“We guarantee income to farmers for not producing crops, we guarantee subsidies to railroads and to oil companies. It seems to me only reasonable that we should guarantee the subsidy of life to those who are starving and to those without shelter or medicine – reasonable not only on humanitarian grounds, but because there is a 14th Amendment, which guarantees equal protection of the laws.” Edward V. Sparer The New York Times, June 25, 1983

The American Lawyer recently named Edward V. Sparer, class of 1959, one of “The Lawyers of the Century.” A Professor of Law and Social Welfare at the University of Pennsylvania, his life was animated by a commitment to use the law as a vehicle for social change. His untimely death in 1983 ended an inspiring career as a nationally recognized teacher, scholar, and activist.