Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears to Speak at Georgia Southern University

A leader known for historic firsts will be the first speaker in Georgia Southern University’s inaugural Women in Leadership lecture series.

The Honorable Leah Ward Sears, Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, will speak on Tuesday, April 7 at 6:30 p.m. in the Nessmith-Lane Continuing Education Building Assembly Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public. A public reception will immediately follow the lecture.

Chief Justice Sears has achieved a distinguished position in Georgia’s history. She was the youngest person and first African-American woman to serve as a superior court judge in Georgia. When appointed to the Supreme Court by Governor Zell Miller, she became the first woman and youngest person ever to serve on that Court.

In retaining her appointed position as a Supreme Court Justice, Chief Justice Sears was the first woman to win a contested statewide election in Georgia. In 2005 she was sworn in as the nation’s first African-American woman Chief Justice of a state’s highest court.

Chief Justice Sears’ visit is co-sponsored by the Office of Pre-Law Advising, the Center for Entrepreneurial Learning in the College of Business Administration, the Women and Gender Studies Program, the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and the Department of Political Science.

Georgia Southern University, a Carnegie Doctoral/Research University, offers 116 degree programs serving nearly 18,000 students. Through eight colleges, the University offers bachelors, masters and doctoral degree programs built on more than a century of academic achievement. The University, one of Georgia’s largest, is a top choice of Georgia’s HOPE scholars and is recognized for its student-centered approach to education. Visit: www.georgiasouthern.edu.