Denis F. Cronin ’69, H’16, P’09,’10, a nationally celebrated attorney and Colgate graduate whose compassionate leadership helped shape the University as both an undergraduate and throughout his 57 years as an alumnus, died June 24 in New York City, surrounded by family and friends.
In a message to the campus community announcing Cronin’s passing, President Brian W. Casey wrote, “At every board meeting, at every gathering of the Alumni Council, and at every Colgate event he attended both on campus and off, Denis brought his energy, his keen mind, and his deep commitment to Colgate and its future. He was a tireless steward of his alma mater, a graduate whose dedication to his university was a sustaining force — for him and for Colgate — for decades. He will be missed by so many in this community, even as we celebrate all the ways he gave back to Colgate and its people.”
“Denis had a knack for avoiding negative comments and achieving difficult solutions without alienating disparate parties,” said John Golden ’66, chair of Colgate’s Board of Trustees during Cronin’s first term on the board (1999 to 2008). “He was a clear thinker, wonderful with people, who led easily. He was also my friend and adviser, who adored his partner, Linda, and cherished their children and grandchildren.”
During Cronin’s second term as a trustee, he chaired the board from 2011 to 2015. He had earlier served in leadership roles on the board of directors of the Colgate Alumni Corporation (1996 to 1999), where he distinguished himself with his level of commitment.
One of 11 children, Cronin was recruited from Port Washington High School on Long Island to play basketball as an undergraduate. A loan and scholarships from Colgate and New York State covered his education expenses, and he washed pots at the Student Union to help pay for his room and board. An intense competitor on the court under coach Bob Duffy ’62, Cronin was chosen as team captain his senior year. For a story in 2022, he said: “I learned discipline, hard work, and teamwork, and the ability to function under pressure, playing before large crowds. Those qualities of leadership served me well all my life.”
A student leader off the court, as well, recognized by his selection to the senior honor society, Cronin was a member of the student government and president of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity during a defining moment for the University. When the fraternity’s national office told the Colgate chapter that it must expel its Jewish and Black members or lose its charter, Cronin organized discussions that resulted in the members voting unanimously to disregard the rule, knowing they would lose their national affiliation. When the chapter disbanded, its house was donated to Colgate and operates today as Ralph Bunche House.
Years later, in leadership roles as an alumnus, Cronin was a confident, engaging presence and a trusted collaborator with members of the University’s administration, faculty, and staff. He was a member of the search committee when the trustees chose Rebecca Chopp as Colgate’s president in 2002. She recalled feeling at her first meeting with the search committee, “Denis had a genuine, human interest in the issues. He was someone who would have your back. He became one of the advisers on the board that I turned to the most. He was always concerned about doing the right thing. And he was such an eloquent speaker.” Cronin and Chopp remained friends, and years after she left Colgate, he was a leadership donor to a fund naming a faculty chair in her honor.
As one of four faculty representatives who served on that presidential search committee in 2002, Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies Emerita Ellen Kraly recalls Cronin reaching out to faculty “in the most respectful way. As a result, we knew as faculty that we had legitimacy on the search committee, and we could carry that knowledge back to our colleagues.” Like many on campus who connected with Cronin, Kraly said their interactions continued over the years and contributed to a sense of being heard.
Among his many Colgate interests, Cronin was especially supportive of basketball, which had introduced him to the University. Matt Langel, head coach of men’s basketball, recalled sharing his aspirations for the team at an introductory lunch with Cronin 15 years ago, and eventually coming to realize that “no one I’ve come in contact with ever represented those values better than Denis. His choice to stay close to the program, to follow along with each team’s journey, to show up and meet with teams, and serve as evidence of one of the Colgate basketball success stories was an invaluable gift, and I will forever be indebted.”
Following his graduation from Colgate with a bachelor’s degree in history, Cronin studied law at Fordham School of Law, where he was a member of the Law Review and earned his juris doctorate, graduating at the top of his class. He has been a trustee of the Fordham Law Alumni Association for more than three decades and served as president from 2002 to 2004. For more than a decade (2005 to 2016), he also chaired Fordham Law School’s Dean’s Planning Council.
Over more than 40 years of practicing business law as a partner with leading firms Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz; Vinson & Elkins; and the boutique bankruptcy firm Cronin & Vris, Cronin was regularly recognized by national publications and rating agencies as a “Senior Statesman,” one of the “Best Lawyers in America” and “Best Lawyers in New York,” and a “New York Super Lawyer.” He was frequently appointed by bankruptcy courts and litigants as a mediator in large commercial disputes, and he testified before Congress on proposed bankruptcy legislation. For the past 20 years, he has served as president and CEO of Royalnest Corp., a family-owned company that develops real estate in North Carolina.
In 1985, just 16 years after his graduation from Colgate, Denis and Linda endowed the Cronin Scholarship Fund to provide need-based aid in perpetuity, which has already helped more than 30 undergraduates achieve an education. Since then, the Cronins’ generous support for many Colgate initiatives, from the library to the Hamilton Initiative Fund to Upstate Institute to athletics, has earned them membership in the James B. Colgate Society, which comprises Colgate’s most generous donors. Most recently, at the groundbreaking for the Carey Center, the University announced that the main court in the new athletic facility will be named Cronin Court, in recognition of the Cronins’ leadership support — as a sophomore, Denis played in the first varsity contest at the Reid Athletic Center, which the Carey Center will replace.
Denis and Linda Cronin were married in Chapel House on campus. Parents of Maureen, Denis ’09, and Megan ’10, they are former members of the Parents’ Steering Committee.
Chair of the Board Emeritus, Denis Cronin has been honored with the Maroon Citation, the Wm. Brian Little ’64 Alumni Award for Distinguished Service, and (in 2016) with an honorary doctorate of humane letters.