Remembering Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Editor’s note: In the fall of 2017, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg participated in a panel discussion of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice prior to a Peak Performances production of the play in which her grandson performed. She discussed the poetic, literary and legal aspects of the play and the trial within it. A story about that roundtable, can be found at the University’s magazine, Montclair. The following is a remembrance from Montclair State President Susan A. Cole.

Three years ago, on September 23, 2017, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg visited Montclair State University, and our students, faculty and staff literally vibrated with excitement. For us, Justice Ginsburg was the ultimate exemplar of what we always speak about, the impact that can be made when a person determines to use their education and their individual personal strengths and qualities to do important work in the world. Justice Ginsburg was clearly an extraordinary woman, intellectually brilliant, fiercely determined, with an unwavering moral center, and fortitude and courage in the face of opposition and hardships.

Greatness such as hers is reached only by a few. Most of us do not have all the incredible qualities she had, but her life stands as the perfect role model for us because it shows us so clearly what it looks like when a person is determined to realize the full scope of her potential. It shows us what it looks like when a person puts the full efforts of her life and work, in concrete and constructive ways, into what she believes to be right and just. So, while we may not all have her brilliance and strength, we do all have it within our reach to be as determined as she was, to work as hard as she did, and to realize and not waste our full potential.

Justice Ginsburg changed the laws of this nation in ways that have had a tremendous impact for millions of people and which will continue to have an impact beyond the years of her life. Let the Notorious RBG live on as an inspiration for all of us, but especially for our students. She set her feet down on our campus. That visit was a great gift and a kind of blessing, but only we can realize its meaning and purpose in the work we do and the lives we live.

— President Susan A. Cole