OXFORD, Miss. –
Officials and alumni of the University of Mississippi School of Law
have created a Law Alumni Hall of Fame, with the inaugural induction to
be scheduled in fall 2009. Nominations for the first group of honorees
should be submitted by July 1, 2009.
“The Hall of Fame grew out
of a need to recognize outstanding alumni of the law school who have,
through their professional achievements, brought honor to the law
school,” said Al Povall, outgoing president of the UM Law Alumni
Chapter.
“Of course the general Alumni Association already has an Alumni Hall of Fame, but because the practice of law is unique, determining what constitutes outstanding achievement in the legal profession is difficult, if not impossible, for laymen.”
Bylaws for the newly established honor, approved last summer, provide for up to five selections each year, with no more than two of those selections being deceased members. Anyone can submit a nomination.
The only requirement is that the nominee is a graduate of the UM law school; however, graduates cannot be nominated if they are politicians or judges who are elected or appointed and currently holding office, current law school faculty and staff, university employees who were employed during the fiscal year the nominations are submitted, and current Alumni Association and Law Alumni Chapter officers.
The Hall of Fame is an appropriate way to honor law graduates who are outstanding in their profession, said Tim Walsh, executive director of Alumni Affairs.
“We have many distinguished and respected graduates of our law school,” he said. “This new Hall of Fame gives us an opportunity to honor their success and their positive reflection not only on the law school but the university as a whole.”
Walsh said the bylaws call for establishing a Hall of Fame selection committee, which will be initially appointed by the outgoing president of the Law Alumni Chapter. The committee is to be composed of one law alumna or alumnus from each of the three state Supreme Court districts.
Nominations should be submitted in writing to the chair of the selection committee, a position to be filled initially by Povall as the outgoing president. Each nomination should include the nominee’s name and address, reasons and supporting information for the nomination, and ways the nominee has brought honor to the law school. Nominations should be submitted by July 1 each year.
Those selected for the honor are to be recognized during the annual Law Alumni Weekend, held on campus each spring. Povall said the Hall of Fame is an excellent means through which those in the legal profession can recognize the accomplishments of their peers.
“The Law Alumni Chapter decided that we needed a means through which those in the best position to evaluate achievement and accomplishment within the legal profession – lawyers – could begin to recognize on a regular basis the great lawyers that the School of Law has produced,” he said. “To that end, we created the Law Alumni Hall of Fame.”