The Rocco J. Tresolini Lectureship in Law was established in 1978, in memory of one of Lehigh’s most distinguished teachers and scholars, Rocco Tresolini. Professor Rocco Tresolini was born on March 17, 1920, in Dolgeville, New York. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hartwick College in 1942 and a Master of Arts and Ph.D. from Syracuse University in 1947, and 1949, respectively. From 1942-46 he was a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Force.
A lifetime educator, he was an instructor in Political Science in 1948-49 at Syracuse and served on the Lehigh University faculty from 1949-67. Professor Tresolini was an assistant professor in the Department of History and Government from 1949-53, an associate professor from 1953-58, and professor from 1958-67. In 1962, the two disciplines in the Department of History and Government separated. Professor Tresolini became the first chair of the Department of Government at that time, and he served until 1967. He received the prestigious Hillman Faculty Award from Lehigh in 1964 for his excellence in teaching and research.
During his career, Professor Tresolini published five books: American Constitutional Law was published by Macmillan in three editions (1959, 1964, and 1970 by Martin Shapiro); Justice and the Supreme Court (Lippincott, 1963); Constitutional Decisions in American Government (Macmillan, 1965); Cases in American National Government and Politics (Prentice-Hall, 1966); and These Liberties; Case Studies in Civil Rights (Lippincott, 1968). He was married to Virginia Krohn and they had four children (Carol, Roger, Kevin, and Justin). He died on June 27, 1967; his grave is in Union Cemetery in Hellertown, Pennsylvania.
List of All Tresolini Lectures
44th Annual Tresolini Lecture (2024)
Topic: The Supreme Court and Constitutional Developments in American Political Life
Speaker: Stephen I. Vladeck
Date: Tuesday, September 24, 2024
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Tresolini Lecture (2023)
Topic: The Supreme Court in American Life and Judging the Supreme Court
Speaker: Melissa Murray
Date: Tuesday, September 19, 2023
Tresolini Lecture (2022)
Speaker: Tarana Burke
Date:Tuesday, September 20, 2022
Tresolini Lecture (2021)
Speaker: Mary Anne Franks
Date: Thursday, September 16, 2021
Tresolini Lecture (2019)
Speaker: Carl Bernstein
Date: Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Tresolini Lecture (2018)
Speaker: Jay Cost
Date: Thursday, April 5, 2018
Tresolini Lecture (2017)
Speaker: Julian Sanchez
Date: Thursday, April 6, 2017
Tresolini Lecture (2016)
Speaker: Cornel West
Date: Thursday, April 7, 2016
Tresolini Lecture (2015)
Speaker: Bill Moyers
Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Tresolini Lecture (2013-14)
Speaker: Seymour Hersh
Date: Thursday, October 3, 2013
Tresolini Lecture (2011-12)
Speaker: Scott Turow
Date: Thursday, March 15, 2012
Tresolini Lecture (2010-11)
Speaker: Betty Anne Waters
Date: Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Tresolini Lecture (2009)
Speaker: Jeffrey Rosen
Date: Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Tresolini Lecture (2008)
Speaker: John Dean
Date: Thursday, April 3, 2008
Tresolini Lecture (2007)
Speaker: Janet Reno
Date: Thursday, April 5, 2007
Tresolini Lecture (2006)
Speaker: Daniel Ellsberg
Date: Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Tresolini Lecture (2005)
Speaker: Jesse Jackson, Jr.
Date: Monday, April 11, 2005
Tresolini Lecture (2003-04)
Speaker: Barry Scheck
Date: Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Tresolini Lecture (2002-03)
Speaker: Rogers Smith
Date: Thursday, October 17, 2002
Tresolini Lecture (2001)
Speaker: David Boies
Date: Monday, November 19, 2001
Tresolini Lecture (2000)
Speaker: Richard Epstein
Date: Thursday, November 16, 2000
Tresolini Lecture (1999-00)
Speaker: Donald Barry
Date: Tuesday, April 11, 2000
Tresolini Lecture (1998-99)
Speaker: Geoffrey Hazard, Jr.
Date: Wednesday, April 7, 1999
Tresolini Lecture (1997-98)
Speaker: Howard Whitcomb
Date: Monday, March 9, 1998
Tresolini Lecture (1996-97)
Speaker: Arlen Specter
Date: Monday, November 11, 1996
Tresolini Lecture (1995-96)
Speaker: Anthony Lewis
Date: Tuesday, March 5, 1996
Tresolini Lecture (1994-95)
Speaker: Lani Guinier
Date: Tuesday, April 11, 1995
Tresolini Lecture (1993-94)
Speaker: Morris Dees
Date: Monday, January 24, 1994
Tresolini Lecture (1992-93)
Speaker: Nina Totenberg
Date: Monday, February 15, 1993
Tresolini Lecture (1991-92)
Speaker: Linda Fairstein
Date: Monday, March 2, 1992
Tresolini Lecture (1990-91)
Speaker: William Allen
Date: Monday, October 29, 1990
Tresolini Lecture (1989-90)
Speaker: Walter Murphy
Date: Monday, March 5, 1990
Tresolini Lecture (1988-89)
Speaker: Arlin Adams
Date: Thursday, November 10, 1988
Tresolini Lecture (1987-88)
Speaker: Ronald Dworkin
Date: Tuesday, November 10, 1987
Tresolini Lecture (1986-87)
Speaker: William Leuchtenberg
Date: Thursday, April 23, 1987
Tresolini Lecture (1985-86)
Speaker: Arthur Goldberg
Date: Wednesday, April 9, 1986
Tresolini Lecture (1984-85)
Speaker: Robert Nix, Jr.
Date: Tuesday, March 26, 1985
Tresolini Lecture (1983-84)
Speaker: Elizabeth Holtzman
Date: Monday, October 10, 1983
Tresolini Lecture (1982-83)
Speaker: Antonin Scalia
Date: Monday, September 13, 1982
Tresolini Lecture (1982)
Speaker: John Hart Ely
Date: Monday, March 8, 1982
Tresolini Lecture (1981)
Speaker: Laura Nader
Date: Monday, March 23, 1981
Tresolini Lecture (1980)
Speaker: Glendon Schubert
Date: Tuesday, April 22, 1980
Tresolini Lecture (1979)
Speaker: A. Leon Higginbotham
Date: Monday, March 19, 1979
Tresolini Lecture (1978)
Speaker: Edward Cahn
Date: Thursday, April 20, 1978