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Nicholas deBelleville Katzenbach Hon’08, the former U.S. attorney general who died May 8 at age 90, had strong ties to Lafayette. In addition to being awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by the College at the 173rd Commencement in 2008, he spoke on campus in November 2007 and delivered a memorable keynote address at the rededication of Kirby Hall of Civil Rights, Oct. 20, 2010.
Nicholas deBelleville Katzenbach Hon’08 speaks at the College’s rededication of the Kirby Hall of Civil Rights.
“During a remarkably distinguished career in public service Nicholas Katzenbach dedicated himself diligently to the preservation of our identity as a free and open society and played a pivotal role in advancing civil rights and civil liberties,” says Lafayette President Daniel H. Weiss. “He acted with courage, with character, and with conviction to uphold the noblest ideals of this nation and to achieve the highest purposes of our laws”
Katzenbach’s father, Edward L. Katzenbach Hon’28, who served as attorney general of New Jersey from 1924 to 1929, spoke at the dedication of Kirby Hall of Civil Rights in 1930. The College awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1928.
A special publication commemorating Nicholas Katzenbach’s keynote address at the Kirby Hall rededication was recently honored in a national design competition.