The 38th annual banquet of the UW Law School’s Legal Education Opportunities program on April 14, 2007, included a surprise award to Emeritus Professor Bill Whitford, recognizing his years of service and dedication to the Law School's nationally recognized program for recruiting and supporting students of color.
Co-chairs of the scholarship-granting LEO Enrichment Fund, Cory Nettles ‘96 and Eric Jackson ‘93, announced that scholarships provided by the fund will be called Whitford-LEO Fellowships. Alumni, faculty, and other friends of the Law School contribute to the fund, which is increasingly important in providing financial aid for LEO students.
Whitford served as the chair of the LEO Committee from 1992-2002, as the first secretary of the Friends of LEO, and the administrator of the LEO Enrichment Fund for its first five years.
In addition to the award, Whitford was presented a booklet containing words of appreciation from LEO alumni.
The annual LEO Banquet gathers past, present and prospective students to reconnect and to celebrate diversity initiatives at the Law School. More than 400 people attended this year’s banquet, which was organized by the Latino/a Law Student Association.
Keynote speaker was LEO alumnus Judge Hiram E. Puig-Lugo ‘88 of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Before joining the Superior Court in 1999, Judge Puig-Lugo served as a trial attorney for the United States Department of Justice and a public defender in Washington, D.C. In 1996 he received the D.C. Courts Hispanic Heritage Celebration Committee Legal Community Award for his service to the Latino community, and in 1998, he received a special recognition award from the Department of Justice for prosecuting inmate abuse in a Puerto Rican prison facility.
Submitted by on April 16, 2007
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