Renowned scholars and leaders in the arts, agriculture, business, civil rights, government, the sciences and several other fields will speak this semester as part of the fall 2021 Signature Lectures series. UGA Signature Lectures feature speakers noted for their broad, multidisciplinary appeal and compelling bodies of work. School of Law alumna Joan T.A. Gabel (J.D.'93), the president of the University of Minnesota, will deliver the Louise McBee Lecture in Higher Education with a speech titled “The Evolving Social Contract of Higher Education” on Nov. 16.
The University of Georgia School of Law has named its iconic rotunda after its first Black graduate, Chester C. Davenport. A portrait of Davenport is being commissioned and will eventually hang in the space located at the main entrance to the law school. Davenport, who passed away in August 2020, was a monumental figure in the School of Law’s history. He was the law school’s first Black student and remained its only Black student during his law school career. He earned his law degree in 1966, finishing in the top 5% of his class and serving as a founding member of the editorial board of the Georgia Law Review.
The Alexander Campbell King Law Library has received a Digital Library of Georgia grant to digitize and describe a collection of photographs encompassing 50 years of legal and political history. The law library was one of eight institutions (and nine projects) that are recipients of the ninth set of service grants awarded in a program intended to broaden partner participation in the DLG and engage with diverse institutions across the state of Georgia.
The University of Georgia School of Law is pleased to announce the establishment of the Justice Robert Benham Scholars Program Fund, an endowed fund that will support those who have overcome significant adversity and who have a demonstrated connection with or intent to return to and serve rural or legally underserved communities. This fund – named for retired Georgia Supreme Court Justice Robert Benham who became the law school’s second African-American graduate in 1970 – provides permanent funding for the school’s scholars program named in the jurist’s honor.
Alumnus Joey M. Loudermilk and his wife, Ramona, have established a premier scholarship to honor former Associate Dean Paul M. Kurtz at the University of Georgia School of Law. Distinguished Law Fellowships provide some of the school’s brightest students unparalleled offerings while they earn their law degrees. In addition to financial aid, students receive an educational experience that may include domestic and international externships, guided research experiences as well as opportunities to meet some of the country’s top legal, business and government leaders.