Lewis Fuller Steele
Niagara Falls, New York
LaSalle Senior High School
Dennett House
Political Economy; Dean’s List; Honors; Mead Government Intern; Herbert Lehman Scholarship; Williams Advocate, Circulation Director 2,3, Editorial Board 2,3,4, Public Affairs Editor 4; College Council Constitution Committee 2; Student Housing Committee 3; StudentFaculty Area Studies Committee 3,4; Career Counseling Committee 4; Dennett House Representative, College Council 3,4; Secretary, College Council 3,4
Quote: “With feelings of gratitude, love, and appreciation to Dr. Tompkins H. Steele, Williams ’27, my dad.”
Graduated with Highest Honors in Political Economy. Bachelor of Arts, Cum Laude.
Elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Looking Back on Fifty Years
FAVORITE MEMORIES OF WILLIAMS
Professor John Todd, Professor Fred Greene
WILLIAMS CLUBS / ACTIVITIES
College Council
LIFE SINCE GRADUATION
I live in Shushan, New York, where I have been for more than 30 years. Shushan is close to the Battenkill, near Vermont, and only 50 minutes from Williams! I am retired from New York State service. Before that time, I was an attorney in the New York State Education Department’s Office of State Review, which is the office that reviews decisions by impartial hearing officers in special education cases. Currently, I am a volunteer for Disability Rights-New York (DRNY), a not-for-profit agency in Albany that provides no-cost legal and advocacy services to individuals with disabilities. I am helping to create an online New York Special Education Law Digest, summarizing relevant judicial cases and administrative decisions. DRNY recently affirmed the importance of this digest by writing that it provides summaries of recent cases on well over 100 special education issues. Further, it wrote that, given that parents are the primary enforcers of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the need for a free resource dedicated to special education advocacy is substantial. The New York State Unified Court System Office for Justice Initiatives, the New York County Lawyers Association, and the New York State Bar Association have also recently determined the importance of this project.
I have much enjoyed our 50th anniversary mini-reunions to date, which have included our Gettysburg trip, our hiking weekend, and our 50th anniversary of “The Walk” on Homecoming Weekend. And I cannot wait for our wine tasting get-together and our New York City trip! It goes without saying that I am looking forward tremendously and so very much to our milestone 50th reunion in June and our mini-reunions after that!x
MAJOR
Political Economy
OTHER DEGREES SINCE GRADUATING
MPP – University of California, Berkeley
JD – SUNY at Buffalo
CURRENT RESIDENCE
Shushan, New York