RALEIGH, North Carolina — Campbell Law School conferred 102 Juris Doctor degrees at its 38th annual hooding and graduation ceremony on Friday at Meymandi Concert Hall at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts. Supreme Court of North Carolina Chief Justice Mark Martin delivered the commencement address.
The Class of 2016 is comprised of 101 graduates, while the law school also awarded one degree to an August 2015 graduate. Thirty-nine different undergraduate institutions were represented in the commencement exercise.
“As you begin your private careers, I charge you to also realize the tremendous influence you have, both as a lawyer and a Campbell lawyer, and throw yourselves into the public life of our state and nation,” said Campbell Law Dean J. Rich Leonard. “We face vexing problems that cannot be resolved by obscene amounts of money and partisan sound bites.”
“Law is the bedrock of our government for the people and by the people,” said Chief Justice Martin. “You recognize that the law has an established meaning that is independent of one person’s normative views.
“We live in tumultuous times. As lawyers, you can help renew our society’s commitment to renew the American compact we all share. A compact based not on race or creed but on civil idealism. The study and practice of law promotes many of those ideals.”
The law school took advantage of the ceremony to formally bid adieu to professors Margaret Currin and Bryan Boyd. Professor Currin is retiring from full-time teaching following graduation, while Professor Boyd has been named the next clerk of court for the Supreme Court of North Carolina effective June 1.
The ceremony also marked the first with the law school for new Campbell University President J. Bradley Creed.