Chief Justice John Roberts, along with Justices Samuel Alito, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas, who spoke on behalf of the court, joined approximately 400 students and faculty members for the ceremony, according to a statement from the University.
Thomas remarked Scalia often wondered if his work would be of “meaning and consequence in the future,” the statement read.
“But as much as the work mattered to Justice Scalia and as much as he wondered if he would have any lasting effect on the object of our work, he never, ever spoke about personally being remembered or honored,” Thomas said. “Let this statue be a constant reminder to each of us to solemnly increase our devotion to that great promise, the promise to the rule of law, to which [Scalia] dedicated his life.”
Virginia Supreme Court Justice William C. Mims as well as Scalia’s family were also in attendance for a series of celebrations around the school.
George Mason President Ángel Cabrera fondly recalled Scalia’s reverence for debate and healthy disagreement. “Justice Scalia once said that he thought the worst opinions in his court had been perhaps unanimous decisions because he thought there was nobody on the other side pointing out all the flaws,” said Cabrera. “Let his name and his statue be a reminder to all of us, faculty and very importantly students, of the importance of reasoned, informed, vigorous, and civil debate of ideas to move us forward as a university, and most importantly, as a society.”
The bronze statue was crafted by Greg Wyatt, an “internationally renowned artist,” according to the school’s statement, and was unveiled in Hazel Hall. The Maureen McCarthy Scalia Reading Room in the Scalia Law School Library and Greg Wyatt Gallery were also dedicated during ceremony.
Scalia’s recognition by the university has not been without its controversy, however, as the 2016 renaming of the university’s law school in his honor drew criticism from some due to the circumstances surrounding the naming and the jurist’s polarizing style.
A letter to Cabrera and G. Gilmer Minor III, chair of State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, from the American Association of University Professors called for a pause to consider the impact of honoring Scalia.
“Members of the faculty at George Mason University have advised our Association of recent developments at the institution that they believe carry serious adverse implications for academic freedom and tenure as well as for the role of the faculty in institutional governance,” reads a letter penned from Anita Levy, associate secretary of the professor’s association. “Of particular concern is the action taken by the GMU Board of Visitors at the end of March 2016 to approve renaming the university’s school of law the Antonin Scalia Law School, as a result of the university’s having received a combined gift of $30 million from the Charles Koch Foundation and an anonymous donor.”
At the time the University was considering renaming the law school, a number of Virginia state legislators criticized the maneuver and even went as far as circulating a petition against the naming, according to reports. Scalia was known for his reverence to Constitutional “originalism” and his stance the document did not guarantee same-sex marriage and abortions.