EEOC Chair to deliver law school's John P. Morris Memorial Lecture

Jacqueline A. Berrien, Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, will deliver the 12th annual John P. Morris Memorial Lecture. It will be held at 4 p.m., March 8, in the Great Hall in Armstrong Hall at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.

Berrien’s lecture, titled “Realizing the Dream of Equal Opportunity in the 21st Century,” will focus on the equal employment challenges and opportunities that exist in the modern workplace and what the EEOC is doing to realize the dream of equal employment opportunity.

“The work of the EEOC in enforcing many of the nation's most important civil rights laws has transformed the American workplace and achieved justice for countless individuals,” Berrien said. “I am committed to ensuring that we make meaningful progress towards fulfilling our mission of promoting equal opportunity in the workplace and enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination in the 21st century.”

Myles V. Lynk, Peter Kiewit Foundation Professor of Law and the Legal Profession at the College of Law, is faculty advisor to the John P. Morris Black Law Students Association, which is presenting the lecture.

“I am delighted that EEOC Chair Jacqueline Berrien has agreed to deliver the John P. Morris Memorial Lecture,” Lynk said. “I have known Chair Berrien since she began her career in public interest law and in public service. She is committed to helping all Americans achieve their American dream, and her career is a wonderful illustration of how a lawyer’s service can benefit the public good.” 
    
Tickets are free and available at morris2012.eventbrite.com. A reception will follow the lecture in the College of Law’s Steptoe & Johnson Rotunda.

The lecture is presented by the College of Law’s John P. Morris Black Law Students Association, which provides educational, legal and social support for all students, with a particular interest in students of African or African-American descent. It fosters an atmosphere for students to bond and form lifelong relationships.

“As an organization that is named for a professor who fought tirelessly to promote equality, we are honored that Ms. Berrien will be giving the 12th annual John P. Morris Memorial Lecture,” said Ijana Harris, the association’s president. “It is important that we are conscious and informed of what the federal government is doing to promote equal employment opportunities.”

The EEOC’s Berrien was sworn into office in April 2010, having been nominated by President Barack Obama to a term ending in July 2012. Berrien came to the EEOC from the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, where she served as Associate Director-Counsel for five years. Earlier in her career, she worked in the Governance and Civil Society Unit of the Ford Foundation’s Peace and Social Justice Program, and she practiced civil law for more that 15 years.

The John P. Morris Lecture honors John Peyton Morris, a faculty member of the College of Law from 1968-1993. Professor Morris was committed to the principles of justice and equal opportunity and worked tirelessly throughout his life to foster diversity.