Law Commencement Slated, Pa. Justice Max Baer to Deliver Address

The School of Law will honor the class of 2019 during its annual commencement ceremony Friday, May 24.

Dr. David Dausey, provost and vice president for academic affairs, will confer Juris Doctor degrees on 109 graduates and a Master of Law degree on one graduate at 11 a.m. at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Max Baer, a 1975 graduate of the law school, will deliver the commencement address.

“We are most delighted that Justice Max Baer is our commencement speaker,” said Dean Maureen Lally-Green. “It is certainly my personal privilege and the law school’s privilege to welcome Justice Baer here for graduation.”

Associate Law Professor Steven Baicker-McKee, associate dean of teaching excellence and strategic initiatives, will open the ceremony and welcome the graduates and guests. Lally-Green will make some remarks, and graduate Michele Mellick will speak on behalf of the class of 2019.

Baer was elected a member of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2003 after serving on the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County. Baer is the former chair of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Domestic Relations Procedural Rules Committee and is an ex officio representative to the Juvenile Court Judges Commission. He is currently leading far-reaching reforms to Pennsylvania’s courts and the child welfare system’s efforts to assist abused and neglected children.

Named the 1997 Adoption Advocate of the Year for Pennsylvania, Baer’s work to help children and families also has been recognized with the federal Department of Health and Human Services’ Adoption Excellence Award for Judicial Innovation; the JNL Club’s Humanitarian Award for Community Involvement; and the Robert S. Steward Award for Distinguished Service to Pennsylvania Families, among others.

A 9 a.m. Mass will be held in Room 406 of the Convention Center prior to commencement.