Featured Speaker Judge Seth Marnin Highlights Women’s Studies Education

Composite image depicts three portraits of Judge Seth Marnin smiling outdoors in a suit and tie, UAlbany President Havidán Rodríguez in a suit and glasses outside, and SUNY Chancellor John B. King, Jr. in a suit and glasses against a blue backdrop with the SUNY logo.
New York State Judge and UAlbany alumnus Seth Marnin was the featured guest at this semester's Leading Questions event on Feb. 13. UAlbany President Havidán Rodríguez and SUNY Chancellor John B. King, Jr. led the discussion. (Photos provided)

New York State Judge Seth Marnin was a featured guest at the UAlbany Leading Questions event on February 13. He spoke fondly about his experience at the University at Albany, where he earned a BA in Women’s Studies and Sociology (’92) and a MA (’94) in Liberal Studies. He offered a powerful testimonial about the impact of his education, and spoke in detail about Women’s Studies (now WGSS).

Among other things, he said: “there was a deep investment in understanding the intersection of racism, classism, and sexism and how that shaped people’s lives. I read authors that I otherwise had not ever have heard of or been exposed to, particularly queer women of color. I think that the opportunity to think critically, to really look at the world around and think about it in a fundamentally different way than I had ever imagined it before, was really profound.”

The WGSS department continues to be invested in this type of education and is proud to have Judge Seth Marnin among our roster of alums.

Judge Marnin is the first out transgender judge in the State of New York and the first transgender man on the bench anywhere in the United States. Learn more about Judge Marnin.