Saxton, who will retire at the end of the fall semester, received the resounding ovation as the opening note of a very special reception held in his honor in the Jennifer Gerarda Brown Student Lounge on November 5.

From his early days clerking for the Honorable Louis F. Oberdorfer and practicing at Hogan & Hartson in Washington, D.C., to his transformative leadership as School of Law Dean from 2002 to 2013, Saxton has shaped generations of lawyers and elevated the institution’s reputation, all while leading with integrity and foresight, said School of Law Dean Brian Gallini.

Prior to joining Quinnipiac in 2002, Saxton was Associate Dean and Professor of Law at the University of Wyoming College of Law. He joined the college of law in 1992 and taught Torts, Trial Practice, Legal Writing and Lawyering Skills.

“When Brad arrived here at Quinnipiac in 2002, he would bring that deep breadth of experience and a vision that would transform our institution,” said Gallini. “Under his leadership, the Law School strengthened its reputation, expanded opportunities for students and alumni, and his efforts helped position our graduates to achieve success in the Connecticut legal community and beyond.”

Saxton also deeply enriched generations of lawyers as a faculty member teaching Torts, Evidence, and Employment Discrimination, Gallini said.

“His ability to combine rigorous analysis and practical insight made him a trusted guide for students navigating the complexities of law and law school,” said Gallini.

Beyond the campus of the School of Law, Gallini said Saxton’s leadership with Connecticut Legal Services, service on the board of Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and his chairmanship of the Connecticut Bar Foundation James W. Cooper Fellows reflects a career devoted to strengthening the legal system and supporting those who serve it. Just some of Saxton’s recognitions for his service include the Connecticut Bar Association Tapping Reeve Legal Educator Award, and the Connecticut Law Tribune Professor Quintin Johnstone Award for Service to the Legal Profession, among others.

“Those honors collectively speak to the depth of his impact, but also those of us who know Brad understand that his influence goes far beyond those accolades. He shaped this community through his wisdom, his humility, and his unwavering commitment to doing what is right,” Gallini said.

Many of Saxton’s former students said the impact of his mentorship continues to resonate with them, including Arunan Arulampalam, JD ’14. Arulampalam is currently serving his first elective term as mayor of Hartford, Connecticut.

Arulampalam said Saxton’s students are all better for having known him and learned from him; and that they are spreading the seeds of his legal and life lessons throughout the Connecticut community and beyond.

“He was a phenomenal professor,” Arulampalam said. “I had him for Torts, and I appreciated his classroom skill, but also he was just a really good person. He told us not to put our lives on hold; that your life is the core of who you are. I’ve taken his life lessons with me, along with his legal lessons. He always had such an interest in us as human beings, in addition to students. That’s why I couldn’t miss this date.”

Throughout his teaching career, Saxton said he made an effort to impart to as many students as possible not to delay what they’d really like to do in life because of the stress and demands of their legal calling.

“I had so many graduation days where I was telling them the time goes too fast to actually see if you can work it into your life. You really need to consciously plan that and keep your humanity,” Saxton said. “I’ve had students from a long time ago who are saying, ‘I still remember what you said at graduation.’ It makes me feel good. I think that’s the part I like the best, working with the students and helping them to develop into the kind of people who are really going to enjoy being lawyers.”

Sarah Gruber, JD ’14, and part-time Quinnipiac School of Law faculty, said Saxton has helped his students to make their own way in their legal careers.

“I have the honor of knowing Brad for almost 14 years now. I knew him in a number of roles, first as my dean, then as my Torts professor, then as a mentor, a friend, and most recently as my colleague co-teaching a course together for the first time last year,” said Gruber. “In each of those roles, Brad was amazing.”

James Wolfe, JD ’15, who currently serves as Arulampalam’s chief of staff, said Saxton’s support for his students was memorable and much appreciated.

“I remember in orientation we were all a little apprehensive and scared, and he was so welcoming and so supportive,” Wolfe said. “But he also called himself the ‘velvet hammer’ because he said school was going to be tough. He didn’t sugar-coat it, but he had such a great way of making us all feel comfortable and welcome. That’s why we’re back here to see him.”

Former School of Law Dean and Professor of Law Jennifer Brown succeeded Saxton in leadership, serving as dean for 10 years. Brown said she was both “lucky and unlucky” to follow in Saxton’s footsteps as dean.

“It’s not always easy to follow someone who set extremely high standards, who was beloved by the people who worked with him,” said Brown. “Brad was a respected and beloved dean, and that made me lucky to follow him; because Brad built a very high degree of trust in the dean in this community and I was the beneficiary of that. Because people had grown to trust Brad, they were inclined to trust me. Because they had respected Brad, I was given a little of the default that I was respected, as well.”

Brown said the School of Law has much for which to thank Saxton, including its reputation for excellence in experiential education. Retired Professor Carolyn “Carrie” Kaas, whose responsibilities included her role as Associate Dean of Experiential Education, also attested to Saxton’s incredible support of experiential and clinical legal education.

As a faculty member, Saxton shepherded the law school through the creation of its Essential Learning Outcomes, Brown said.

“His expertise with process helped us to create learning outcomes that were really meaningful,” said Brown.

Saxton was also at the center of the work to prepare the law school for its 2018-2019 American Bar Association site visit.

“We came through that site visit with absolutely flying colors thanks to Brad and the work that he did to get us ready for that,” Brown said. “And when I stepped away from the deanship in 2019 - 2020, Brad stepped back in as interim dean while I was serving on the main campus. Not only did he help this law school get through the onset of Covid; he also helped to get through some very challenging university-wide budget cuts with the same kind of precision, attention to detail, respect for process, and kindness to people that really have been his hallmark.”

With his wife, Anne, and family by his side as he greeted friends and former students, Saxton said retirement will be a big change.

“I have a lot of good friends on the faculty,” Saxton said. “I spent a lot of years here and invested a lot of my time and the time of my colleagues; and they were really nice about it.”

Saxton also recollected his first connection with Quinnipiac School of Law.

“When I was applying for the deanship, I applied to one school – Quinnipiac,” said Saxton, who flew in from Wyoming for his interview. “When I got there, after a very, very long day, I just felt I was among a number of kindred spirits. The students and the faculty, and the staff --- there were so many people who really just loved this place. I called Anne up and said I have kindred spirits here. I value what they seem to value, and I think I can do some things that will help in terms of what they want to achieve.”

Quinnipiac School of Law’s tradition of clapping out a retiring full-time faculty member at the end of their final class was instituted by Brown in 2022. Saxton said he was overwhelmed to see so many familiar faces, and to have received the night’s outpouring of appreciation.

“Thank you so much for such generous and kind words. I hope I deserved some of them,” Saxton said