DiSalvo at a book
signing for “M.K. Gandhi,
Attorney at Law: The Man
Before the Mahatma”
in Jaipur, India. Photo
by Kathleen Kennedy.
DiSalvo’s “M.K. Gandhi, Attorney at
Law: The Man Before the Mahatma” is not
your typical historical depiction of Gandhi’s
legacy as a civil rights leader. Published
in 2013, in this biography, DiSalvo digs
deeper into Gandhi’s experience in the law
as a significant factor in the development
of his philosophy and practice of nonvio-
lence. DiSalvo goes on to paint the picture
with riveting details of Gandhi discovering
“within the law the grand dynamic that
converts disobedience to change—change
even in the law itself.”
Complementing his robust teaching career
and Mohandas Gandhi expertise, DiSalvo
is also committed to volunteer work with
organizations and causes centered around
working for the public interest, including
the West Virginia State Bar Association’s
Legal Services for the Poor Committee,
Rural Scholarship Committee, State Bar
Public Interest Scholarship Committee,
Mountain State Justice Board of Directors,
St. Francis De Sales Church Refugee Com-
mittee and WVU College of Law’s Sustain-
ability Committee.
In the mid-1980s, DiSalvo was instru-
mental in the formation of the West Virginia
Fund for Law in the Public Interest, Inc.
A law student at the time and today an
attorney in Hurricane, WV, Carl Hostler
asked DiSalvo to be the faculty adviser
for the Public Interest Advocates student
organization. Not long after, DiSalvo and
Hostler co-founded the fund.
“The purpose of the fund is to raise funds
to support law students working in the
public interest,” says DiSalvo. “Over the
years, the private bar has been incredibly
supportive of the fund. Through its gen-
erosity, the private bar has helped create
innumerable summer and post-grad fel-
lowships. Many of our brother and sister
West Virginians have received essential
help as a result of legal work performed
by our fellows.”
DiSalvo advised the Public Interest Advo-
cates and the fund for 23 years. The fund,
the single largest employer of WVU law
students, has placed 440 students in public
interest summer jobs. Today, he remains a
member of the fund board.
His vast knowledge and extensive service
to the WVU College of Law and the legal
profession has helped DiSalvo earn numerous
college, university, state and national awards.
DiSalvo has been named the WVU College
of Law Professor of the Year six times, and
he has earned the WVU Foundation Out-
standing Teacher Award. While he is very
grateful for these accolades, there is some-
thing that means much more to him.
“While I have very much appreciated
the sentiments behind the honors, there are
things in life more important than awards,”
he says. “What has the deepest significance
to me is the opportunity to work with my
students at the College of Law. I would like
every student who comes to the College
of Law with a desire to engage in public
interest work in West Virginia to graduate
with such a job in hand.”
The professor of law considers the oppor-
tunity to serve on the law school’s faculty to
be one of the most meaningful jobs a person
can have, though he does miss the opportu-
nity to do public interest litigation. “I miss
coming into daily contact with people who
need the most basic help to get through
life,” he says.
At the end of the day, DiSalvo’s faith,
family and friends keep him motivated in
his demanding career.
“Work should be fulfilling. To make it ful-
filling, each of us tries to unite our work, on
the one hand, with our morality, politics and
spirituality on the other. Each of us tries to
be integrated,” he says. “The law is special
in that it offers each of us, whether we are
practitioners or professors, a heightened op-
portunity to unite what we do with what
we believe. While I don’t always succeed
at it, I’m grateful for that opportunity.”
DiSalvo at a panel discussion
entitled “Gandhi: The Lawyer.”
Photo by Duquesne
University School of Law.
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