Trailblazing Dean To Speak at MLK Celebration

Blake D. Morant ’78 (Col ’75), the first Black person to serve as dean at the George Washington University and Wake Forest University law schools, will speak at the University of Virginia School of Law as part of UVA’s Community MLK Celebration on Jan. 25.

The talk, sponsored by the school’s Center for the Study of Race and Law and the Black Law Students Association, will be held at 1 p.m. in Caplin Pavilion.

Morant is the Robert Kramer Research Professor of Law at GWU and served as dean of its law school from 2014-19. He was dean at Wake Forest Law from 2007-14.

Morant has published extensively in the areas of contract theory, media law and administrative law. He was president of the Association of American Law Schools in 2015.

Morant was named the John R. Kramer Outstanding Law Dean by Equal Justice Works and was recognized three times by National Jurist magazine as one of the most influential people in legal education. He was twice named professor of the year by the Women Law Students Organization at Washington and Lee University, and received five awards for outstanding teaching at the University of Toledo College of Law. Morant received BLSA’s A. Donald McEachin Spotlight Award at the group’s spring gala on March 18.

Prior to becoming a scholar, he served in the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps; as a senior associate with a Washington, D.C., law firm; and as an assistant general counsel for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

At the event, Dean Risa Goluboff will present the Gregory H. Swanson Award, named in honor of the first Black student at UVA and at the Law School. The award recognizes students who demonstrate courage, perseverance and a commitment to justice within the community.

The event is open to the public, and lunch will be provided starting at 12:45 p.m. Parking will be available in the D2 and D3 lots surrounding the school.