Fort Worth Business Press - Texas Wesleyan School of Law - Texas ...

Dean Frederic White and Neil Sobol, associate professor of law and director of the LARW program, stand with the five graduates selected by the
faculty for inclusion in the National Order of Scribes. — Photo by Sarge Hill
Thomas E. Perez
addresses class of 2012
Texas Wesleyan School of Law’s May
hooding ceremony was held on Saturday,
May 12, 2012, at the Fort Worth
Convention Center in downtown.
After an invocation by Dr. Robert Kenji
Flowers, chaplain of Texas Wesleyan
University, Dean Frederic White offered
opening remarks. Michael Green, then
associate dean for faculty research
and development and professor of law,
presented Meg Penrose, professor of
law, and Timothy Mulvaney, associate
professor of law, with the Frederic White
Faculty Scholarship Award. The award
acknowledges the commitment and
contribution to legal scholarship by one
tenured faculty member and one tenuretrack
faculty member.
Rosalind Jeffers, assistant dean for
student affairs and director of the Equal
Justice Program, presented Marissa
Warms with the Equal Justice Award,
which recognized the more than 1,100
hours of pro bono legal service she
performed at the Dallas County district
attorney’s office as the president of the
Wesleyan Innocence Project.
Eleven students earned certificates
in addition to the J.D degree. These
distinctions indicate that students
have completed rigorous curricular
requirements with outstanding grades
and have attained significant expertise
and experience in the relevant areas
of law. Aric Short, associate dean for
academic affairs and professor of law,
acknowledged John Chay for a certificate
in business law; Jessica DeWitt for a
certificate in family law; Matthew Richwine,
Daniel Ippolito, Corey Kellam, Jordan
Veurink and Ross Tew for certificates in
estate planning; and Adam Villanueva,
Elizabeth Wilhelm, Edward McDonald
and Hope Catterton with certificates in
intellectual property.
Neil Sobol, associate professor of law and
director of the legal analysis, research,
and writing program, announced the
students whom the faculty selected for
inclusion in the National Order of Scribes,
which recognizes excellence in legal
writing: Charles Hill, Emily Schneider,
Jesse Snyder, Scott Thompson and
Teal White.
Rick Walker received the MacLean &
Boulware Endowed Scholarship. For
this award, the faculty selected the
graduate who demonstrated high moral
character during his or her law school
career and exhibits the potential and
desire to become a successful, ethically
conscious attorney.
Chay, chosen by his classmates to be the
class speaker, reminded the graduates of
all the hard work they’ve put in while in
law school.
“If there’s anything we’ve learned at
Wesleyan, it’s to work hard. And it’s that
mindset that will carry us through life.”
Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney
general, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil
Rights Division, was the keynote speaker.
Perez challenged the graduates to do four
things: continue to learn and search for
knowledge; have the courage to stand up
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for what’s right, even if it is not popular;
use their knowledge to give back to the
community; and treat others with respect.
“As a child of immigrants, my parents
always said to me, ‘Aim high. Give back
and make sure the ladder is down for
others,’” Perez said.
“I chose a career in public service
because I believe that’s one of the best
ways to give back.”
Perez asked the graduates to embrace
diversity and public service.
“I will tell you − as the sign says outside
the law school − opportunity awaits. But
it only awaits if you enter with an open
mind, if you enter with a stick-to-itiveness,
and if you enter with a desire for a
better future.”
Marta Miller ’06, assistant director of the
Academic Support program, presented
Gregory John Wilder II ’11 with the Daniel
Denton Award. The award is named after
Daniel Denton ’10, a Texas Wesleyan
graduate who scored the highest in the
state on the February 2011 bar exam.
Wilder received the award for scoring the
highest out of other Texas Wesleyan test
takers on the February 2012 bar exam.
A total of 174 students participated in
the ceremony. Short presented each
graduate with a purple academic hood,
the color of which represents a discipline
in law. Degrees were presented by
White and conferred by Texas Wesleyan
University President Frederick G. Slabach
and Kenneth H. Jones, Jr., chairman of
the Texas Wesleyan University Board
of Trustees.