University of the Virgin Islands President David Hall was
awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree at New England Law |
Boston's 99th Commencement on May 28, 2010. The ceremony at the
Citi Performing Arts Center celebrated the graduation of 292 juris
doctor recipients.
Kathleen Pfeifer Spurling, a member of the New England Law Board of
Trustees, introduced President Hall before the honorary degree was
conferred.
"I am pleased to introduce David Hall, President of the University
of the Virgin Islands and the Distinguished University Professor of
Spirituality and Professionalism," Ms. Spurling said in her
introduction. "We are pleased to bestow an honorary degree on this
renowned legal scholar and educational administrator."
A preeminent scholar in the field of law, Dr. Hall is a former dean
of Northeastern University School of Law and was the first African
American to hold that position. He later was appointed provost and
senior vice president for academic affairs at Northeastern, where
he oversaw significant growth in the university's external research
funding, retention rate, and overall academic standing. He was
instrumental in establishing Northeastern's Urban Law and Public
Policy Institute, which brought together community activists,
government officials, and academicians.
Dr. Hall holds both a doctorate of juridical science and an LL.M.
degree from Harvard Law School and received his juris doctorate
from the University of Oklahoma, where he also earned a master's
degree in human relations. His tenure as the fifth president of the
University of the Virgin Islands began on August 1, 2009.
Other honorary degree recipients were Chief Justice John T.
Broderick, Jr., of the New Hampshire Supreme Court (doctor of
laws), who delivered the Commencement address; Frances Chiplovitz
Katz '37 (doctor of laws); David J. Sargent, president, Suffolk
University (doctor of laws); Dr. John Silber, president emeritus,
university professor, and professor of philosophy and law, Boston
University (doctor of humanities); and Rev. Dr. Nancy S. Taylor,
senior minister and CEO, Old South Church, Boston (doctor of
humanities).
New England Law | Boston was founded in 1908 as Portia Law School,
the nation's only law school devoted exclusively to the legal
education of women. Coeducational since 1938, the law school is
accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the
Association of American Law Schools.
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