Class 32 is Classic!
and Nominating Committee Chairs (and the members of the Circuit Councils and Nominating Committees) for their tireless efforts and commitment to this process. The Regents and Committee Chairs presented an exceptional list of candidates for consideration. The Regents are: Michael Goldberg (1st), James Bromley (2nd), Natalie Ramsey (3rd), Douglas Foley (4th), Lisa Futrell (5th). Michael Coury (6th), Jamie Sprayregen (7th), Michael Stewart (8th), Jennifer Hagle (9th), Kenneth Cannon (10th) and Patricia Redmond (11th). Our Regents-at-Large are Professor Ingrid Hillinger, Judge Jeffery Hopkins and Cynthia Nelson. The Chairs of the Judicial and International Nominating Committees are Michael Baxter and Steven Kargman, respectively.
My thanks, as well, to the many other Fellows who participated as nominators, sponsors and supporting letter writers. Each of you should take pride in the knowledge that you contributed to perpetuating the highest ideals of the College by ensuring we admit Fellows worthy of our lofty standards. It has been an honor and pleasure to help guide this process and I look forward to building Class 33. I certainly hope you are planning to attend the Induction Weekend in March, 2021 (I hope that we will be there in person) where you will have the opportunity to welcome our new Fellows personally.
President's Message
people of color. And as previously announced by Paul Harner and Judge Bostwick, the Foundation’s 2020 Michael L. Cook Extraordinary Grant was awarded to the QLaw Foundation of Washington, which focuses on the special needs of the gay, lesbian, and transgender communities. Are there other ways our funds can be focused on addressing these societal issues? Should we be broadening the scope of grants by the Foundation beyond pro bono legal service programs to do so?
The College plays a significant role in influencing the perception of our profession. Diversity should be considered in how we record history through the Archives, how we chronicle our activities in newsletters, the website and public forums, and how we shape the future through the legislation we support. Are the images we project and the values we reflect, both within and outside our organization, ones that are consistent with this objective?
These are not easy questions, and we have decided to appoint a Diversity Committee charged with answering them, and others that our Fellows raise. We are in the process of forming that committee now and would welcome volunteers who would like to be a part of those efforts in any capacity. We want to listen to our Fellows’ ideas and put them into action.
Whether attributed to Voltaire, Churchill or Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben, it is a truism that, “With great power comes great responsibility.” We at the College have the power to make a difference. Diversity is not an issue for a moment, but a mindfulness that should be ingrained in everything we do, now and in the future. Thank you all for being a part of this mindfulness.
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