James Grasty '73 is Vice President & Asst. General Counsel at Merck, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world.
Arriving at Hyde in 1970 as the first student from The Boy's Club of New York, James distinguished himself in the classroom, on the athletic field (as captain and MVP of both basketball and track), as a musician (trumpet), and as a campus leader. During his Hyde graduation ceremony, his three years on campus were described as follows: “James has become the outstanding leader of the student body. His leadership has been felt most in individual counseling situations reflecting his intense concern for people.” He graduated in 1973 with The Hyde Award for exemplary development of character.
After Hyde, James went on to graduate from Brown University and followed this with a J.D. from Temple University Law School. He began his legal career in the Philadelphia City Solicitor’s Office and has been a corporate attorney for over 35 years.
James has given back to Hyde in a number of respects: doing summer internships during college, acting as a commencement speaker (1985,) and serving as a member of the Hyde Board of Governors.
Those who remember James will not be surprised that he also gives back to his community. He served as co-director of a young men's mentoring program at his church that counseled and mentored boys ages 8-to-18, most of whom were without fathers. Now, through the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, he is actively involved with an ongoing initiative to deliver legal services to low income Pennsylvanians.
James and his wife Angelina live in Collegeville, PA and are the parents of two grown daughters.
