Former Appellate Judge, Ohio Wesleyan Graduate to Speak on Campus
Susan Phillips Read, Class of 1969, to Share Insights April 13
DELAWARE, Ohio – During her 12-year tenure on the New York State Court of Appeals, Susan Phillips Read wrote 200 signed majority opinions on issues of employment and labor, insurance, tax, criminal, administrative, and commercial law. She also authored many unsigned majority opinions and 62 signed dissents on topics ranging from school funding to housing law.
At 4:10 p.m. April 13, Read, a 1969 Ohio Wesleyan University alumna, will discuss her time as an associate judge on New York’s highest court when she presents “Judicial Personae: Thoughts on the Wellsprings of Appellate Judging.” Read’s free presentation will be held in Room 301 of Merrick Hall, 65 S. Sandusky St., Delaware.
Read was appointed to the New York State Court of Appeals in 2003 by then-Gov. George E. Pataki, and she served until 2015. Today, she is counsel at the global law firm of Greenberg Traurig LLP, which has offices in every major U.S. financial center, in key U.S. growth states, and in leading centers of business and finance in Europe.
At Ohio Wesleyan, Read majored in history. She later earned her law degree from the University of Chicago Law School.
Read said more than one factor influenced her decision to become a Bishop, including the devotion of her aunt and great uncle to the university and her addiction to “GE College Bowl,” the popular 1960s-era TV quiz show. At age 16, Read considered OWU’s championship performance in the 1963-64 College Bowl as “proof positive that Ohio Wesleyan offered the intellectual rigor that a lawyer-to-be required.” The university honored Read for her lifelong success in her field with a Distinguished Achievement Citation in 2009.
Read’s April 13 presentation represents Ohio Wesleyan’s 2017 Benjamin F. Marsh Lecture Series on Public Affairs. The Marsh Lecture series, started in 2001, is coordinated by Ohio Wesleyan’s Department of Politics and Government and the Arneson Institute for Practical Politics and Public Affairs. Learn more at www.owu.edu/politics.
During his lifetime, Marsh, a 1950 OWU graduate and attorney, held numerous political posts at local, state, and national levels, and served as registration supervisor and adjudicator for the U.S. Department of State to the Organization and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and as an election supervisor in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers nearly 90 undergraduate majors and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Through Ohio Wesleyan’s signature OWU Connection program, students integrate knowledge across disciplines, build a diverse and global perspective, and apply their knowledge in real-world settings. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the latest President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.