Joel Reidenberg ’83

Joel Reidenberg ’83 died peacefully on April 21, 2020, surrounded by his wife, Pascale, and sons David and Jeremy following a valiant battle with acute myeloid leukemia. Following Joel’s diagnosis in January 2018, he continued to live his life with courage, grace, and dignity, reminding his family that every day is beautiful. His last words to his wife were, “If I have little time left, I want you to know that I had a magnificent life.” Joel came to Dartmouth from Scarsdale, New York. At Dartmouth he participated in a language study abroad in France, was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and the Undergraduate Council, and worked at the college radio station. Following graduation Joel was awarded a law degree in 1986 from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in 2003 from the Sorbonne. Joel was a brilliant lawyer, a dedicated academic, a fierce advocate to preserve privacy, and a leader in the legal efforts to protect individual rights. For 30 years he was a professor of law at Fordham University. He was a founder of the university’s center on law and information policy and at the time of his death was the Stanley D. and Nikki Waxberg Chair in Law. In announcing Joel’s death to the Fordham community, university president Joseph McShane described Joel as “a great teacher, a great thinker, and a great colleague [who] was a towering figure in his field, a dear friend, a man of principle, grit, and a devilish sense of humor.” Joel is also survived by grandchildren Luca and Sophie.