Bryan Stevenson to Speak at Seton Hall, Receive Honorary Degree
Sunday, November 7, 2021
6 p.m.
(We request that attendees be seated by 5:45 p.m.)
Bethany Hall
Bryan Stevenson, the author of Just Mercy, and the Director of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, AL, will be awarded an honorary degree and will make a presentation on social justice and personal involvement at Seton Hall University.
About the Event
The honorary degree (Litterarum Humanarum Doctoris) will recognize Stevenson’s lifelong commitment to legal representation for death row inmates and other extraordinary achievements as a widely acclaimed public interest lawyer and great advocate for justice. His activities reflect the mission and values of Seton Hall University. Seton Hall is a major Catholic university. In a diverse and collaborative environment, it focuses on academic and ethical development. Seton Hall students are prepared to be leaders in their professional and community lives in a global society and are challenged by outstanding faculty, an evolving technologically advanced setting, and a values-centered curricula.
There will be in-person seating, advance registration required, and a live stream on the Seton Hall website. There will be no Q&A or book signing.
We ask that attendees refrain from taking or posting video of the event.
About Bryan Stevenson
Stevenson is an American lawyer, social justice activist, and the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, he has challenged bias against the poor and minorities in the criminal justice system, including children, since 1985. He is best known for initiating major new anti-poverty and anti-discrimination efforts that challenge inequality in America. He led the creation of two highly acclaimed cultural sites in Montgomery which opened in 2018: the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice.
Bryan’s messages focus on identity matters, the need for proximity, changing the narrative, remaining hopeful, and the willingness to be uncomfortable in an effort to advance social justice.
SHU Reads!
A related reading program with an incentivized essay contest for Stevenson’s book, Just Mercy, is coordinated by the SHU Reads program. The new entering class of 2025, approximately 1,700 students, and related professors of first year classes, begin their common reading and learning experience in the summer before their first classes began. Since 2003, all incoming first-year Seton Hall students have read a common book, to introduce them to academic and student life at Seton Hall.
Register to Attend
Sponsors
This event is sponsored by the Office of the Provost, the Law School and the University Core Program.
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We continue to closely monitor the rapidly changing spread of the Delta variant, so this guidance will further evolve, depending on changing public and University health data, and government advisories.
In general, people do not need to wear masks when outdoors. However, particularly in areas of substantial to high transmission, the CDC recommends that people who are not fully vaccinated wear a mask in crowded outdoor settings or during activities that involve sustained close contact with other people who are not fully vaccinated.
We also welcome any vaccinated individuals to wear a mask while on campus, outdoors, if they wish.