Richard Ravitch ’58 to Deliver Dean’s Lecture February 9

Richard Ravitch ’58, former lieutenant governor of New York, will deliver a Dean’s Lecture at Yale Law School on February 9, 2015, at 4:30 pm in the Faculty Lounge.

Ravitch’s lecture is titled “Is There a Risk That We Will Have More Detroits?” and will look at the fiscal distress of many U.S. states and cities.

Watch a video of the lecture.

“States and cities all over this country are facing serious fiscal distress,” said Ravitch. “There is a fundamental disconnect between federal budget making and what is happening to states and cities.”

Using Detroit as an example, Ravitch will examine how restructuring under the Federal Bankruptcy Law helped the city recover after more than 50 years of decline.

Ravitch asks, “To what extent is this practice available to those governmental institutions that do not have the ability or the will to finance all of the promises they made?”

Ravitch began his career in the construction business as a principal of the HRH Construction Corporation. In 1975, he was appointed by Governor Hugh Carey to serve as Chairman of the New York State Urban Development Corporation, a “moral obligation” financing and development agency with 30,000 dwelling units under construction, which had become insolvent and faced the first municipal bankruptcy since the 1930s. In 1979, Ravitch was appointed Chairman and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York’s regional urban and suburban transportation system. He served as lieutenant governor of the State of New York from 2009 to 2010.

The lecture is open to the public and will be followed by a reception in the Alumni Reading Room.