Chief justice to be recognized with WSU Law Distinguished Alumni Award

Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Marilyn Kelly, a 1971 Wayne State University Law School alumna, will be recognized as a 2010 WSU Distinguished Alumni Award recipient at Wayne Law's annual Commencement Ceremony on Monday, May 17. Kelly will be presented with the award at the WSU Alumni Association Spring Awards Gala on Tuesday, May 4. "We are proud to call Chief Justice Kelly an alumna of Wayne State University and its Law School," said WSU President Jay Noren. "Through her distinguished career, she has touched the lives of so many at this institution, in the state of Michigan and beyond. We are grateful for her continued commitment to and involvement with Wayne State University." Wayne Law previously announced that Legal Adviser to the United States Department of State and former Yale Law School Dean Harold Hongju Koh will serve as keynote speaker at the ceremony. "We look forward to celebrating the accomplishments and successes of our graduates at our 2010 Commencement Ceremony," said Wayne Law Dean Robert M. Ackerman. "We are honored that Chief Justice Kelly and Dean Koh will be a part of this important day. They are prominent examples of lawyers who have made the most of their law degrees, and they will surely inspire and motivate our students, graduates and guests at the ceremony." The Law School Commencement Ceremony will begin at 5 p.m. at Orchestra Hall in Detroit. Admission is by ticket only. For more information, contact the Law School's Dean of Students Office at (313) 577-3997 or at lawdso@wayne.edu. Kelly has served both the community and the state by contributing numerous professional, personal and civic achievements. Before taking the bench, Kelly was a courtroom attorney for 17 years in Michigan. In 1988, she was elected to the Michigan Court of Appeals for a six-year term and re-elected in 1994. She was elected to the Michigan Supreme Court for an eight-year term in 1996, and re-elected in 2004 for an eight-year term, which expires January 1, 2013. Kelly has been active in many national, state and local bar organizations and is a Fellow of the Michigan State Bar Foundation, which provides grants for civil legal aid to the poor and to improve the administration of justice in Michigan. Chief Justice Kelly is a past president of the Women's Bar Association and the Women Lawyers' Association of Michigan, she co-chaired the State Bar of Michigan's Open Justice Commission and she is a past president and board member of the National Consortium for Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts. Kelly was named one of Michigan's 95 most powerful women by Corp! magazine. In June 2003, she received the Eleanor Roosevelt Humanities Award from the State of Israel Bonds Attorney Division. Last year, she received the Guardian of Justice Award from the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in recognition of her outstanding commitment and dedication to upholding civil rights. She serves on Wayne Law's Board of Visitors executive committee and was the Lifetime Achievement Award recipient at the Law School's 2009 Treasure of Detroit Gala. Published: Mon, May 3, 2010

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