Campbell Law receives $100,000 Class Reunion gift from alumni to support scholarships
Campbell Law School alumni Peggy Harris Frank ’85 and Marshall J. Frank ’84 met during law school and were married soon after graduation in 1986. They are celebrating 38 years of marriage in 2024 and it all began in the hallways of Kivett Hall, the former location of the law school, on Campbell University’s main campus in Buies Creek. Now, nearly 40 years after Marshall Frank graduated, the couple has made a $100,000 gift to establish the Peggy Harris Frank and Marshall J. Frank Family Endowed Law Scholarship Fund. “We had addressed our undergraduate programs by appropriate donations but had never stepped up to express our true appreciation for Campbell Law,” Marshall Frank explained. “During the past year, we received notifications of my 40th reunion planned for May 2024. That served as the reminder and impetus for us to do what we had discussed over recent years.” Learn more at this link.
Class of 2027 Competitive Scholarship recipients announced
Campbell Law Dean J. Rich Leonard has announced Caitlin Heidel, Awa Mbai, Lydia Peterson and Jason Thomas as the 2024 recipients of the law school’s four highly prestigious, full-tuition competitive scholarships. “I am thrilled to announce the recipients of our competitive scholarships from the incoming class of 2027,” Leonard said. “Our law school is committed to doing all we can to make sure that every qualified student that wants to use the law as a means to serve others has the opportunity to do so.” Learn more at this link.
Professor Johnny Chriscoe ’90 receives 2024 Dean’s Excellence in Teaching Award
Professor Johnny C. Chriscoe Jr. ’90 is Campbell Law’s recipient of the Dean’s Excellence Award for 2024, Dean J. Rich Leonard has announced. He was also the recipient of the 2008 Dean’s Excellence in Teaching Award and the recipient of the 2011 Student Bar Association’s Professor of the Year Award, the third time he has received the award since joining the Campbell Law faculty in 2000. Chriscoe, who was granted full tenure in 2017, currently teaches torts, insurance law, trial and appellate advocacy and personal property, and has also coached several trial teams. Learn more at this link.
Cameron Huffstutter ’24 earns Stubbs Bankruptcy Fellowship
A dearth of young attorneys choosing bankruptcy law is the impetus behind Campbell Law School’s new Stubbs Bankruptcy Fellowships, said Dean J. Rich Leonard, a former U.S. Bankruptcy judge. So he asked the law school’s Stubbs Bankruptcy Law Clinic namesake Trawick Stubbs, the patriarch of the bankruptcy bar in North Carolina and the senior partner in Stubbs Perdue, if he would be willing to sponsor a unique scholarship to encourage law students to take at least three bankruptcy courses. Thanks to Stubbs’ generous donation, Cameron Huffstutter ’24 has earned the Stubbs Bankruptcy Fellowship of $5,000 this semester after completing all three courses, including the Clinic taught by Director Ciara Rogers of Oliver and Cheek. Learn more at this link.
Dr. Connie S. Newsome edits book, appears on podcast
Campbell Law's Registrar Dr. Connie S. Newsome has been asked to rewrite a book chapter and appear on a podcast. Newsome will be working with other editors, Jaci Casazza, Heather A. Chermak and Julia A. Pomerenk, on the revision of Chapter 10 of the book, “Academic Operations and the Role of the Registrar.” The chapter is titled “Considerations for Graduate Professional Programs.” “It was so much fun to have this slice of an opportunity for collaboration,” Newsome said. Newsome was also invited to speak on the Higher Education and Real Diversity (H.E.A.R.D.) podcast on an episode about self-care. Learn more at this link.
Matt Fields '25 helps Blanchard Community Law Clinic client remain in her home
Matt Fields ‘25, through his work with the Blanchard Community Law Clinic (BCLC), has successfully helped a client remain in her home, explained BCLC Assistant Clinical Professor Laura Clark. As a bar certified legal intern, Fields represented a client, who had a District Court hearing on a preliminary injunction to remain in her home until her scheduled appeal date. “The clinic was contacted on Feb. 28 by a new client, who had a District Court hearing the next morning,” Clark said. “The client’s landlord was seeking to have the tenants removed from their rental unit prior to their scheduled appeal court date." Learn more at this link.
Rachel Parent ’24 presents research at 14th annual academic symposium
Campbell Law's Rachel Parent ‘24 recently presented her research at the 14th annual Wiggins Memorial Library Academic Symposium. Parent’s project, “Numbers Don’t Lie: Empirically Judging Appellate Court Judges’ Rape Myth Acceptance Attitudes,” was one among the 182 projects presented by Campbell University students at the symposium. Parent’s project assesses the presence of rape myth acceptance attitudes within a corpus of 150 appellate decisions. Learn more at this link.
Twelve members of the Campbell Law faculty and staff were honored with teaching and research awards as well as service awards at a dinner on April 29 on Main Campus. Shoutout to Professor Olivia Weeks '90, who is celebrating 40 years at Campbell University! Also pictured are Registrar Connie Newsome, who is celebrating 10 years while Communications and Marketing Director Lisa Snedeker and IT's James Yacovelli are celebrating five years with the University. Professor Johnny Chriscoe '90 received the Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching Award and Professor Marcus Gadson received the Alumni Awards for Teaching & Research Excellence in Research, a first for the law school during Dean J. Rich Leonard's tenure. Now that's #leadingwithpurpose
Campbell Law advocates compete at 22nd Willem C. Vis East Competition
The 2024 Campbell Law School Willem C. Vis team had a busy spring break week in Hong Kong on March 10-17, 2024. After six months of preparation, the team attended the 22nd Willem C. Vis East Competition. The team was comprised of Philip Martin ’25, Madison Carney ’25, Sofia Gomez-Ayala ’25 and Tomas Nazer-Paniagua ’24. The team was proudly coached by Maeve Healy ’22. A record number of 144 universities and colleges participated in oral arguments at the Vis East this year. The Campbell Law team was one of only 11 teams from the United States present in Hong Kong. Learn more at this link.
Campbell Law Spotlights: Liza McGowan '23, Jacob Byrd '23, Marissa Dunsmore '23, Benjamin Aydlett '21
Liza McGowan '23 discovered her passion for law and set her sights on following her family tradition and becoming an attorney after spending a high school semester at the School for Ethics and Global Leadership in Washington, D.C.. Beginning her undergraduate studies at George Washington University, McGowan initially thought her future legal career would involve international policy and government. Now an attorney at Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP, McGowan focuses on medical malpractice defense and 1983 claims, drawing on her previous experience with constitutional law. Learn more at this link.
Jacob Byrd '23 never imagined that five months after graduating from Campbell Law, he would be learning land navigation and firing machine guns. However, his passion for service led him to this path as a Judge Advocate in the United States Marine Corps. While exploring career options during his second year at Campbell Law, Byrd went through numerous On-Campus Interviews (OCIs) with firms but felt like none of them were the right fit. Inspired by a family friend’s experience with the diverse and impactful nature of the role, Byrd was drawn to the prospect of serving his country as Judge Advocate. Learn more at this link.
Marissa Dunsmore '24 dreamed of becoming a professional dancer growing up. As she transitioned through different phases of her life, however, her aspirations shifted towards finding a career that would allow her to advocate for others. After graduating from East Carolina University in 2015, she began her first teaching position as a dance teacher and dance team coach at her former high school in Wilmington, North Carolina. After graduation and passing the bar exam, Dunsmore will serve as a judicial clerk for another Campbell Law alumnus, Judge Jeffrey Carpenter ’03, at the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Learn more at this link.
Benjamin Aydlett '21 is an associate in K&L Gates’ Real Estate practice. His experience involves all aspects of acquisition, development, leasing, and disposition of real property across various asset classes, including office, residential, retail, industrial and laboratory. Prior to joining the firm, Aydlett was a summer associate for a law firm in the Triangle focusing on commercial real estate acquisition, disposition and leasing. He also served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Robert T. Numbers II in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Learn more at this link.
SAVE THE DATE
- Graduation and Commencement Ceremonies May 10
- Alumni Association Board Meeting June 4
- 1L Orientation August 9
Are you a Campbell Law judge?
If you or anyone you know is a Campbell Law alumna/nus and also a current or past judge, we are expanding our "Judges of Campbell Law" wall we unveiled in 2021! The exhibit honors alumni who have served on a variety of judicial benches. Read more at this link. Please contact Coordinator of External Relations Sharon Sparks at ssparks@campbell.edu or call 919-865-4652 for more information.