Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Wed, 18 May 2011

On Saturday, May 14, 2011, Liberty University School of Law awarded the Juris Doctorate degree to 90 students who represented its fifth graduating class.  

About 700 people were in attendance at Towns-Alumni Lecture Hall as the graduates were acknowledged for their academic accomplishment during the law school’s fifth annual Hooding Ceremony.

Mathew Staver, Dean and Professor of Law, opened the ceremony by saying, “You have been trained in the rule of law in a distinctively Christian law school. You have climbed the mountain. You have succeeded where others failed. No, you are no longer students. Today, we transition. Today, our relationship changes.  Today, we call you colleagues.”  

Featured speakers for the 2011 School of Law commencement exercises included Student Body Association (SBA) President Savannah Connally Hughes, Spirit of Liberty award recipient Christopher Pitera, and Summa Cum Laude recipient Timothy Todd.

Todd stated, “The Great Commission is more than sharing Jesus with others – it is a commandment to be Champions for Christ.  We must use our profession as lawyers to be a beacon of light in an incredibly secular profession so that one day the Earth will be filled with the knowledge and the Glory of the Lord.”

Christopher Pitera said, “It is estimated that 45,000 students will earn the Juris Doctor degree this year, however only 90 of them will live up to the decree of I Timothy 1:8, using law as a fulcrum for good.  Only 90 graduates believing that the law profession is more than a career choice, but a calling into the mission field; those 90 students have been trained by Liberty University School of Law.”

Savannah Connally Hughes said, “I have learned it is one thing to want God’s will, but another to see it unfold.  The Class of 2011 must have a willing spirit, saying ‘yes’ to God, with a mind and body to set His will in motion.  Class of 2011, as the Lord brought us through law school, He will continue in fulfilling His will for us all in our future endeavors.”

Dean Staver reminded the graduates of Dr. Falwell’s love for them: “Jerry Falwell Sr. once said, ‘Our greatest value is to reproduce ourselves in the lives of others. When you leave behind a vibrant Christian who knows his calling and his commission, you can be buried, but you will live on through all those in whom you have been reproduced.”