Three members of the School of Law faculty have been appointed to endowed professorships as of Aug. 1: Nathan S. Chapman has been named the Pope F. Brock Associate Professor in Professional Responsibility. Melissa J. "M.J." Durkee was promoted to the rank of full professor and named the holder of the Allen Post Professorship. Joseph S. Miller was awarded a J. Alton Hosch Professorship.
The First Amendment Clinic filed an amicus brief in the matter of ACLU v. Zeh requesting the Georgia Supreme Court to review a matter that can weaken First Amendment protections under Georgia's anti-Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation statute ("anti-SLAPP"). Representing fellow amici curiae the University of Virginia School of Law's First Amendment Clinic and the Georgia First Amendment Foundation, the UGA First Amendment Clinic argues that the lower court in Zeh failed to apply the "actual malice" standard in deciding whether a defamation lawsuit survives a motion to strike under the anti-SLAPP statute.
Congratulations to 2020 alumna Maria Carruthers Ferrero for being selected as a 2021 Sea Grant John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellow. This one-year fellowship places early career professionals in federal government offices in Washington, D.C. Since 1979, over 1,400 fellows have completed the program, becoming leaders in science, policy and public administration roles. Notably, Carruthers Ferrero is Georgia Sea Grant's first law fellow to earn this fellowship, and she is the only J.D. candidate in the 2021 Knauss fellowship class.
The University of Georgia Foundation approved changes in board positions during its June 11-12 annual meeting, which was held virtually. The changes took effect July 1. The UGA Foundation welcomed 12 new trustees and accorded six trustees emeritus status, among them are: Vernon "Trey" Googe III (J.D.'94) as trustee, and Elizabeth W. "Betsy" Camp (J.D.'74) and law school Sibley Professor in Corporate and Business Law Larry D. Thompson as emeritus trustees.
Three members of the law school community have been selected to help steer recently announced UGA diversity and inclusion initiatives. University Professor & Kilpatrick Chair of Corporate Finance and Securities Law Usha Rodrigues will serve on the Presidential Task Force on Race, Ethnicity and Community, while UGA Associate Provost Elizabeth Weeks - who also holds the law school's Kirbo Chair - and rising second-year student Roya Naghepour will serve on the Planning Committee on Diversity and Inclusive Excellence.