SYRACUSE — The Syracuse University (SU) College of Law provided Carolyn Bareham Dineen and Robert Emmet Dineen, Sr. “one of the most important opportunities in their lives.” One of their daughters, Carolyn Dineen King, a senior judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Houston, Texas, made the comment as she […]
SYRACUSE — The Syracuse University (SU) College of Law provided Carolyn Bareham Dineen and Robert Emmet Dineen, Sr. “one of the most important opportunities in their lives.”
One of their daughters, Carolyn Dineen King, a senior judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Houston, Texas, made the comment as she spoke during the Sept. 12 formal opening ceremony for SU’s newest building.
“The opportunity to build a fulfilling, successful, and happy, professional life,” Dineen King said as she continued her remarks.
Robert Dineen, Sr. earned a certificate of law, instead of a law degree, when he graduated from the College of Law in 1924, according to an SU website providing details about Dineen Hall and the Dineen family.
He grew up in a neighborhood close to the west side of campus “largely made up of Irish immigrants,” the website says. The neighborhood was known as “The Swamp,” the site adds.
After law school, Robert Dineen, Sr. worked as a claims adjuster for insurance companies throughout upstate New York and Canada.
He eventually became a partner in the Syracuse law firm of Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC and later served as superintendant of insurance in New York and then president and CEO of Northwestern Mutual Life, the website says.
Northwestern Mutual Life is now headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisc.
Carolyn Bareham Dineen graduated from the law school in 1932. She grew up in Rochester and was one of only two women in her law school graduating class, according to the SU website.
She earned a bachelor’s degree from William Smith College and later, a master’s degree from Columbia University.
Dineen also worked as a newspaper columnist to put herself through law school “when her father refused to assist, as he did not believe that women should be lawyers,” according to the SU website.
She went on to serve as a lawyer the Syracuse law firm of Costello, Cooney & Fearon PLLC.
The Dineen family says it provided the naming gift for the venue to honor the legacy of their parents.
Robert Dineen, Jr. in April 2010 announced that his family would provide a $15 million naming gift to the College of Law for the project.
Dineen, Jr. is a retired partner, formerly with New York City–based Shearman & Sterling, LLP, a member of the SU board of trustees, and the College of Law’s board of advisors, the SU website says.
Besides Carolyn Dineen King and Robert Dineen, Jr., the Dineens had another daughter, Kathryn Dineen Wriston, who also became an attorney.
Opening events
SU’s College of Law formally opened Dineen Hall with a series of grand-opening events involving students, faculty, alumni, friends, and the legal community.
The new hall becomes the sixth venue to serve as home to the College of Law, Marc Malfitano, chairman of the college’s board of advisors, said to begin his remarks during the Sept. 12 ceremony.
SU hosted the event in a covered tent outside the entrance to Dineen Hall at 950 Irving Ave., with the street blocked on either side to accommodate the nearly hour-long ceremony.
Richard Gluckman, a graduate of the SU School of Architecture and a principal with New York City–based Gluckman Mayner Architects, served as the lead architect on the project and spoke during the Sept. 12 grand opening.
“Our consultants, especially the engineers, bought in early and collaborated on the design of a high-performance building that achieved LEED gold [status],” Gluckman said.
The 200,000-square-foot Dineen Hall is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold-certified, SU said.
Hueber-Breuer Construction Co., Inc. of Syracuse was the general contractor on the project.
Dineen Hall is situated on a site just west of the college’s former buildings, E.I. White Hall and Winifred MacNaughton Hall, SU said in a news release. It’s also located across Irving Avenue from the Carrier Dome.
White and MacNaughton Halls have been repurposed for other campus academic and programmatic use, according to SU.
The formal opening was part of a series of activities on Sept. 12 to acknowledge the new law school’s opening.
Theodore McKee, chief judge of the third circuit court of appeals and a 1975 College of Law graduate, presided over the day’s events.
McKee delivered an inaugural address in the building’s Melanie Gray Ceremonial Courtroom, a 300-seat auditorium for advocacy competitions, the judiciary and lecturers, according to the SU news release.
Several circuit-court judges also gathered for a “Conversation from the Bench,” including McKee, Dineen King, James Graves, Jr., Rosemary Pooler, and Thomas Reavley.
The judges discussed legal issues such as the state of judicial independence and judicial legitimacy “in an age of partisan gridlock and political polarization,” according to the release.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com