Academic Career
Griswold joined the Harvard faculty in 1934, first as an associate legal professor, and then as a full professor from 1935-1946. Known for a very keen intellect, Griswold was made dean of Harvard Law School from 1946 and served in that capacity until 1967. One of the dominant figures in American legal education, he doubled the size of the faculty, bringing in such legal luminaries as Derek Bok, Kingman Brewster, Archibald Cox, and Alan Dershowitz. He enlarged the school's curriculum to include such specialized topics as labor relations, family law, and copyright law. In addition, he expanded the school's physical plan, library holdings, and financial resources. Finally, he oversaw the enrollment of the first female students in 1950. In 1979, as an honorary gesture for his impact on the Harvard community, Harvard dedicated Griswold Hall, housing the dean’s office, faculty offices, and a classroom.
In the 1950s, Griswold served as an expert witness for Thurgood Marshall, who was then the legal director of the NAACP, in several cases that the association brought to lay the foundation for the Supreme Court’s desegregation order in Brown v. Board of Education. Griswold was a member of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission from 1961-1967.
Read more about this topic: Erwin Griswold
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