Personal

Disability

I had a severe stroke following brain surgery to treat a giant fusiform brain aneurysm in 1996.  I am able to walk with a walker, but more often use a wheelchair.  The stroke also affected my speech. 

In addition to the physical disabilities, a consequence of my brain injury that afflicts me is Pseudobulbar Affect (Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic), a neurologic disorder which is associated with becoming emotional easily and with exaggerated emotional responses.   This is also sometimes called emotional lability (WebMD). Basically I cry, laugh, and get frustrated very easily. As I like to tell my students that I do not tell jokes in class because I start laughing before I get to the punchline. 

Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School

I am a member of the advisory board of the Andover Newton Seminary at Yale, which was formally the oldest graduate school seminary in the country, and which completed a merger with the Yale Divinity School in 2023. 

Family

I am married to Kathryn Spier, the Domenico de Sole Professor of Law at Harvard Law School.  We have one son, James (or Jamie), who graduated from Harvard University. He currently is a graduate student in data science at Tufts university.