Honors and Awards

• Toni Morrison, the winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in literature and professor emerita at Princeton University, received the French Legion of Honour. The award, created in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, honors those who have made significant contributions to French culture or society.

• Michael D. Jones, a partner with the law firm Kirkland and Ellis, received the Paul R. Dean Award for leadership contributions to the legal profession from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Jones is a graduate of Dillard University and earned his law degree from Georgetown in 1985.

• Robert Belton, professor emeritus at the Vanderbilt Law School, was honored recently by the unveiling of his portrait at the school. Professor Belton joined the law school’s faculty in 1975. He was the first African American to earn tenure and is the first African-American faculty member to have a portrait displayed at the law school.

Professor Belton is a graduate of the University of Connecticut and the Boston University School of Law. Before joining the Vanderbilt faculty, he served as assistant counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

• Edith P. Mitchell, clinical professor of oncology and associate director of diversity programs at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, was named Physician of the Year by CancerCare, a national nonprofit organization that offers support services to cancer patients and caregivers.

• Historically black Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina has established an endowed scholarship fund to honor Lorraine Hairston Morton. A 1938 graduate of the university, Morton spent most of her career as a schoolteacher. She then served for 16 years as mayor of Evanston, Illinois. Morton retired in 2009 at the age of 90.

Copyright © 2010. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.