Alumni Awards
Each year, the Law Alumni Association recognizes alumni for their career accomplishments as well as their service to the community and their dedication to Duke Law. We do this through a nomination process for a number of awards that were announced at the Reunion Weekend Kickoff Celebration on April 17, 2009.
Young Alumni Award
2009 Recipient: Christopher Dean Dusseault '94
Established by the Law Alumni Association in 2000, the Young Alumni Award honors an individual who graduated within the last 15 years, has distinguished himself or herself professionally, and has made significant contributions of leadership and service to Duke Law School.
Charles S. Murphy Award
2009 Recipient: Charles L. Becton '69
Established in 1985, this award honors a graduate's commitment to the common good through his or her work in public service or dedication to education, thereby reflecting ideals exemplified in the life and career of the late Charles S. Murphy T'31 L'34. Mr. Murphy, who received an honorary LLD from Duke Law School in 1967, was a devoted public servant who held positions in the administrations of Presidents Truman, Kennedy, and Johnson. He served on the Board of Visitors of Duke Law School and as a Duke University Trustee.
A. Kenneth Pye Award
2009 Recipient: E. Carol Spruill
The Pye Award honors an alumnus, alumna, or member of the Duke University School of Law community whose work in education reflects the life and ideals exemplified by former Dean A. Kenneth Pye. Dean Pye is fondly remembered for not only his personal integrity and vigorous intellect, but also his exceptional ability to recognize the needs of individual students and the great compassion with which he assisted those who might otherwise have faltered.
Charles S. Rhyne Award
2009 Recipient: Candace M. Carroll '74
Since 1994 this award has honored an alumnus or alumna whose career as a practicing attorney exemplifies the highest standards of professionalism, personal integrity, and commitment to education or community service. It honors the life and career of the late Charles S. Rhyne T'34 L'35, who was a professor of government and law at American University and George Washington University and a trustee of Duke University and George Washington University. The recipient of an honorary LLD from Duke Law School in 1958, Professor Rhyne also served as president of the American Bar Association and as special legal consultant to President Eisenhower in 1959-60.
Past Award Winners
International Alumni Award
2000 Abdul Rahman Al-Nafisah '80
2001 Javier Francisco Firpo '91
2002 Hideyuki Sakai '82
2003 Jaime E. Aleman '78
2005 Xi-Qing Gao '86
2006 Marianne Philip '83 & Per Haakon Schmidt '83
2007 Sibylle Gierschmann '99
Young Alumni Award
2000 Sonja Steptoe '85
2001 Elizabeth J. Gustafson '86
2002 A. Daniel Scheinman '87
2003 Theresa A. Newman '88
2004 John Reed Stark '89
2005 Caroline B. Gottschalk '90
2006 Christopher B. McLaughlin '96
2007 Jay Bilas '92
2008 Jennifer L. Franklin '98
Charles S. Murphy Award
1985 Carlyle C. Ring Jr. '56
1986 H. Hale McCown '37
1987 Gerald Bard Tjoflat '57
1988 Gerald T. Wetherington '63
1989 Charles H. Miller '34
1990 Charles S. Rhyne '35
1991 Paul Hardin III '54
1992 John H. Adams '62
1993 Robinson O. Everett '59
1994 Kenneth W. Starr '73
1995 Douglas P. Wheeler '66
1996 Christine M. Durham '71
1997 William C. Campbell '77
1998 Daniel T. Blue Jr. '73
1999 Rhonda R. Winston '79
2000 Peter S. Gilchrist III '65
2001 John D. Johnston Jr. '56
2002 Lee H. Henkel Jr. '52 & Haley J. Fromholz '67
2003 Robert E. Stipe '53
2004 Robert S. Warwick '69
2005 Allyson K. Duncan '75
2006 Curtis L. Collier '74
2007 Durwood J. Zaelke '72
2008 Letty M. Tanchum '73
A. Kenneth Pye Award
1999 Melvin G. Shimm
2001 Paul Hardin III '54
2002 Herbert L. Bernstein (posthumous)
2003 Frank T. (Tom) Read '63
2004 William W. Van Alstyne
2005 Clark C. Havighurst
2006 George C. Christie
2007 Paul D. Carrington
2008 The Honorable Robinson O. Everett '59
Charles S. Rhyne Award
1994 Russell M. Robinson II '56
1995 William F. Womble '39
1996 L. Neil Williams '61
1997 E. Norwood Robinson '52
1998 Robert L. Burrus Jr. '58
1999 David Klaber '69
2000 William R. "Pat" Patterson '50
2001 Arnold B. McKinnon '51
2002 William Louis-Dreyfus '57
2004 John Canning '69
2005 Frank Hunger '65
2006 James B. Maxwell '66
2007 Charles O. Verrill Jr. '62
2008 Glenn E. Ketner Jr. '63
Dean's Alumni Achievement Award
The Dean's Alumni Achievement Award honors a Duke Law graduate who has demonstrated extraordinary service, commitment, and dedication to Duke Law School.
1992 John F. Lowndes '58
1994 Robert K. Montgomery '64
1999 Lanty L. Smith '67
2001 George R. Krouse Jr. '70
2007 Peter J. Kahn '76