Kearny’s Ken Davie catches up with Duquesne’s (and America’s) first Black law school dean

Harrison attorney and lifelong Kearny resident Ken Davie is seen here with former Duquesne Law School Dean Ronald Davenport at the recent annual Law Alumni dinner honoring the Class of 1973.

“Dean Davenport came to Duquesne Law from Yale in 1970 at the age of 35, which was my first year of law school,” Davie said. “He was the first Black dean of any major American law school, which says a lot about the historic Spiritan emphasis on diversity and inclusion.

“He constantly told us that we were as good as any law student at Yale, especially if we prepared and worked hard and I believe that to this day, especially when I try cases against anyone from the Ivies. I was especially gratified he received the Meritorious Service Award from the Duquesne Kline Law School, which I was previously honored to receive.”

Davie was on the undefeated Duquesne Appellate Moot Court team and is a member of the Order of the Barristers, the 1911 Centennial Fellows and the Duquesne Society.

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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.