Lawrence Joseph DeNardis

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Lawrence J. DeNardis, U.S. Congressman, was born in New Haven, Conn., on March 18, 1938; graduated from Hamden High School, Hamden, Conn., in 1956 and received a B.A. from Holy Cross College in 1960, an M.A. and a Ph.D. from New York University, in 1964 and 1989.; He served in the United States Naval Reserve, 1960-1963 and was associate professor at Albertus Magnus College. He was President of the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges in 1979-1980 after serving in the Connecticut state senate from 1970-1979. DeNardis was elected in the 1980 Ronald Reagan landslide as a Republican to the Ninety-seventh Congress (January 3, 1981-January 3, 1983), winning a seat previously held by Democrat Robert Giaimo for 22 years. In that election then-State Senator Joe Lieberman suffered the only general election defeat in his Connecticut political career. (Lieberman also lost the 2006 Democratic primary to Ned Lamont, but was elected as an independent. but During his term in Congress DeNardis was known as a moderate "Gypsy Moth" Republican. He was narrowly upset in a 1982 mid-term election characterized by voter anger over a poor economy and the strong grassroots campaign by Democrat Bruce Morrison, a Clinton classmate at Yale Law School who also won a rematch against DeNardis in 1984. DeNardis was then given a political appointment in the Reagan Administration. He joined the University of New Haven as President from 1991-2004 before becoming President Emeritus. He led a great expansion of programs and facilities during his tenure at the University, including substantial international programs, and has participated in international election monitoring missions