First Black Woman Full Professor at the University of New Mexico Is Retiring

Sherri Burr, Regents Professor at the University of New Mexico School of Law, is retiring. She has taught at the law school since 1988. Professor Burr was the first African American woman to be granted tenure and the first African American women to be promoted to full professor at the University of New Mexico.

Professor Burr taught intellectual property law, art law, entertainment law, wills and trusts, and international law. She also served as acting director of the Africana studies program at the university for the 2008-09 academic year.

Professor Burr has served as president of the New Mexico Black Lawyers Association and chair of the Art Law and International Law Sections of the Association of American Law Schools. She is the author or co-author of 26 books.

Professor Burr is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, where she majored in politics. She holds a master’s degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, and a juris doctorate from Yale Law School.

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3 COMMENTS

  1. Sherri, congratulations on your distinguished and ground-breaking career. Since our days in Hawaii where we met, your love of law and academia has been evident through your devoted service. Enjoy your retirement – you’ve earned it!

  2. Congratulations on your retirement and your signal achievementss. It’s UNM’s loss.

    I am the Chair of the UNM Diversity Council and a Regents’ Professor in our School of Public Administration. I also do program evaluation consulting and publishing in the areas of STEM and equity/inclusion. I hope that we can connect sometime for publication or consulting projects.

    Best.

    Mario Rivera

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