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When Paul McCurdy ’82 began searching for a college to attend in the late 1970s, he had a specific set of criteria in mind.

“I wanted a small school with a personality, to be able to have interaction with faculty, and to actually participate in a varsity-level sport,” he says.

McCurdy, now a partner with Kelley, Drye & Warren LLP in Stamford, Conn., found just that — even though he only spent a year on the swimming team. He also formed a lifelong relationship with the College and his fraternity. Today, he serves as vice president for programs and president-elect of the Alumni Association, a member of Lafayette Leadership Council, class fund manager and agent for the Class of 1982, and an externship sponsor.

“I’ve only missed two Homecomings since 1978,” he says. “I’m a regular. I love to come back — I love to see friends who are alumni and I love to see friends who are faculty. I’ve always been very proud of and very connected with the school.”

A government and law graduate, McCurdy earned a law degree from Albany School of Law at Union University in 1985. He was interested in his chosen field from the start. His Government 101 class with James Lennertz, now associate professor of government and law, strengthened that interest.

“He was the best teacher I ever had,” he says. “I took as many courses as I could with him.”

By his senior year, McCurdy had become a teaching assistant in the government and law department. He had also become very active in his fraternity, Delta Kappa Epsilon, serving as rush chairman and commissar. There he met four DKE alumni who would become his mentors for years to come — Ned Jesser ’39, Mike Michaels ’31, Bob Loughlin ’53, and Allan P. Kirby Jr. ’53.

“They led by example and helped us understand how the fraternity could be a place that had a positive impact on our college experience and our experiences afterward,” McCurdy says, explaining that after graduation, he became involved with the DKE alumni association. Later, with encouragement from Jesser, he became an alumni admissions representative for the College, and then joined the Lafayette Leadership Council.

“Through the leadership council, I really got a good window into some of the interesting issues that the College deals with,” he says.

McCurdy’s “day job” includes counseling brokerage and investment advisory firms and their principals on a variety of legal issues involving regulatory, compliance, and corporate matters. He also has represented broker-dealers in internal investigations and enforcement proceedings and serves as an arbitrator for the National Association of Securities Dealers Inc. and the New York Stock Exchange Inc.

In his work for Lafayette, he has put those skills to work in a variety of ways.

“I’ve always been interested in the business and the operation of the College and how a successful operation could create great opportunities for both students and alumni,” he says. “If the alumni are doing well, the students are going to do well, and if the students are doing well, the alumni do well.”

McCurdy credits former Lafayette President Arthur J. Rothkopf ’55 with showing alumni just how important they are to the College’s success and inviting them to participate in a variety of issues.

“He did a masterful job of running those different meetings,” he says. “He opened our eyes to all kinds of things.”

McCurdy says that in his various volunteer roles, “I learned an awful lot about the way the College works and how its objectives are advanced and achieved.”

He adds that he and other alumni volunteers have also found ways to combine their own interests with those of the College.

“Many of us are involved in activities outside the campus in our personal and professional lives, which creates opportunities to partner with the undergraduates,” he says. “I have tried to help various students by giving them advice and guidance about career paths into the law. I’ve also done some work for classmates of mine and other alumni. Many of the people I worked with when I was an alumni admissions officer have gone on to achieve great success on their own, first academically and then professionally.”

McCurdy, who says he feels flattered to be considered an asset to the College, is impressed by its success, particularly in recent years.

“To see one of the most qualified and largest classes enrolled in the college, complete with a number of legacies, and the most diverse class we’ve ever had, is a pretty cool thing,” he says, adding that he’s also impressed by the many physical improvements made on campus over the past decade. “I think the College has achieved great success on nearly every level.”

McCurdy is particularly proud of his class’ involvement with the Posse Foundation, which selects students from public high schools based on academics and leadership and sends them to Lafayette and other colleges in teams to boost their chances of success.

As class fund manager, McCurdy has urged his classmates to help members of Lafayette’s Posse Class of ’09 by serving as internship or externship hosts, working as representatives to the students, and donating money.

No matter what the work for Lafayette, McCurdy thoroughly enjoys nearly every minute.

“This part of what I do is fun,” he says. “You find a way to make time for what’s important.”

And, he adds, he ends up feeling good about his work.

“I think that those of us who are involved in the College probably take out more than we put in,” he says. “It’s an energizing process, and it’s a great way to be involved.”

Categorized in: Alumni Profiles