Awards

The UNC Law Alumni Association is pleased to host the annual UNC Law Alumni Association Awards Dinner. This special program is a highlight of Law Alumni Weekend held annually in the fall.

Alumni, faculty and friends are invited to submit nominations for the UNC Law Alumni Association Awards. Nominations are accepted throughout the year, and recipients are announced in the spring along with the date for Law Alumni Weekend and the Awards Dinner.

*Nominees submitted and not selected will automatically be considered for the following year and will not need to be re-nominated.

Questions?

The Lifetime Achievement Award

The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes an alumnus whose lifetime career has been highly distinguished, and whose achievements and contributions are widely recognized as significant and outstanding in his or her field. The recipient should be a graduate whose professional career has spanned a substantial period of time and whose accomplishments reflect admirably on and bring honor to the individual, the Bar and the School of Law.

The Distinguished Alumni Award

The Distinguished Alumni Award is an annual award given by the Carolina Law Alumni Association to a UNC School of Law graduate whose accomplishments and contributions have enhanced the school and the profession of law at the local, state, national or international level. The recipient should demonstrate one or more of the following:

  • Excellence in the practice of law
  • Excellence in public service as members of the judiciary or other elected / appointed office
  • The high ideals of the legal profession

The Outstanding Recent Graduate Award

The UNC Law Alumni Association established the Outstanding Recent Graduate Award in 2002 to annually recognize a recent graduate for achievements that have brought credit to the school, the legal profession or society. The recipient must be a graduate of UNC School of Law within the past 10 years and must demonstrate one or more of the following: 

  • Accomplishments within the legal profession
  • High level of community involvement 

Professor S. Elizabeth Gibson Award for Faculty Excellence

The Professor S. Elizabeth Gibson Award for Faculty Excellence is presented by the UNC Law Alumni Association to honor a tenured faculty member who typifies the outstanding qualities of integrity, legal scholarship, exemplary teaching and commitment to service to UNC School of Law and the University. The award is named for S. Elizabeth Gibson ’76, Burton Craige Professor of Law, to honor the qualities that she exemplified in her more than thirty years as a much loved and respected educator.   

Extraordinary Service Award

Established in 2021, the Extraordinary Service Award honors an individual who has provided exemplary volunteer service to the law school that has enhanced the school; brought great credit to the school; and/or otherwise benefited the school as well as its students, faculty, employees and graduates. Note that this recipient need not be a graduate of UNC School of Law or a lawyer. 

Award Recipients