RALEIGH, N.C. – Campbell Law School conferred 148 Juris Doctor degrees at its 37th annual hooding and graduation ceremony on Friday, May 8 at Meymandi Concert Hall at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts. North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, a 1981 Campbell Law graduate, delivered the commencement address.
View the graduation photo gallery on the Campbell Law School Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/campbelllawschool.
The Class of 2015 is comprised of 139 graduates, while the law school also awarded degrees to four August 2014 graduates and five December 2014 graduates. Forty-six different undergraduate institutions were represented in the commencement exercise.
“From this point forward your life is no longer a series of short sprints measured by semesters, exams, holidays, and summer breaks,” said Campbell Law Dean J. Rich Leonard. “From this point forward it is a marathon. There will be hills and there will be valleys. The trick is to recognize and respond to the different terrains as you come to them, so that at the end you look back with satisfaction and say ‘that was a life well lived.’”
“I really believe the best is yet to be for you and for the practice of law,” said Campbell University President Dr. Jerry M. Wallace. “I know it’s difficult, but in difficult times opportunities come. Know that we are very proud of you. Know that this old Baptist preacher president will remember you in my prayers every day of my life.”
In her commencement address Secretary Marshall reflected on her time as a Campbell Law student, and challenged the graduates to fill a leadership void present in many of today’s communities.
“We cannot thrive and flourish as a society where people disapprove of the pillars of society,” said Secretary Marshall. “Our society needs more energy and support for its basic foundations in order to stay strong. So I will ask you as young adults trained in the art of persuasion to always look for ways to get more societal buy-in from your fellow millennials.”
Professors Pat Hetrick and Dr. Stanley McQuade, who are entering retirement with the completion of the academic year, were honored for their service to the law school. Hetrick served as dean of the law school from 1987-98, and both have taught each graduating class to date.
The ceremony also marked the final law school graduation for Dr. Wallace, who will step down as university president on June 30.
ABOUT CAMPBELL LAW:
Since its founding in 1976, Campbell Law School has developed lawyers who possess moral conviction, social compassion and professional competence, and who view the law as a calling to serve others. The school has been recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) as having the nation’s top Professionalism Program and by the American Academy of Trial Lawyers for having the nation’s best Trial Advocacy Program. Campbell Law boasts more than 3,650 alumni, including more than 2,500 who reside and work in North Carolina. In September 2009, Campbell Law relocated to a state-of-the-art building in downtown Raleigh. For more information, visit http://law.campbell.edu.
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