Robert J. Reilly, FCRH ’72, LAW 75, assistant dean of the Feerick Center at Fordham Law, received the Charles Carroll Award on Oct. 4 at the Union League Club in New York City. Reilly joins a distinguished list of recipients that include His Eminence Edward Cardinal Egan, former Fordham University Law School Dean John Feerick, and Malcolm Wilson, former governor of New York.
Named after the only Catholic patriot to sign the Declaration of Independence, the annual Carroll award recognizes a Catholic lawyer who has earned distinction in public service. For the past four years, Reilly has helped develop the Center that educates law students and others in problem-solving social justice issues, particularly homelessness, hunger, and asset preservation for the poor.
He is also a regular volunteer on the city’s annual HOPE Count, where the Fordham community rallies to help count the homeless in the Bronx.
True to his Irish roots, Reilly has been the president of the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and a contributing author to the Encyclopedia of the Irish in America (Notre Dame University Press, 2000). Reilly is also a volunteer guide at the American Museum of Natural History, in Manhattan.
The award is given annually by the Guild of Catholic Lawyers.
“If the Selection Committee for this Award had looked even a little bit further they would have found many [worthy]recipients,” said Reilly in accepting the award. “But let me assure you . . . they could not have found a recipient who was more grateful.”
