In Memoriam: Frank Guarini ’50, LLM ’55
Former US congressman Frank Guarini ’50, LLM ’55, passed away on June 20. He was “a treasured member of the NYU Law community whose life exemplified service, leadership, and generosity,” Dean Troy McKenzie ’00 said in announcing his death.
Born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey, Guarini served as a lieutenant in the US Navy in the Pacific during World War II, earning the Navy Commendation Medal and three Battle Stars. After the war, he received his bachelor’s degree at Dartmouth College and earned his JD and LLM degrees at NYU Law. He later pursued advanced legal studies at The Hague Academy of International Law. “I had a curiosity to see the world,” Guarini told students at his honorary induction into the Order of the Coif in 2009. “I was able to learn from everybody who came from a different culture.”
After a career in law and real estate investment, Guarini served two terms in the New Jersey State Senate and seven terms in the US House of Representatives. In 1979 he met with Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping as part of the first US government mission to discuss opening China’s doors to trade. Later, he served as a delegate to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in London and was appointed as the US Representative to the United Nations General Assembly, continuing his lifelong dedication to public service on the international stage.
A champion of higher education, Guarini founded both the Guarini Institute for Global Legal Studies and the Guarini Center for Environmental, Energy, and Land Use Law at NYU Law, as well as establishing centers and programs at Dartmouth and other universities. “Our increasingly international world needs lawyers who can meet the complex challenges presented by a changing global and technological landscape,” Guarini said at the 2018 dedication of the Guarini Institute. “I am proud to support the Law School in its mission to not only train future leaders in law, business, and public policy, but to remain ahead of the curve when it comes to the global legal landscape.”
Guarini’s numerous honors and awards include NYU’s Presidential Medal and NYU Law’s Weinfeld Award, which recognizes professional distinction and extraordinary dedication to the Law School, as well as Italy’s highest recognition, Knight of the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. In Jersey City, a new courthouse, the Honorable Frank J. Guarini Justice Complex, honors Guarini’s contributions in public life.
In 2024, in recognition of Guarini’s profound commitment to the Law School, NYU Law dedicated the Frank J. Guarini Courtyard in front of Vanderbilt Hall, a cherished gathering place for generations of students, faculty, and alumni. “We will remember him lovingly in this courtyard, which embodies the spirit of the Law School he so deeply supported,” said Dean McKenzie. “Frank Guarini was not only a distinguished alumnus and a visionary leader but also a cherished member of our community. His name will forever be associated with the Law School’s core values of public service, global engagement, and intellectual excellence.”
