Robert B. McKay was born August 11, 1919, in Wichita, Kansas, to Ruth and John McKay. Graduating with a B.S. from the University of Kansas in 1940, he joined the U.S. Army just before Pearl Harbor. He served in the Philippines, and by the time the war ended he had reached the rank of captain. He went on to earn his J.D. from Yale University in 1947. After completing law school he was employed as an attorney by the U.S. Department of Justice from 1947-1950, in the Appellate Division of the Office of Alien Property. He then moved to Emory University School of Law, where he taught as an Assistant and Associate Professor of Law from 1950-1953.

McKay joined the NYU Law Faculty in 1953, and after serving for four years as Associate Dean and Administrative Head of the Graduate Division, he became Dean in 1967. He succeeded Dr. Miguel A. de Capriles, who became Dean in 1964. McKay served in that position until 1975, and his strong leadership is credited with increasing NYU's prestige among American law schools. During a time of great unrest in higher education over the Vietnam War, McKay built an atmosphere of trust and communication between students and administration by giving student representatives a role in decision-making processes.

Taking a leave of absence from NYU in 1975, McKay served as Director of the Program on Justice, Society and the Individual at the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies until 1983. Throughout his career McKay was involved in a wide variety of legal causes and outside organizations. He served as the Chairman of the New York State Special Commission on Attica in 1972, Board Chairman of the New York Civil Liberties Union, President of the Legal Aid Society, and Chairman of the Citizens Union. He returned to NYU in 1983 to establish and teach courses in the increasingly important areas of professional responsibility and alternative dispute resolution.

Robert B. McKay retired from teaching in 1989. He died on July 13, 1990. He was survived by his two daughters, Kathryn and Sara. His wife, the former Sara Kate Warmack, predeceased McKay by three years.

Sources:

Profile: Robert B. McKay. NYU Law. Spring/Summer 1989Robert McKay, 70, Legal Scholar Who Led 1971 Attica Panel, Dies. New York Times. July 14, 1990Faculty Information: Professional and Biographical. New York Univeristy Office of Public Affairs. June, 1979Press Release, New York University News Bureau. March 9, 1967Press Release, New York University Press and Broadcast Services, Dec. 3, 1975