On Sunday, Nov. 15, Life Trustee Drew Days ’63 passed away at the age of 79. In an email sent to the Hamilton community on Tuesday, Nov. 17, President Wippman paid tribute to the many accomplishments of one of the College’s most outstanding alumni.
After graduating from Hamilton as an English literature major, Days earned his law degree from Yale. Following working for a short time at a union-side labor law firm in Chicago, he joined the Peace Corps and served for two years in Honduras with his wife of over 50 years, Ann Langdon.
Once back in the U.S. in 1969, Days joined the legal staff of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, working on civil rights cases, including a lawsuit that desegregated the Tampa schools he attended as a child. In 1977, he was appointed U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights by President Jimmy Carter, serving through 1980. He became a member of the faculty at the Yale Law School beginning in 1981 and was eventually named Alfred M. Rankin Professor of Law in 1991. From 1993 to 1996 he took a leave of absence to serve in the Justice Department as U.S. Solicitor General in the Clinton Administration.
Days was a kind and generous man who cared deeply for Hamilton, which was demonstrated through his commitment as a member of the Board of Trustees since 1986. His dedication to the College, as well as human and civil rights, makes it fitting that the Days-Massolo Center (DMC) was named partly in his honor 10 years ago. Through forums, panels, lectures and other programming developed in cooperation with students, faculty and staff, the Days-Massolo Center works to enhance the academic, intellectual, social, cultural, and leadership dimensions of the Hamilton community. According to the Hamilton College website, the DMC serves as a central resource for exploring intersections between gender, race, culture, religion, sexuality, ability, socioeconomic class and other facets of human difference.
Days was both an important member of the Hamilton community and an accomplished public servant that will be missed very dearly.
