Ruth Bader Ginsburg Class
William H. Rehnquist Class
Michigan Commencement Ceremony
Saturday, December 14, 2024, 1:00 pm
MSU Wharton Center Pasant Theatre
East Lansing, MI
Florida Commencement Ceremony
Monday, December 16, 2024, 3:00 pm
New Tampa Performing Arts Center Tampa, FL
Michigan Ceremony
Saturday, December 14, 2024
Welcome………………………….….……………………………….…..Thomas Gildner Ceremony Host
Invocation...........................................................................Martha Moore Professor
The National Anthem....................................................Susan E. Anzicek
Student Farewell Remarks.............Phillip Harwood and Autumn Loos
Introductions, Welcome, and Address.........................James McGrath President and Dean
Commencement Address…………….…….…………Michael C. H. McDaniel Brigadier General (Ret.) Professor (Ret.)
Conferring of Degrees……………….…………………….Tonya Krause-Phelan Associate Dean of Academics & Professor
LL.M. Hooding.......................................David Finnegan and Rich Henke Professors
J.D. Hooding……………………………….……David Finnegan and Rich Henke Professors
Closing Remarks.............................................................. James McGrath President and Dean
Florida Ceremony Monday, December 16, 2024
Welcome………………………………………………………………….…Shelby Tavares Ceremony Host
Invocation....................................................................Floris Neville-Ewell Professor
Student Farewell Remarks............Paulina Lopera and Madison Mann
Introductions, Welcome, and Address.…………............James McGrath President and Dean
Commencement Address………..………………………Hon. Nick Nazaretian Thirteenth Judicial Circuit
Conferring of Degrees...........................................Katherine Gustafson Dean
J.D. Hooding…………………………….Christine Church and Renalia DuBose Professors
Closing Remarks...............................................................James McGrath President and Dean
JAMES SOTO MCGRATH, B.A., J.D., M.P.H., LL.M.
President and Dean, Professor of Law
TAMMY ASHER, A.S., B.A., J.D. .....................................................Professor
BRENDAN BEERY, B.A., J.D. ..........................................................Professor
TRACEY BRAME, B.A., J.D. ................................Associate Dean, Professor
BRADLEY CHARLES, B.A., J.D. ......................................................Professor
CHRISTINE CHURCH, B.A., J.D. ....................................................Professor
MARK COONEY, B.A., J.D. ............................................................Professor
MARK DOTSON, B.S., J.D. ……......................................................Professor
RENALIA DuBOSE, B.S., M.P.A., J.D. ...........................................Professor
DAVID FINNEGAN, B.S.F.S., J.D. ……….….....................................Professor
DUSTIN FOSTER, B.A., J.D. …........................................................Professor
KATHY GUSTAFSON, B.S., J.D. .........................Assistant Dean, Professor
JOSELINE J. HARDRICK, B.A., J.D. …………………...........Associate Professor
RICHARD C. HENKE, B.A., J.D. .....................................................Professor
JAMES HICKS, B.A., J.D. ................................................................Professor
BARBARA KALINOWSKI, B.A., J.D. ..............................................Professor
TONYA KRAUSE-PHELAN, A.A., B.S., J.D. ……..Associate Dean, Professor
MATTHEW MARIN, B.A., J.D., LL.M. ...........................Associate Professor
MABLE MARTIN-SCOTT, B.S., J.D. ...............................................Professor
MICHAEL MCDANIEL, B.A., M.A., MSS, J.D. ................................Professor
MIKE MOLITOR, B.A., J.D. ............................................................Professor
MARTHA MOORE, B.A., M.A., J.D. ................................................Professor
FLORISE NEVILLE-EWELL, B.A., J.D. …..........................................Professor
MONICA NUCKOLLS, B.A., J.D. ................................................Professor
DUANE STROJNY, B.A., J.D., M.L.S. ..................Associate Dean, Professor
JEFFREY SWARTZ, B.A., J.D. ..........................................................Professor
AMY TIMMER, B.A., J.D. ...................................Associate Dean, Professor
PATRICK E. TOLAN JR., B.S.E.E., J.D., LL.M. …………………………….Professor
JOAN VESTRAND, B.A., J.D. ………......................Assistant Dean, Professor
Adjunct Faculty
Wafa Adib-Lobo
Mustafa Ameen
Sonya Beverly
Patrick Corbett
Elizabeth Devolder
Steve Dulan
Steve Fantetti
William Fleener
Hon. Richard J. Garcia
Laura Genovich
Robert Heitmeyer
Christi Henke
Emily Horvath
Daniel Houlf
Carolyn Johnson
Sheila Lake
Salvatore Lamendola
Michael A. Leffler
Richard Lovernick
Peggy MacDougall
Colin Maguire
Hon. Daryl Manning
Paul Marineau
Thomas Myers
Hon. Nicholas Nazaretian
John Nicolucci
Hon. Christopher Sabella
John Taylor
Gregory Ulrich
Victor Veschio
James Vlasic
Graham Ward
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Class
Master of Laws Degree
Katrina R. Davis, (Corporate Law & Finance), J.D. Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School, B.A., University of Michigan - Ann Arbor.
Ashley Freeman, (Taxation), J.D. Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School, B.S., Central Michigan University.
Enrique L. Pineiro Rivera (Taxation). J.D Western Michigan University
Thomas M. Cooley Law School, B.B.A, Interamerican University.
John Joseph Savage, (Taxation), J.D. Western Michigan University
Thomas M. Cooley Law School, B.S., John Carroll University.
Jenae N. Stolarzyk, (Homeland National Security), JD, Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School, B.A., University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Juris Doctor Degree
Aaron, Arredondo, B.A., Western Michigan University, M.A., Central Michigan University, United States Marine Corp, Veteran., Dean’s List 2, Honor Roll 2.
Jennifer S. Barrett B.S., B.A., Lake Forest College, Dean's List 2, Honor Roll 1.
Daniel Dale Bigger, B.S., Oakland University, United States Navy, Veteran, Dean's List 7, Honor Roll 8, CUM LAUDE.
Mallory Davis, Debt Relief Clinic, Dean’s List 1.
Camille I Desumma, Honours B.S.S., University of Ottawa, Criminal Law Society, Mock Trial Competition (Intra-school), Moot Court Competition (Intra-School), Organization of Women Law Students, Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, Sports and Entertainment Law Society, Dean’s List 5, Honor Roll 4, CUM LAUDE.
Cooper W. Dickens, B.S., University of Central Florida, Moot Court Board, Sports and Entertainment Law Society, Dean’s List 5, Honor Roll 6.
Maddison T. Gudgel, B.S., University of South Florida, Dean’s List 4.
Cody J. Gueli, B.A., Ohio State University, Federal Bar Association/Student Chapter, Federalist Society, Florida Bar Young Lawyers Law School Division, Dean’s List 5, Honor Roll 2, CUM LAUDE.
Michelle M. Guzman, B.B.A, Pontifical Catholic University, M.S.,
University of Maryland, Cooley Veterans, Debt Relief Clinic, Hispanic Organization of Legal Advocates, Mock Trial Competition (National), Moot Court Competition (Intra-School), Phi Delta Phi Legal Honor Society, Student Bar, United States Air Force, Veteran, Dean’s List 4, Honor Roll 1, Leadership Achievement Award.
Phillip B. Harwood, M.A., B.A., Michigan State University, ARC Dean's Fellow, Christian Legal Society, Estate Planning Clinic, Sixty Plus, Inc., Elderlaw Clinic, Teaching Assistant, Dean’s List 10, Honor Roll 10, MAGNA CUM LAUDE.
Sara Ann Hill, B.A., University of Central Florida, Dean’s List 4.
Aaron P. Hughes, B.A., University of Michigan, Phi Delta Phi Legal Honor Society, Sixty Plus, Inc., Elderlaw Clinic, Dean’s List 11, Honor Roll 12, MAGNA CUM LAUDE.
Luke R. Jacques, B.S., University of Wisconsin, Dean’s List 1.
Ethan Jacob Loch, B.A., Michigan State University, Estate Planning Clinic, Teaching Assistant, Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law Review, Dean’s List 8, Honor Roll 9, SUMMA CUM LAUDE.
Paulina Lopera, B.A., University of South Florida, Hispanic Organization of Legal Advocates, Phi Delta Phi Legal Honor Society.
Teodoro Maldonado Ramirez, B.S., University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, Dean’s List 3.
Shanderia A. Norfus, B.A., Bob Jones University, Cooley Volunteer Corps, Teaching Assistant, Dean’s List 1.
Jeta Qinami, Jurist EU Business Law, Master's Degree and Magistrate Degree, Dean’s List 3.
Tameka A. Smith, B.S., Central Michigan University, Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, Phi Delta Phi Legal Honor Society, Sixty Plus, Inc., Elderlaw Clinic, Dean’s List 3.
Lauren N. Strickland, B.A., Michigan State University, Black Law Students Association, Phi Delta Phi Legal Honor Society, Sixty Plus, Inc., Elderlaw Clinic, Dean’s List 2, Honor Roll 1.
Hope Jane Teachout, Bachelor of Architecture, Illinois Institute of Technology, International Law Society, Organization of Women Law Students, Research Assistant, Sixty Plus, Inc., Elderlaw Clinic, Student Bar Association, Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law Review, Dean’s List 7, Honor Roll 9, Leadership Achievement Award, CUM LAUDE.
Rade V. Trajanoski, B.A., Montclair State University.
William H. Rehnquist Class
Master of Laws Degree
Ryan Garman, (Taxation), B.S., Youngstown State University
Giorgio Ra’Shadd, (Homeland and National Security)
Juris Doctor Degree
Kristin T. Babbie, B.A., Wayne State University, Health Law Society, Mock Trial Competition (Intra-school), Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, Student Bar Association, Dean’s List 3.
Courtney Michelle Holly Bailey, B.S., Michigan State University, Black Law Students Association, Dean’s List 1.
Anthony John Bakker, Bachelor of Music, Belmont University, Moot Court Competition (National), Dean’s List 14, Honor Roll 14, MAGNA CUM LAUDE.
Anna J. Barrios, Bachelor of Arts, University of South Florida, Florida Association of Women Lawyers, Dean’s List 2, Honor Roll 2.
Andrew Gustavo Batchie, B.A., University of South Florida, Cooley Veterans, Military Veterans Law Student Association, Dean’s List 6, Honor Roll 1, CUM LAUDE.
Hannah Benyamin, Honours Bachelor of Arts, University of Toronto, Health Law Society, Mock Trial Competition (Intra-school), Organization of Women Law Students, Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, Student Bar Association, Teaching Assistant, Dean’s List 3.
Charles Bloomfield, B.S., Franciscan University Steubenville, Dean’s List 6, Honor Roll 6, MAGNA CUM LAUDE.
Troy Robert Conti, B.A., University of South Florida, ARC Dean's Fellow, Graduation Marshal, Hispanic Organization of Legal Advocates, Military Veterans Law Student Association, Mock Trial Competition (Intra-school), Moot Court Competition (National), Phi Delta Phi Legal Honor Society, Dean’s List 8, Honor Roll 8, CUM LAUDE.
Haylie Ann Curtiss, B.A. Siena Heights University, ARC Dean's Fellow, Teaching Assistant, Dean’s List 7, Honor Roll 8, CUM LAUDE.
Kristani Dacosta, B.A., Florida Atlantic University, American Constitution Society, Black Law Students Association, Christian Legal Society, Florida Association of Women Lawyers, Hispanic Organization of Legal Advocates, Military Veterans Law Student Association, Mock Trial Competition (Intra-school), Moot Court Competition (Intra-
School), Public Sector Legal Clinic, Research Assistant, Teaching Assistant, Dean’s List 5.
Nicholas Lawrence Davis, B.A. Kalamazoo College, Criminal Law Society, International Law Society, Jessup International Moot Court Competition Team, Mock Trial Board, Mock Trial Competition (Intraschool), Moot Court Competition (Intra-School), Moot Court Competition (National), Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, Student Bar Association, Dean’s List 2, Honor Roll 2.
Michael P. DeSola, B.S., University of South Florida, Dean’s List 1.
Monique L. Esparaza, B.A., Bowling Green State University, Dean’s List 1.
Melissa M. Flores, B.A., University of South Florida, Debt Relief Clinic, Sports and Entertainment Law Society, Student Bar Association, Dean’s List 1.
Catherine Gagnon, B.A., Foreign Trade University, ARC Dean's Fellow, Grade Appeals Magistrate, Dean’s List 9, Honor Roll 10, MAGNA CUM LAUDE.
Collin Michael Glick, B.S., Indiana University Bloomington, Public Sector Legal Clinic, Dean’s List 1.
Jeremy Michael Glogower, B.S., Wayne State University, Sixty Plus, Inc., Elderlaw Clinic, Dean’s List 5, Honor Roll 2.
Keith Woodward Gramling, B.S., University of Florida, Debt Relief Clinic, Teaching Assistant, Dean’s List 6.
Samantha E. Harles, B.A., Florida International University.
Alexander W. Hazard, B.A., Michigan State University, Thomas M. Cooley Law Review, Dean’s List 5, Honor Roll 6, CUM LAUDE.
William E. Hesse, B.S., Florida State University, Dean’s List 1.
Jasmine M. Ivey, B.S., Eastern Michigan University, 10-Core, Black Law Students Association, Cooley Innocence Project, Dean’s List 1.
Shakir H. Khan, B.A., Indiana University Purdue, Estate Planning Clinic, Dean’s List 4, Honor Roll 7, CUM LAUDE.
Safa K. Kudia, B.S., University North Florida, Federalist Society, Florida Association of Women Lawyers, Graduation Marshal, Help Save the Next Girl, Mock Trial Board, Mock Trial Competition (Intra-school), Mock Trial Competition (National), Moot Court Board, Moot Court Competition (Intra-School), Moot Court Competition (National), Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, Phi Delta Phi Legal Honor Society, Pillar, Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Student Association, Sports and Entertainment Law Society, Student Bar Association, Teaching Assistant, Dean’s List 3.
Elijah B. Kunkle, B.A., Michigan State University, Criminal Law Society, Health Law Society, International Law Society, Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, Student Bar Association, Teaching Assistant, Dean’s List 2, Honor Roll 2.
Danielle Rachel Levy, B.A., University Central Florida, ARC Dean's Fellow, Federalist Society, Florida Association of Women Lawyers, Help Save the Next Girl, Mock Trial Competition (Intra-school), Pillar, Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Student Association, Sports and Entertainment Law Society, Student Bar Association, Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law Review, Dean’s List 5, Honor Roll 6, CUM LAUDE.
Carter Patrick Lewis, B.S., Michigan State University, ARC Dean's Fellow, Criminal Law Society, Environmental Law Association, International Law Society, Jessup International Moot Court Competition Team, Mock Trial Competition (Intra-school), Research Assistant, Student Bar Association, Teaching Assistant, Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law Review, Dean’s List 6, Honor Roll 6, Leadership Achievement Award, MAGNA CUM LAUDE.
Sean G. Livingston, B.A., University Central Florida, Mock Trial Competition (Intra-school), Dean’s List 3.
Gabriella Logiudice, B.A., Saint John Fisher College, ARC Dean's Fellow, Federalist Society, Florida Association of Women Lawyers, Moot Court Competition (National), Pillar, Research Assistant, Student Bar Association, Teaching Assistant, Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law Review, Dean’s List 6, Honor Roll 6, CUM LAUDE.
Autumn Rose Loos, B.S., Capella University, Cooley Innocence Project, Criminal Law Society, Organization of Women Law Students, Student Bar Association, Teaching Assistant, Dean’s List 4.
Joshua Ian-Victor Makar, B.A., Oakland University, Criminal Law Society, Dean’s List 3, Honor Roll 1.
Madison G. Mann, B.A., Auburn University American Constitution Society, Sports and Entertainment Law Society, Dean’s List 1.
Mary G. McCabe, B.A., Michigan State University, ARC Dean's Fellow, Environmental Law Society, Moot Court Board, Organization of Women Law Students, Research Assistant, Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law Review, Dean’s List 6, Honor Roll 6. Distinguished Student Award, MAGNA CUM LAUDE.
Meagan McClinchey, B.S., Saint Joseph's College, ARC Dean's Fellow,
Delta Theta Phi Law Fraternity, Mock Trial Board, Mock Trial Competition (Intra-school), Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, Student Bar Association, Dean’s List 5, Honor Roll 6, CUM LAUDE.
Michael Maurice McIntosh, B.S., University Central Florida, Mock Trial Board, Mock Trial Competition (Intra-school), Mock Trial Competition (National), Sports and Entertainment Law Society, Dean’s List 1.
Austin G. Mendes B.A., University South Florida, Sports and Entertainment Law Society, Dean’s List 2.
Kyndal Rae Midkiff, B.S., University North Florida, ARC Dean's Fellow, Debt Relief Clinic, Military Veterans Law Student Association, Mock Trial Board, Mock Trial Competition (Intra-school), Mock Trial Competition (National), Moot Court Board, Moot Court Competition (National), Phi Delta Phi Legal Honor Society, Research Assistant, Teaching Assistant, Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law Review, Dean’s List 8, Honor Roll 8, MAGNA CUM LAUDE.
Sunny Katherine Miller, B.A., Michigan State University, Estate Planning Clinic, Sixty Plus, Inc., Elderlaw Clinic, Tax Law Society, Dean’s List 4.
William W. Munch, B.S., Florida State University, Dean’s List 2.
Jaxon D. Parker, B.A., University South Florida, Federalist Society, Mock Trial Board, Mock Trial Competition (Intra-school), Mock Trial Competition (National), Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Student Association, Student Bar Association, Dean’s List 3, Honor Roll 3, CUM LAUDE.
Allison Rose Peters, B.S., University South Florida, Debt Relief Clinic, Phi Delta Phi Legal Honor Society, Teaching Assistant, Dean’s List 5, Honor Roll 5.
Maria Janay Pierre, B.A., University San Diego, ARC Dean's Fellow, Christian Legal Society, Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, Phi Delta Phi Legal Honor Society, Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law Review, Dean’s List 6, Honor Roll 10, CUM LAUDE.
Samantha Lynn Reid-Goldberg, B.A., Lake Superior State University, Christian Legal Society, Sixty Plus, Inc., Elderlaw Clinic, Dean’s List 3, Honor Roll 2.
Bridget Siobhan Rice, B.A., Northern Illinois University, Student Bar Association, Dean’s List 1.
Carla Christine Rodger, B.A., University South Florida, Dean’s List 2, Honor Roll 1.
Alexandra Steele Rouse, B.A., University of Cincinnati.
Beretta F. Salem, B.S., Wayne State University, ARC Dean's Fellow, Arab
and Chaldean Law Student Association, Christian Legal Society, Cooley Innocence Project, Criminal Law Society, Organization of Women Law Students, Student Bar Association, Teaching Assistant, Dean’s List 5, Honor Roll 3, CUM LAUDE.
Katherine Margaret Sandoval, B.A., SUNY Center At Albany, Florida Association of Women Lawyers, Phi Delta Phi Legal Honor Society, CUM LAUDE, Dean’s List 5, Honor Roll 4.
Marion Nelson Scott, Jr., B.A., Eckerd College, ARC Dean's Fellow, American Constitution Society, Christian Legal Society, Federalist Society, Moot Court Competition (National), Office of Student Assistance, Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Student Association, Teaching Assistant, Dean’s List 3, Honor Roll 2.
Evan M. Sisk, B.S., Ferris State University, ARC Dean's Fellow, Environmental Law Society, Student Bar Association, Teaching Assistant, Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law Review, Dean’s List 6, Honor Roll 6, Distinguished Student Award, Leadership Achievement Award, CUM LAUDE.
Shayla Mattison Smith, B.S., Valdosta State University, Federalist Society, Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Student Association, Dean’s List 4.
Rida Tanweer, B.A., University of Toronto, Delta Theta Phi Law Fraternity, Health Law Society, Student Bar Association, Dean’s List 1.
Krystian A. Villafranca, B.S., Western Governors University.
Chase Walters, B.A., University of Florida.
Kristopher Edmond Wells, B.S., Davenport University, Sixty Plus, Inc., Elderlaw Clinic, Dean’s List 3, Honor Roll 1.
Ceremonial Colors
Cords worn by graduates denote the following:
Board of Directors
MITCHELL S. ZAJAC
Chairperson of the Board of Directors, Butzel Long, Detroit, Michigan
AARON V. BURRELL
Vice Chairperson of the Board of Directors, Dickinson Wright, Detroit, Michigan
HON. LOUISE ALDERSON
54-A District Court (retired), Lansing, Michigan
MUSTAFA AMEEN
The Law Office of Ameen & Shafii, Tampa, Florida
CHRISTINA CORL
Plunkett Cooney, Columbus, Ohio
THOMAS W. CRANMER
Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, PLC, Troy, Michigan
JOHN M. DUNN
President Emeritus of Western Michigan University, Lake Oswego, Oregon
HON. MICHAEL P. HATTY
44th Circuit Court, 53rd District Court (retired), Livingston County, Michigan
HON. JANE E. MARKEY
Michigan Court of Appeals, Grand Rapids, Michigan
KENNETH V. MILLER
Millennium Restaurant Group, LLC, Kalamazoo, Michigan
LAWRENCE P. NOLAN
Nolan Thomsen & Villas PC, Eaton Rapids, Michigan
HON. BART STUPAK
Venable, LLP, Washington, D.C
Cooley Law School Legal Authors Society
Frank Aiello
Virginia P. Allen
Tammy Asher
Anne F. Bachle-Fifer
Frederick M. Baker Jr.
Richard S. Baron
Sherry L. Batzer
Gary Bauer
Brendan Beery
Robert A. Bejesky
Curt Benson
David Berry*
Edwin M. Bladen*
Ron Boglio
Gerald W. Boston*
Tracey Brame
John Brennan
Hon. Thomas E. Brennan*
Ronald J. Bretz
Justin P. Brooks
Mark Burzych
Kathleen Butler
Jeanette Buttrey
Evelyn Calogero
Cheryl Calloway
James Carey
Paul Carrier
Terrence F. Cavanaugh
Charles Cercone
Karen Chadwick
Bradley Charles
Christine Church
Dennis Cichon
Julianne Claydon
Julie Clement
Mark Cody
Marlene Coir
Kimberly A. Colgate
Mark Cooney
Patrick Corbett
John L. Coté*
David G. Cotter
Michael P. Cox
Barbara J. Crozier
Hon. Janice K. Cunningham
Hon. Brent V. Danielson
Randy Diamond
Mary E. Phelan D’Isa
J. Bruce Donaldson*
Mark Dotson
Barry Hart Dubner
Michael Dunn
Eric Eggan
James Eyster
Bruce Familant
Cindy Faulkner
Norman Fell
David Finnegan
Gerald Fisher
Frank M. Fitzgerald*
Hon. John W. Fitzgerald*
William J. Fleener Jr.
Anthony Flores
Randy Foreman
Elizabeth J. Fossel
Donald C. Frank
Judith A. Frank*
William C. Fulkerson
Anthony Gair*
Heather Garretson
Marjorie Gell
Alan Gershel
Elliot B. Glicksman*
David Grande-Cassell
Frederick J. Griffith*
Wesley P. Hackett Jr.
William F. Haggerty
Lisa Halushka
Hon. Michael G. Harrison*
Christopher Hastings
Frederick Headen
Teresa M. Hendricks
Richard Henke
Keith J. Hey
James M. Hicks Jr.
Marion Hilligan*
Aletha Honsowitz
Emily Horvath
Hon. Peter D. Houk
Theodore E. Hughes L.
Kent Hull
Peter D. Jason*
John S. Kane
Eileen Kavanagh
Peter M. Kempel*
Mark S. Kende
Mara Kent
R. Joseph Kimble
Linda K. Kisabeth
Dorean M. Koenig*
Tonya Krause-Phelan
Lewis Langham
Joni Larson
Paula R. Latovick
Stuart Lazar
Don LeDuc
Helen Levenson
Ashley Lowe
Gerald G. MacDonald
Paul Marineau
Dena Marks
John Marks
Susan K. Marshall*
Mable Martin-Scott
Hon. Jeffrey Martlew
Daniel Matthews
Robert E. McCarthy
Michael McDaniel
Al McDonald
Timothy K. McMorrow
Dan L. McNeal
Mark McWilliams
Helen Pratt Mickens
Hon. James E. Mies*
Nelson Miller
Peggy L. Miller
Marla Mitchell-Cichon
Michael Molitor
Joe Mollahan
Martha Moore
Lawrence W. Morgan
Janet W. Muller
Maurice E.R. Munroe
Michael Murray
Sharon Nantell
Monica Navarro
Roger A. Needham*
Torsten Nilson
Monica Nuckolls
John R. Nussbaumer
Kimberly E. O’Leary
Charles A. Palmer
Nora J. Pasman-Green
James M. Peden
Candace Elliott Person
Ernest A. Phillips
MaryAnn Pierce
Norman E. Plate
Barry Price
Philip J. Prygoski*
William R. Ralls
Daniel Ray
Eric Richards
Hon. Dorothy Comstock
Riley*
John P. Rooney*
Lauren Rousseau
Larry S. Royster
Marjorie P. Russell
Hon. Daniel Ryan
Marianne E. Samper
*deceased
Devin Schindler
John N. Scott
Kevin Scott
Charles J. Senger
Chris Shafer
Dan Sheaffer
Stephen M. Sheppard
Jane Siegel
Brent Simmons
Paul Sorensen
G. Michael Stakias
Robert W. Stocker II
N.O. Stockmeyer
Duane Strojny
Roberta Studwell
Michael V. Sucaet
Stevie Swanson
Kathy Swedlow
John Taylor
John Thompson Jr.*
Martin Tieber
Amy Timmer
Gina Torielli
Charles Toy
Ronald J. Trosty
Christopher Trudeau
Gerald Tschura
Donald P. Ubell
Joan Vestrand
James J. Vlasic
Victoria Vuletich
William Wagner
Hon. Cynthia Ward
William P. Weiner
F. Georgann Wing
Charles B. Wolfe
Nancy Wonch
M. Ann Wood
John A. Yeager
Cooley Law School Class Namesake
U.S Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg March 15, 1933 – September 18, 2020
Today’s graduating class is named in honor of the United States’ Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (affectionately called the Notorious RBG by her social media fans) was born Joan Ruth Bader on March 15, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York. She was the second child of Eugene Nathan Bader, who made his living as a merchant, and Celia Amster Bader, who worked in a garment factory and served as a crucial influence on Ruth’s life. Sadly, her mother, died of cancer the day before Ruth graduated from James Madison High School. Ruth’s older sister, Marilyn, died early in childhood, so essentially Ruth was raised as an only child.
After high school, Ruth attended Cornell University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in government graduating in 1954 Phi Beta Kappa, and first in her class. That same year she married law student Martin D. Ginsburg who was attending Harvard Law School. However, shortly after their marriage, Martin was drafted into the military and the couple moved to Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma, where their first child, Jane Carol, was born. After Martin was discharged from the military the couple returned to Harvard Law School, where Ruth also enrolled.
Ruth spent two years at Harvard, where she faced a very male dominated, hostile environment, with only eight other women in a class of several hundred. Later in life, Ginsburg recalled that the law school dean, Erwin Griswold, chided the women for taking the places of qualified males. Nonetheless, Ginsburg persevered, excelled academically and became the first female member of the prestigious
Harvard Law Review. But then another crisis struck: her husband was diagnosed with testicular cancer, requiring surgery and radiation treatment. Ginsburg shouldered the responsibility of caring for both her young daughter and her ailing husband, attending his classes and taking notes for him during his convalescence. After he recovered, Martin graduated from law school, and accepted a position at a New York law firm, necessitating Ruth’s transfer to Columbia Law School for her final year of law school. At Columbia she served on the Columbia Law Review and tied for first place in her graduating class.
Due to her academic excellence, she won a two- year clerkship with U.S. District Judge Edmund L. Palmieri (1959-1961). She then accepted a research position at Columbia that took her to Sweden, where she studied civil procedure. From 1963-1972 she taught at Rutgers University Law School and from 1972-1980, she taught at Columbia, where she became the school’s first female tenured professor. During the 1970’s she also worked for the ACLU and eventually became Director of it’s newly established Women’s Rights Project. In this role, she argued 6 cases before the Supreme Court, winning five of them, leading the Court to require heightened scrutiny of legal classifications based on sex.
Ginsburg was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia by President Carter in 1980. She served there until 1983 when President Clinton appointed her to the U.S. Supreme Court to fill the seat vacated by Justice Byron White. It was President Clinton’s hope that Ginsburg, with her considerable political skills and intellectual abilities, would serve as a bulwark against the conservative members of the court. And, in fact, Clinton’s gambit seems to have worked as Ginsburg was well respected by the conservative justices and she became good friends with Justice
Scalia, who was perhaps the most conservative member of the court.
On the court, Ginsburg proved to be a liberal leaning justice who supported the separation of church and state, civil rights, and the right to abortion, and she dissented from the series of states’ rights opinions issued during the 1990’s. In 1996 she authored the landmark decision in United States v. Virginia, striking down state policies that exclude individuals from state universities based on their sex holding that such gender discrimination violates the Equal Protection Clause. She is also well known for the strong dissent she issued in Bush v Gore, wherein the Supreme Court essentially awarded the 2000 Presidential election to George Bush.
On September 18, 2020, 87-year-old Justice Ginsburg died, at her home in Washington, D.C, from complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer. “Our nation has lost a jurist of historic stature,” Chief Justice Roberts said. “We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her-a tireless and resolute champion of justice.”
Cooley Law School Class Namesake
U.S Supreme Court Justice William Hubbs Rehnquist October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005
Today’s graduating class is named in honor of the United States’ Supreme Court Chief Justice William Hubbs Rehnquist.
Justice William Hubbs Rehnquist was born on October 1, 1924, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His mother was Margery Peck Rehnquist and his father was William B. Rehnquist, a wholesale paper salesman. Rehnquist grew up in a conservative Republican family and graduated from high school in Shorewood, Wisconsin. He attended Kenyon College in Ohio for a year before joining the Army Air Corp in 1943 and serving for the next three years as a weather observer in North Africa.
After World War II, with the help of the GI Bill and by working a steady stream of part jobs, Rehnquist attended Stanford University where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in political science. He then earned a Master’s degree in government from Harvard before returning to Stanford where in earned his law degree graduating first in his class in 1952.
Upon completion of law school Rehnquist clerked for Justice Robert H. Jackson. In 1952 he wrote a memorandum for Justice Jackson as the Court was considering Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the case that held racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. In his memorandum, Rehnquist argued that Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), which upheld segregation under the doctrine of “separate but equal” was rightly decided and should be followed in Brown.
In 1953 Rehnquist married Natalie Cornell. This marriage lasted for 38 years until Natalie’s death in 1991 and the couple was blessed
with three children: James, Janet and Nancy. The couple moved to Phoenix, AZ., where Rehnquist practiced law until 1969. During this period he became active in the Republican party and campaigned for Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential election. In 1969, he was appointed by Richard Nixon to serve as deputy attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel of the Justice Department.
In October 1971, upon the retirement of Justice John Marshall Harlan, Nixon nominated Rehnquist to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court. Given Rehnquist’s conservative views he was a logical choice for Nixon, who saw the appointment as way to curtail the influence of liberal jurisprudence on the court. Although the nomination met stiff resistance in the Senate, he was eventually confirmed by a vote of 68-26 on December 10, 1971.
In his early years on the Court, he often found himself as the only justice who supported the conservative viewpoint. For example, he was the only Nixon appointee who dissented from the Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade (1973), recognizing a constitutional right to abortion. In 1986 when Chief Justice Burger retired, Rehnquist was appointed Chief Justice. As Chief Justice he led a revival of states’ rights infusing new life into the principle that the Court has a duty to limit the power of Congress and the federal government. He made the Court into a reliable supporter of law enforcement and of the death penalty. He also led the Court toward greater support for public aid to religious schools and restrictions on the use of affirmative action. In 1997 Rehnquist wrote for the Court in two decisions rejecting a constitutional “right to die.” This sensitive matter should be decided by the states, he said in Washington v. Glucksberg and Vacco v. Quill.
While serving as Chief Justice he wrote three popular books,
including “The Notion of a Living Constitution” (1976) detailing his theory of judicial restraint and deference to legislative majorities.
After thirty-three years of service to the Supreme Court, Rehnquist fell ill in 2005. He refused to retire even after his diagnosis of thyroid cancer and remained Chief Justice until his death on September 3, 2005.
Questions about the commencement ceremony can be directed to the Administration, Enrollment, and Student Services Division at ess@cooley.edu or (517) 371-5140, ext. 2843.
