P. Heary ’91
Hon. Barbara Howe ’80
Dennis R. McCoy ’77
Brian M. Melber ’96
Hon. E. Jeannette Ogden ’83
William F. Savino ’75
Samuel L. Shapiro ’65