The Honorable Verda M. Colvin, a Georgia Supreme Court justice and UGA School of Law alumna, will present the 2023 Holmes-Hunter Lecture.
Named in honor of Charlayne Hunter-Gault and Hamilton Holmes Sr., the first African American students to attend the University of Georgia, the lecture is sponsored by the Office of the President and focuses on race relations, civil rights and education. It has been held annually since 1985.
Colvin was appointed to the Supreme Court on July 20, 2021, by Gov. Brian Kemp, becoming the first Black woman to be appointed to the bench by a Republican governor. Previously, she served on the Court of Appeals. Her time as judge also includes nearly six years as a Superior Court judge in the Macon Judicial Circuit, during which she served on the Council of Accountability Court Judges. Early in her career she served as an assistant solicitor in Athens-Clarke County.