January 26, 2011
CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK GENERAL COUNSEL RECEIVES
STATE BAR’S EXCELLENCE IN PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD
Frederick P. Schaffer cited for improving
CUNY’s academic environment
NEW YORK – Frederick (Rick) P. Schaffer of New York, general
counsel and senior vice chancellor for legal affairs at the City
University of New York (CUNY), was honored with the Excellence in Public
Service Award from the New York State Bar Association on January 25
during its Annual Meeting at the Hilton New York in Manhattan. The
award, sponsored by the State Bar’s Committee on Attorneys in
Public Service, recognizes individuals in government who demonstrate a
“higher calling” through an extraordinary commitment to
service, honor and integrity in the public sector. Shaffer is one of
three individuals receiving the award.
The committee honored Schaffer for his unparalleled career serving
New Yorkers as counsel to New York City Mayor Edward Koch, as chief
litigating assistant corporation counsel of the City of New York, and as
an assistant U.S. Attorney. In particular, the committee focused on his
work as general counsel of CUNY, the nation’s largest urban public
university system. During his tenure at CUNY, his creative skills
enabled the university system to be transformed into a leading
institution of higher education that has welcomed a record number of
students. With his legal guidance, CUNY was able to implement new
financial models, allowing it to expand the size and quality of its
faculty and raise its national profile. His masterful negotiation skills
and creative thinking led to the development of CUNY’s new
community college, set to open in 2012, and the groundbreaking of the
Lois V. and Samuel J. Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter
College.
“This year’s recipients of the Excellence in Public
Service Awards have each contributed to advancing the public interest of
New Yorkers in different ways. Rick Schaffer’s work has paved the
way for thousands of men and women from all walks of life to get a
college degree from a renowned educational system, opening career
opportunities that would not otherwise exist,” said State Bar
President Stephen P. Younger of New York (Patterson, Belknap Webb &
Tyler LLP). “The State Bar is proud to recognize all the
recipients for their outstanding service and I congratulate Rick
Schaffer on receiving this award.”
Committee Chair Hon. Peter S. Loomis of Albany (Retired, New York
State Department of Transportation) said, “Every endeavor that
Rick Schaffer undertakes is marked with his personal and deep commitment
to service. He never forgets that his job is to help students and his
effective leadership and innovation have improved the lives of countless
New Yorkers. He is a worthy recipient of this prestigious
honor.”
A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, Schaffer was
recently appointed counsel to the 2010 New York City Charter Commission
by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He began his law career as a law clerk to
the Hon. Francis L. Van Dusen and has served as an assistant
United States attorney for the Southern District of New York (Civil
Division).
Other recipients of the 2011 Excellence in Public Service Award are
Jerome Lefkowitz of Albany, chair of the Public Employment Relations
Board (PERB); and Hon. Norman Goodman of New York, county clerk of New
York County.
The 77,000-member New York State Bar Association is the official
statewide organization of lawyers in New York and the largest voluntary
state bar association in the nation. Founded in 1876, State Bar programs
and activities have continuously served the public and improved the
justice system for 135 years.
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