W&L Bestows Honorary Degree Upon Law Alumna Pamela White
Washington and Lee University awarded an honorary doctor of law degree to the Honorable Pamela J. White, a 1977 graduate of the University’s School of Law and an associate judge of the Baltimore City Circuit Court for the 8th Judicial Circuit.
White received the honor during the University’s undergraduate commencement exercises on Thursday, May 23.
In honoring White, the University paid tribute to her as a “talented and tenacious advocate” who, as an attorney in Baltimore for 30 years, handled “countless cases that dealt with employment controversies that arise in a complex economy.”
The degree citation also noted White’s volunteer work on behalf of Washington and Lee and also for her undergraduate alma mater, the University of Mary Washington. She serves as rector of the Mary Washington Board of Visitors. From 1995 to 2004, she was the first Washington and Lee alumna to serve on the University’s Board of Trustees, having previously served on the Law Council and the board of directors of the Alumni Association.
The citation continued: “In all these capacities, you have been an advocate for access, diversity, integrity and quality in higher education. By your own example, you have shown how a lifelong commitment to learning can foster professional success and civic responsibility.”
• Citation for Pamela J. White (pdf)
White received her bachelor’s degree from Mary Washington in 1974 and her juris doctorate from Washington and Lee in 1977. She joined the Baltimore firm of Ober/ Kaler, Grimes & Shriver and became the first woman to be named a partner.
A past president of the Maryland State Bar Association and a member of the American Bar Association house of delegates, White has served as a trial judge on the Circuit Court bench in Baltimore City since February 2007. There, she has worked on criminal and civil dockets and in the family division.
A recipient of numerous awards, White has been named a Distinguished Alumna of both Mary Washington and W&L, was named to Maryland Top 100 Women by the Daily Record, received the Maryland Leadership in Law Award, also from the Daily Record, and won the Charles H. Dorsey, Jr., Mentor Award from the Baltimore City Bar Association.
News Contact:
Jeffery G. Hanna
Executive Director of Communications and Public Affairs
jhanna@wlu.edu
(540) 458-8459
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