Sherrilyn Ifill ’84 has been chosen as the Commencement speaker for this year’s May 29 ceremony. Ifill is the seventh President and Director-Counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational fund. After graduating from Vassar, Ifill continued her education at NYU School of Law. After law school, Ifill joined the American Civil Liberties Union as a fellow before joining the LDF as an assistant counsel.
Ifill joined the faculty of the University of Maryland School of Law in 1993, where she focused her classes on civil procedure and Constitutional law. She also continued to litigate a number of civil rights cases.
Ifill’s passion for justice in her scholarly work, including her book “On the Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the 21st Century.” She was also previously the Chair of the Board of US Programs at the Open Society Institute, a group of philanthropic supporters of civil rights and social justice organizations in America.
Stay tuned for a longer interview with Ifill in the coming weeks by the Miscellany News.