Milton R. Konvitz
| Milton R. Konvitz | |
|---|---|
| Born |
March 12, 1908 Safed, Ottoman Empire |
| Died | September 5, 2003 (aged 95) Long Branch, New Jersey |
| Nationality | American |
Milton Ridbas Konvitz (March 12, 1908 – September 5, 2003) was a Cornell University faculty member. He died September 5, 2003 at the age of 95.
He was born in 1908 in Safed, a city in what is now Israel that was then part of the vilayet of Sidon of the Ottoman Empire, and was the son of Rabbi Joseph Konvitz and grandson of Rabbi Yaakov Dovid Wilovsky (Ridvaz). In 1915, he immigrated to the United States, becoming a citizen in 1926. He studied at New York University, where he received his bachelor's degree in 1929 and in 1930 a law degree. In 1933, he received a Ph.D. in philosophy from Cornell. Prior to joining Cornell's faculty, he worked at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, where he was one of three assistant general counsels to Thurgood Marshall.
Konvitz was a professor in Cornell's Law School and a founding faculty member of School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He retired in 1973. He was an authority on constitutional and labor law, and on civil and human rights, coining the term "civil liberties." He was famous for teaching a class called American Ideals at Cornell for many years; it was based in the College of Industrial and Labor Relations and regularly drew enrollments in the many hundreds, with the eventual total exceeding over 8,000. Young Ruth Bader, later Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, was one of those students.
Konvitz was one of the founder's of Cornell's Department of Near Eastern Studies and of its Program of Jewish Studies. He and his wife, the former Mary Traub, often hosted Jewish students and others.
A professorship in his name was dedicated with funds from former students and others; Ross Brann is the current Milton Konvitz Professor of Judeo-Islamic Studies.
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