WHITE RECEIVES 2004 WOMAN OF DISTINCTION AWARD

Thursday, May 27, 2004 WRITER: Heidi Murphy, 706/542-5172, hmurphy@uga.edu CONTACT: Rebecca H. White, 706/542-7140, rhwhite@uga.edu Janet L. Bozeman, 404/668-2300, jl.bozeman@att.net WHITE RECEIVES 2004 WOMAN OF DISTINCTION AWARD ATHENS, Ga. – Yesterday, Rebecca Hanner White, interim dean of the University of Georgia School of Law, was given the 2004 Woman of Distinction Award that is presented annually by the State Bar of Georgia Younger Lawyers Division’s Women in the Profession Committee. White was chosen as this year’s recipient for her contributions to the areas of labor and employment law and in recognition of her being the first female to lead the UGA law school in its 145-year history, according to co-chair of the Women in the Profession Committee Janet L. Bozeman. Since joining UGA in 1989, White has served as a member of the law school’s faculty. In 2002-03, she also served as a university associate provost and associate vice president of academic affairs prior to taking over leadership of the law school last summer. White\u27s scholarship, cited by federal and state courts across the country, includes numerous articles on employment discrimination and labor law. In addition, she is a coauthor of Employment Discrimination and Cases and Materials on Employment Discrimination. She is the recipient of numerous teaching honors including the Josiah Meigs Award, the university’s highest honor for teaching excellence; the Faculty Book Award for Excellence in Teaching (six times) and the John C. O\u27Byrne Award for Contributions Furthering Student/Faculty Relations. She is also a member of UGA’s elite Teaching Academy. White graduated first in her class from the University of Kentucky College of Law, where she was editor-in-chief of the Kentucky Law Journal. She served as a clerk to Chief Judge George C. Edwards of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, then practiced labor and employment law at the firm Dinsmore & Shohl in Cincinnati, Ohio before beginning her teaching career at UGA. The Woman of Distinction Award was created in 2002 to recognize female members of the legal profession who have made significant contributions to the advancement of women or to the practice of law. In addition, the award identifies role models and mentors who can offer helpful career advice based on their own diverse experiences. Past recipients of the Woman of Distinction Award are Supreme Court of Georgia Justice Carol W. Hunstein and City of Atlanta attorney Linda DiSantis. #