Gilbert, Esq., Edward L. Jurist-In-Residence Program
The Edward L. Gilbert, Esq., Jurist-in-Residence Program was established in September 2003 with the assistance of a gift by University of Akron School of Law alumnus Edward L. Gilbert, class of 1976, to help enhance the national and international prestige of the School of Law, to promote serious conversation and debate on minority issues in the United States and throughout the world, to promote faculty diversity, and to advance teaching excellence at his alma mater.
The Edward L. Gilbert, Esq., Jurist-in-Residence Program will invite international jurists to The University of Akron School of Law to augment curriculum and career planning and placement offerings for law students and law alumni, to provide formal and informal professional development opportunities for faculty and members of the bar, and to contribute scholarly articles for publication in the Akron Law Review Journal.
The Edward L. Gilbert, Esq., Jurist-in-Residence Program will be held on an annual basis, assuming funding allocations permit. The dean of The University of Akron School of Law will identify and select the jurist-in-residence. In selecting the jurist-in-residence, preference in the first five years of the program will be given to African jurists.
A jurist-in-residence program committee, appointed annually by the dean of the School of Law, shall determine the jurist-in-residence budget, program, and other related expectations of the jurist-in residence. Members of the program committee will include academicians and administrators from The University of Akron School of Law, a member of the local judiciary, and a member of the Akron Bar Association’s Minority Involvement Committee. The dean of the School of Law will serve as ex-officio member of the committee.
Edward L. Gilbert is a senior partner in the Akron, Ohio, law firm of Slater, Zurz & Gilbert. Attorney Gilbert is a litigator who specializes in civil rights law. He and his wife, Delphenia Gilbert, have one son.