CSLR graduates five law and religion students |

Congratulations to this year’s Law and Religion graduates! During May 14 commencement ceremonies, Jenny Hernandez, Andy Mayo, and Jennifer Williams will receive Doctor of Law and Master of Theological Studies degrees. Mark Goldfeder and Anita Hayward will receive Master of Laws in Law and Religion degrees.

“This is an outstanding group of graduates. They have shown great initiative, written excellent articles, and done outstanding work for Emory Law and in the legal field. It’s been an honor to have had them as part of our Center community,” said John Witte, Jr., CSLR Director.

Special congratulations go to Hernandez for winning the Eliza Ellison Prize for Leadership in Law and Religion, awarded each year to a student who has shown special initiative in leading law and religion studies within and beyond the classroom. Hernandez received the honor for mentoring younger CSLR students, playing an active role in starting a new law and religion blog, and performing excellent work in the classroom and beyond, particularly during her summer internship in the U.S. State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom. The Ellison prize was created in 2009 in honor of Eliza Ellison, former CSLR Associate Director and Director of Publications.  Hernandez was also a Robert W. Woodruff Scholar, the Law School’s most prestigious scholarship.

Hats off also to Mayo and Williams for receiving Savage-Lebey Scholarships. Mayo published an article on bankruptcy and mega-churches in Emory Bankruptcy Developments Journal (Spring 2011), served in the Barton Child Law and Policy Center, and plans to work in family law. Williams served on the Executive Board of Emory’s Moot Court Society where she was director of the 2010 Civil Rights and Liberties Moot Court Competition and coached the Gibbons Criminal Procedures Competition Team; she also interned at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and plans to continue her work in the EEOC arena. The scholarships, created in 2008 by Emory Law School alumnus Brent Savage (‘78L), help fund additional coursework in Christian legal studies, clinical and social service work, and religion and human rights.

Also noteworthy, Goldfeder has enrolled in CSLR’s Doctor of Juridical Science degree program.

All five graduates received the Herman Dooyeweerd Award for Excellence in Law and Religion.  Created in 1994 in honor of the distinguished 20th century Dutch jurist, theologian, and philosopher, Herman Dooyeweerd, the award is granted to high performing graduates.