UVI President David Hall recently received an honorary doctor of laws degree at New England Law’s 99th commencement ceremony, according to a UVI release.
The May 28 ceremony at the Citi Performing Arts Center in Boston celebrated the graduation of 292 juris doctor recipients.
Kathleen Pfeifer Spurling, a member of the New England Law Board of Trustees, introduced Hall, “We are pleased to bestow an honorary degree on this renowned legal scholar and educational administrator.”
A preeminent scholar in the field of law, Hall is a former dean of Northeastern University School of Law and was the first black 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.
According to the release, he was also instrumental in establishing Northeastern’s Urban Law and Public Policy Institute, which brought together community activists, government officials, and academics.
Hall holds both a doctorate of juridical science and a master of laws 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.
New England Law 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.
