Original FAMU Law graduates to receive Distinguished Alumni designation

The FAMU College of Law will bestow the designation of Distinguished Alumnus/a to all graduates of the original College of Law during Homecoming Week 2013, at the Inaugural Distinguished Alumni Banquet this evening, Thursday, October 17, 2013, in the School of Architecture Atrium.  The event will kick-off an historic College of Law reunion, honoring the 57 men and women who were members of the graduating classes from 1954 through 1968.

College of Law officials began planning the reunion at the request of Iving L. Mills, Jr., a member of the Class of 1966, who also serves as chair of the Inaugural Banquet.  The speaker line-up for the banquet program will feature President Robinson, and graduates of the original law school, including Florida Senator Arthenia Joyner, Class of 1968, who will officiate the program.

"At a time and place where the climate of advanced education for African-Americans was extremely volatile, the graduates of the original FAMU College of Law became true catalysts for change," said College of Law Dean LeRoy Pernell.  "Honoring all 57 graduates as our Inaugural Distinguished Alumni is a fitting distinction for the legacy of their contributions."

While the Banquet will be a crowning event for the weekend, the reunion will allow surviving members of the 13 graduating classes to reflect on their years spent attending the law school in Tallahassee, and to acknowledge their individual accomplishments in the legal, educational, political and business arenas.  The original College of Law was closed by the State of Florida in 1968 after the Board of Control withdrew permission to admit law students two years prior.

Along the road to re-establish the College of Law, many of the original graduates attended various events in support of the efforts, including the Bill Signing Ceremony in Foster-Tanner Band Rehearsal Hall in 2000, and the Public Opening of the Permanent Campus in Orlando in 2006.

Additional reunion events include testimonial videotaping of original graduates on Thursday; a tour of the FAMU campus on Friday, with a special photo scheduled on the steps of the former law school; and reserved seating for the FAMU vs. Howard University football game on Saturday.  The College of Law original alumni will also attend the President’s Gala, a signature event of Homecoming Week.

After recognizing the graduates of the original College of Law in Tallahassee, the law school will begin honoring select graduates of the re-established College of Law during an annual event in Orlando.