School of Law Alumni Awards

Recipients will be recognized at the Awards Dinner during Alumni Reunion Weekend on April 15th at 6:30 p.m. Individual tickets and Corporate tables are available for purchase. We hope you will join us in recognizing this year’s outstanding group of recipients.

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2023 Award Recipients

Read more about our award recipients →

photo of Dequeshia Prude-Wheeler

Dequeshia Prude-Wheeler (J.D. ’17)

Early Career Award

photo of Rodney Slater

Rodney Slater (J.D. ’80)

Commitment to Justice Award

photo of Christy Jones

Christy Jones (J.D. ’77)

Commitment to Justice Award

photo of Melissa Lee

Melissa Lee (J.D. ’99)

Veterans Award

photo of Hope Goins

Hope Goins (J.D. ’06)

Public Service Award

photo of Christy D. Comstock

Christy D. Comstock (J.D. ’92)

Gayle Pettus Pontz Award

Odom Law Firm logo

Odom Law Firm

Career Champion Small Firm

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard PLLC logo

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard PLLC

Career Champion Large Firm

View previous Alumni Award Winners →


Nominations

Commitment to Justice Award

Awarded to an alumnus/a who, through personal achievement and service to the law school, their community, and the legal profession, have brought honor and distinction to both themselves and the School of Law.

To be eligible*, nominee must:
  • be a University of Arkansas School of Law alumnus/a
  • be 10 or more years post-graduation

* Current faculty/staff and Law Alumni Society Board Members are ineligible. Alumni currently in a position of elected or appointed government office or known to be launching a campaign are ineligible.

Nominate

Commitment to Justice Early Career Award

Awarded to an alumnus/a who, through personal achievement and service to the law school, their community, and the legal profession, have brought honor and distinction to both themselves and the School of Law.

To be eligible*, nominee must

  • be a University of Arkansas School of Law alumnus/a
  • have graduated in the last nine years

* Current faculty/staff and Law Alumni Society Board Members are ineligible. Alumni currently in a position of elected or appointed government office or known to be launching a campaign are ineligible.

Nominate

Career Champion Award

Awarded to a firm** or organization that has provided significant, consistent contributions toward the advancement of career services and student programming in one or more of the following ways:

  • participates in career programming
  • posts jobs or internships
  • participates in on-campus interviewing
  • regularly attends networking events
  • hosts a networking event, sponsors academic programming or law school events

** Small and Large firms will be considered in separate categories:

Small firms (10 members or less)
Large firms (11 members or more)

Nominate

Public Service Award

Awarded to an alumnus/a who has brought honor and distinction to both themselves and the School of Law through a career or role in public service.

To be eligible*, nominee must:

  • be a University of Arkansas School of Law alumnus/a

* Current faculty/staff and Law Alumni Society Board Members are ineligible.
Alumni currently known to be launching an election campaign are ineligible.

Nominate

Veterans Award

Awarded to an alumnus/a who has served in the United States Armed Forces and who has made a positive impact on his/her local, national, international community; fellow veterans or veteran organizations; the legal profession; or the University of Arkansas School of Law. 

To be eligible*, nominee must:

  • be a University of Arkansas School of Law alumnus/a
  • must be a person who served in the military, and who received an honorable discharge. Please reference the military service that qualifies the nominee for the Veteran’s Award for Distinguished Service.

* Current faculty/staff and Law Alumni Society Board Members are ineligible. Alumni currently known to be launching a campaign are ineligible.

Nominate

Gayle Pettus Pontz Award

Women's Law Student Association chooses an annual honoree based the following criteria: a female graduate or a woman with connections to the local legal community who best represents the accomplishments of women and the legal community as a whole and who promotes WLSA's objectives of helping women thrive in law school, creating a community that will raise awareness of women's issues and advancing women in the legal profession.

See details →