Top left: C. James Carville, Jr. provides emphasis to remarks made during his Commencement address at the LSU Law Center graduation ceremony held on May 28, 2010. Carville is a 1973 graduate of the LSU Law Center. Top right: Joining Chancellor Jack M. Weiss as platform guests for the LSU Law Center Commencement exercises were: L to R: Dr. John Lombardi, President of the LSU System; Anthony Falterman, LSU Board of Supervisors member; Chancellor Weiss; C. James Carville, Jr. (’73), Commencement speaker; James Moore, Jr., Chairman-Elect, LSU Board of Supervisors; and, Justice John L. Weimer, Associate Justice, Louisiana Supreme Court. Bottom: The Order of the Coif ceremonies were held prior to Commencement. Pictured are: First row, l to r: Claire Elizabeth Juneau, Amanda Denise Stephens, Ashley Anne Tufts, Chancellor Jack M. Weiss, Justice John L. Weimer – Honorary Member, Michelle Marie West, Charlotte Megan Youngblood, Carmen Tircuit Hebert. Second row, l to r: Professor Andrea Carroll, Richard James Nelson, Matthew Charles Juneau, Sarah Frances Cable, Elizabeth A. Spurgeon, Frances Minnette Montegut, Irina V. Pergaeva Fox, Professor Randall Trahan Third row, l to r: Larissa Kyle Teipner, Keith Joseph Fernandez, Bruce Warfield Hamilton, Christopher Keith Odinet, Sarah Elizabeth Perkins Not pictured: Ross Michel Raley
The LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center awarded degrees to 183 students today during the 2010 Commencement ceremonies held in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. C. James Carville, Jr., a nationally known political strategist and a 1973 graduate of the LSU Law Center, delivered an inspiring keynote address to the graduates.
Some 175 students received the Juris Doctor/Graduate Diploma in Civil Law (J.D./D.C.L.) degree, while 8 students received the Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree, according to Chancellor Jack M. Weiss. James W. Moore, Jr., Chairman-Elect of the LSU Board of Supervisors, conferred the degrees on behalf of the LSU Board of Supervisors. Dr. John Lombardi, President of the LSU System, also participated in the ceremonies. Additional participants included LSU Board of Supervisors members Dottie Reese and Anthony Falterman.
Four students graduated Summa Cum Laude; eighteen students graduated Magna Cum Laude; and twenty-four students were Cum Laude graduates. Twenty-five students were recognized for exceeding 50 hours of pro bono service to the community.
Chancellor Weiss thanked the class for their unprecedented student engagement during their years at the LSU Law Center. “Your class has made a lasting mark on the Law Center,” he said. “In doing so, you have discovered something far more important about yourselves than we could ever hope to teach you in a classroom. I will call that “something” civic virtue: the power of those who care about their community to improve it through commitment, creativity, and courage. Thanks to the engagement of your class, the vital core of the Law Center remains intact, indeed, more so than ever before, but we are a very different school today than we were three years ago, and one far better attuned to the needs of 21st century law students. You’ve initiated some changes; inspired others; supported and helped to shape the updating of important parts of our law school curriculum and student life…On your watch, students have become active participants in the governance of the school.”
“Certainly we cannot mark this happy occasion without taking note of what is taking place in the Gulf and along the coast of Louisiana only a short distance downriver from where we sit, “ said Chancellor Weiss. “As we celebrate today, there is every indication that our State may suffer its second unspeakable catastrophe in only 5 years…This enormous challenge awaits you as lawyers, but I am confident that you and those who will mentor you, including those who have come before you at LSU Law, are up to meeting it.”
James Carville, one of America’s best-known political consultants, gained national recognition when in 1992 he helped William Jefferson Clinton win the Presidency.
In recalling the many “failures” experienced by President Abraham Lincoln in his life, Carville said, “He could take it, and you can too.” “The real key to success is your willingness to risk, accept and tolerate failure.”
He encouraged the graduates to, “fight hard but also respect the law, and use the law to save us [Louisiana].” “Never will people need the law and justice in Louisiana more than now,” he said, a reference to the oil spill and the crisis facing the Louisiana coast. “Get in the fight…Make it happen…You’re part of a great tradition and a great state,” he concluded.
The Order of the Coif ceremonies were held prior to Commencement. The Order of the Coif is a national honorary law fraternity, and each year the Louisiana chapter elects to membership those students from the highest ten percent of the senior class who are deemed qualified. Justice John L. Weimer, Associate Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, was named an Honorary Member of The Order of the Coif. Justice Weimer is a 1980 graduate of the LSU Law Center.
2010 List of Graduates (PDF)
Commencement Slideshow—Remembering the Class of 2010 (PPS 45mb)
