News & Events
Blackshear Gala, A New Celebration of Diversity
By Kristi Hintz
UT Knoxville will commemorate and celebrate 50 years of African-American Achievement this year in honor of the first African-American students who attended undergraduate school at the university.
In its own event celebrating similar milestones, the UT College of Law will host its 11th annual Julian Blackshear Jr. Scholarship Gala this spring honoring one of its first African-American graduates.
The college has hosted the event annually since 2001. This year's celebration will be at 5:30 p.m., Saturday, March 5 at The Foundry in World's Fair Park.
Fred Humphries, Vice President of U.S. Government Affairs for Microsoft Corporation, in Washington D.C., will provide the keynote address. Humphries manages both the federal and state government affairs teams at Microsoft.
Ticket prices are $50 per ticket; $25 for current students. Tables are $500 dollars for 10 people. Tickets must be purchased by Feb. 25. All proceeds from ticket sales and money raised at the event directly support the Blackshear Scholarship. This scholarship program has helped recruit and retain outstanding African-American students to UT's College of Law.
In the past, the banquet primarily has been organized and hosted by the Black Law Students' Association (BLSA). BLSA's primary goal through this event is to provide a scholarship fund for African-American students to supplement their education at the UT College of Law. The Blackshear Gala also is a special time to celebrate the achievements of BLSA's graduating members.
This year, the event has a new name -- the Blackshear Gala, formerly the Blackshear Banquet -- and has grown beyond BLSA's expectations.
"This year the Blackshear Gala will be the culmination of all diversity efforts of the College of Law," said Lauren Herbstritt, director of annual giving and alumni affairs for the college. "It will be the college's premier diversity event to honor our students and alumni who are making strides to increase diversity in the law school. It will be an event that all of our alumni, students, faculty and the legal community can get behind."
The college's BLSA chapter is still leading the charge on the event and is excited to see it become a celebration of all diversity in the college.
"We are all very excited about the gala this year," said law student and committee co-chair Shelby Ward. "Through Blackshear, the law school community reflects on how far it has come in its road to equality in legal education. The gala also is an opportunity for students, faculty and practitioners to celebrate the future as one. The law school's continued support of Blackshear illustrates its commitment to diversity."
Various sponsorships levels are available for the Blackshear Gala. Special thanks to Merchant and Gould, an intellectual property law firm in Knoxville, who was the first supporting sponsor of this year's event.
To order tickets or for more information about sponsorship opportunities, visit http://www.law.utk.edu/news/11Blackshear.shtml or contact the College of Law's Office of Development and Alumni Affairs at (865) 974-6691 or by email at LKH@utk.edu.
March 4-5 also will be UT Law’s black alumni reunion weekend. A free reception will be held at the Four Points Sheraton on Friday, March 4, from 6-8 p.m. An event is being planned for Saturday, March 5, but details are not yet available. Please continue to check the college’s homepage for updates.