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Simon Delivers Graduation Address

May 18, 2003

Former U.S. Senator Paul Simon, who has had a long and distinguished career in public life and has set a standard for ethics and devotion to the common good, will deliver the main address at the Northwestern University School of Law graduation convocation Sunday, May 18, 2003.

The convocation is at 1:30 p.m. in the Navy Pier Grand Ballroom, 600 East Grand Ave.

Remarks at the ceremony also will be delivered by Henry S. Bienen, president of Northwestern University; David E. Van Zandt, dean of the School of Law; Neil O'Connor (class of 1974), speaking on behalf of the alumni; and Jeffrey A. Berger (class of 2003), speaking for the graduating class.

Faculty members will receive student-voted awards for excellence, presented by Himanshu Singh, president, Student Bar Association (class of 2003). They include Professor Lawrence C. Marshall (the Robert Childres Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence and the outstanding professor of a small class); Professor Leonard S. Rubinowitz (outstanding first-year course professor); and Richard I. Levin, partner, Pekin & Levin & Associates (outstanding adjunct professor). The Wigmore key will be presented to the student "who has done the most to help preserve the traditions of the School of Law."

The class of 2003 includes 206 candidates for juris doctor degrees and 25 candidates for joint juris doctor and MBA degrees from the School of Law and the J.L. Kellogg School of Management. (Northwestern is the only law school that offers a three-year JD-MBA in one of the largest and best integrated law and business programs in the country.) There also are 65 candidates for master of laws degrees and 27 candidates for master of laws and certificate in business administration from Kellogg. There are also 23 candidates in the first graduating class for a Masters of Law in Taxation.

Simon spent four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and three terms in the U.S. Senate. A former newspaper editor and publisher, Simon also served in both the Illinois House and Senate and as lieutenant governor of Illinois. He has written more than 15 books and currently directs the Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale where he teaches courses in public policy, history and journalism.

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