December 11, 2023
Dean Michael A. Simons announced today that the Center for Law and Religion at St. John's Law will be named in honor of alumni Denise Melillo Mattone and Michael X. Mattone, in recognition of their transformative gift to endow the Center’s activities. The multimillion-dollar gift will allow the Center to offer new educational programs and expand its impact as a hub for exploring issues of law and religion in the United States and around the world.
“People continue to care deeply about the relationship between church and state, and the questions aren’t getting any easier,” Dean Simons says. “These questions are crucial for us to examine as members of a Catholic and Vincentian institution and as American citizens. I’m so grateful to Denise and Michael for their generosity and commitment, which will allow the Center to contribute even more to this vital area of the law.”
The newly named Denise ‘90 and Michael ‘91 Mattone Center for Law and Religion will offer educational opportunities, including innovative coursework, a visiting scholars program, and academic workshops and conferences at St. John’s campuses in New York, Paris, and Rome. It will also host programs for St. John’s alumni and the wider public, including podcasts, videos, and live events on pressing church-state issues.
“For 13 years, the Center has had an impact in the legal academy through our conferences, podcasts, and other programs,” says Center Co-Director Mark Movsesian. “Denise’s and Michael’s gift will allow us to have even more influence. I’m grateful for their confidence in us and honored to be associated with a center that bears their names.”
Another major benefit of the Mattones’ gift, Professor Movsesian shares, will be increased funding for student fellowships. “Our student fellows play an important role in the Center, working on our blog, producing podcasts, tending our social media feeds, and helping with Center events,” he says. “Denise’s and Michael’s generosity will help us continue to provide this opportunity to our students, enhancing their learning and the intellectual life of the Law School.”
Reflecting on the Mattones’ generosity, and looking forward to the opportunities it fosters, Center Co-Director Marc DeGirolami says: “This wonderful gift positions the Center to extend and deepen the basic inquiry that has animated it from the beginning: how do law and religion—these enduring and profound sources of meaning, authority, tradition, and value—relate to one another? We’re very excited for the work that Denise’s and Michael’s generous gift has made possible.”
As the Center starts this new chapter, the Mattones are delighted to be part of its progress. “Denise and I are pleased to support the Center,” Michael Mattone says. “It plays a key role in providing a forum for scholarly dialogue on the interplay of law and religion, and we’re eager to see that important work evolve and shape discourse nationally and globally.”
Animating St. John's Vincentian mission, the Mattone Center for Law and Religion will also continue its service to the campus community. “I am deeply grateful to Denise and Michael Mattone for their generous commitment to the School of Law’s Center for Law and Religion,” says Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P., Ph.D., President of St. John’s University. “I am especially pleased that Michael was elected earlier this year to serve as a member of the University’s Board of Trustees, and that he and Denise have continued to share the gifts of their time, talent, and philanthropy with St. John’s, our law students, and faculty. Naming the Center for Law and Religion in their honor is a fitting recognition for all that have done, are doing, and will continue to do for our University.”
About Denise and Michael Mattone
Denise Melillo Mattone began her legal career in public service, working as an Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn and, later, as Law Secretary to Hon. Jeffrey D. Lebowitz in the New York courts. She then moved into private practice. Denise has supported her community through St. Brigid’s Attic, Saint Christopher-Ottilie Family of Services, and the Catholic Faith Network, among other organizations.
Michael X. Mattone is Chief Executive Officer of Mattone Investors, LLC. He is a member of the St. John’s Law Alumni Association Board of Directors and sits on the St. John’s University Board of Trustees. Supporting the wider community, Michael serves on the boards of the Catholic Faith Network, New York-Presbyterian Queens Hospital, Queens Economic Development Corporation, Jamaica Center Business Improvement District, and Queens Boy Scouts. He has received the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America’s Golden Lion Award, Catholic Charities of Long Island’s Caritas Award, and St. John’s Spirit of Service Award. He is also a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre.
About the Mattone Center for Law and Religion
Established in 2010 as the Center for Law and Religion and renamed in 2023, the Denise ‘90 and Michael ‘91 Mattone Center for Law and Religion at St. John’s Law provides a forum for studying law and religion from domestic, international, and comparative perspectives with the aim of:
- Examining the role of law in the relationship between religion and the state
- Exploring the concept of law in different religious traditions
- Promoting St. John’s Vincentian mission by encouraging an open dialogue on law and religion in the local, national, and international communities
In addition to hosting academic programs locally and around the world, the Center coordinates the Law School’s law and religion curriculum. It also hosts the Law and Religion Forum, a blog about recent law and religion scholarship and news, and Legal Spirits, a podcast series on law and religion issues in the courts.