United States Senator Tammy Baldwin will deliver the 44th Commencement address at Vermont Law School on Saturday, May 11. In addition to honoring Baldwin, the school will confer honorary degrees upon Collin O’Mara, President and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, and Judge Peter W. Hall, Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
“I am pleased to announce the 2019 commencement speaker and honorary degree recipients who will share the diverse breadth of their experiences and commitments with our graduates,” said Thomas McHenry, President and Dean of Vermont Law School. “I hope that these three remarkable individuals will inspire our graduates in their professional and personal careers – they are outstanding individuals.”
The 2019 honorees are:
United States Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) was born in Madison, Wisconsin and raised by her grandparents in the Badger State. She graduated from Madison West High School in 1980 and went on to double-major in political science and mathematics at Smith College. In 1989, she received her law degree from UW-Madison. With a deep commitment to public service, she served on the Madison City Council, the Dane County Board of Supervisors and in the Wisconsin State Assembly. In 1998, she was elected to the House of Representatives, representing Wisconsin’s 2nd Congressional District for seven terms. In 2012, Tammy was elected to the U.S. Senate as Wisconsin’s first woman to serve in the Senate and the first openly gay member elected to the Senate. In 2016, Senator Baldwin won reelection to a second term in the Senate by 11 points. In the Senate, Senator Baldwin has worked across party lines to strengthen the essential pillars of economic security for American families – college affordability, investments in STEM and Career and Technical Education, and quality, affordable health care for all Americans. Throughout her career in public service Senator Baldwin has been a leader on Great Lakes restoration, environmental protection and conservation issues, and she was recently named to the Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on the Climate Crisis to mobilize action and support for bold climate solutions.
Collin O’Mara serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Wildlife Federation, America’s largest wildlife conservation organization with more than six million members and 51 state and territorial affiliates. Under O’Mara’s leadership, the National Wildlife Federation is focused on uniting all Americans to ensure wildlife thrive in our rapidly changing world. The Federation works with both Republicans and Democrats to protect wildlife, restore habitat, ensure healthy waters, defend public lands, provide environmental education, and connect people with the great outdoors—and they publish the award-winning Ranger Rick magazine. Prior to the National Wildlife Federation, O’Mara led Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
Judge Peter W. Hall has deep connections to Vermont’s legal community. Judge Hall was appointed United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit on July 7, 2004. He is a member of the Second Circuit’s Judicial Council. Prior to joining the Court, Judge Hall was the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont from October, 2001 to July, 2004. The preceding fifteen years, from 1986 to 2001, he was in the private practice of law as a shareholder in the Rutland, Vermont law firm of Reiber, Kenlan, Schwiebert, Hall & Facey, P.C. Judge Hall’s former law partner, Paul Reiber, is the Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court. From 1978 to 1986 he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Vermont, and for the last four of those years was First Assistant U.S. Attorney. From 1977 to 1978, he was law clerk to Hon. Albert W. Coffrin, United States District Judge for the District of Vermont. Judge Hall received a B.A., with honors in English, in 1971 and an M.A. in student personnel administration in 1975, both from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a Morehead Scholar. He received a J.D., cum laude, from Cornell Law School in 1977. Judge Hall is a member of the American Bar Association, the Vermont Bar Association, of which he was President from 1995 to 1996, and the Rutland County (Vermont) Bar Association. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. From 2007 to 2016 Judge Hall was a delegate from the Federal Judges Association (in the United States) to the International Association of Judges. For the last four years of that service he was the President of the First Study Commission of the IAJ, which focuses on issues related to the independence of the judiciary. Judge Hall served for three terms on the Vermont Law School Board of Trustees.
The 44th Commencement Ceremonies at Vermont Law School will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 11, on the South Royalton green. Candidates will be presented for juris doctor (JD), master of laws (LLM), and master’s degrees. For more information about commencement, visit vermontlaw.edu/commencement.