Ensuring Others Have Pathways to Make an Impact

Thomas Considine, J.D. ’89, with his daughter, Katie, a student at Seton Hall Law

During his career in insurance, government and health care, Thomas Considine, J.D. ’89, has gained deep satisfaction from making an impact. He helped to implement the Affordable Care Act, repeal burdensome regulations for businesses, fight insurance fraud and bring people more choices for managed care and more.

“Seton Hall Law is the fulcrum that has made it all possible,” he says.

In appreciation, Thomas has arranged to make an estate gift to the Law School’s Whipple Scholarship, which was created as an estate gift following the passing of Judge Lawrence Whipple in 1983. Thomas, who grew up in Bayonne, N.J., the son of working-class parents, was the first recipient of the Whipple Scholarship that allowed him to earn his J.D. debt-free.

“My mother cried when I told her about the scholarship both for what it meant financially and because of pride – the pride only a mother could have.”

In addition to supporting the Whipple Scholarship, Thomas is also supporting the Alumni Endowed Scholarship recently created by Dean Boozang.

His daughter, Katie, a student at Seton Hall Law, is the recipient of an endowed scholarship.

“We’re in a place in life where it’s not a needs-base issue, but that scholarship validates all her hard work and showed us how much Seton Hall Law wanted her to attend.” Katie’s goal is to work on behalf of women’s rights.

For Thomas, if a person has benefited from a quality education, there is a responsibility to make that possible for others.

“I’ve never understood people who say, ‘I paid my tuition when I was there,’ as if that is enough,” says Thomas. “Assuming you had a great experience, why wouldn’t you want to help others have that great experience? If there were more alumni giving, tuition would be lower and everyone would be able to benefit from that great experience.”

The great experience he had paved the way for a rewarding career focused on positive change. He served as the New Jersey Commissioner of Banking and Insurance under Governor Chris Christie. Prior to that, he was Vice President and Governmental Relations Counsel at MetLife.

After leaving public service, he was COO of MagnaCare, a regional health plan, and then President and CEO of Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center. In 2016, he was appointed to the new position of CEO of the National Conference of Insurance Legislators. Today, he also serves as Principal and Managing Member of Gravilaur Solutions, which provides consulting services to business associations, health plans, hospital systems, insurance companies and others. NJBIZ has twice named him to its Most Powerful People in New Jersey Health Care list.

“I’m so very grateful for the opportunities I have had. Seton Hall Law helped to make that possible,” Thomas says. “How fortunate I was to get the Whipple Scholarship. I want to be sure others get to benefit from that and make an impact.”

Like Thomas, you, too, can make a difference in the lives of Seton Hall Law students with a gift in your estate. Contact Stephanie Silvestri at 973-642-8818 or stephanie.silvestri@shu.edu to learn more about your options.