A Tribute to Ralph J. Cappy

Ralph J. Cappy (A&S ’65, LAW ’68), who died unexpectedly at age 65 on May 1, 2009, left an extraordinary legacy as Pennsylvania’s chief justice and as chair of the University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees. On April 1, Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg and School of Law Dean William M. Carter Jr. hosted a ceremony to dedicate the Chief Justice Ralph J. Cappy Room in the Barco Law Building’s Teplitz Memorial Courtroom. The law school’s jury room was named for Cappy, who became a member of Pitt’s Board of Trustees in 1992 and served as chair of the board from 2003 until his death. In his remarks during the dedication, the chancellor lauded Cappy’s professional achievements as well as his personal attributes: “He had a personal appeal that drew people to him. And he had an enviable combination of qualities that held those people close, as friends and allies and admirers. Those qualities included an active and agile mind, a principled commitment to worthy causes, the courage of his convictions, the capacity to compromise, good judgment, common sense—and most important of all, a caring heart.”