As part of the graduation festivities at The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law (Catholic Law), the Office of Institutes and Special Programs honored graduating students who have specialized in subjects beyond the general J.D. curriculum, by hosting its certificate presentation ceremony for the Class of 2023 on Thursday, May 18, 2023. Faculty representatives of the five certificate programs recognized recipients of their respective certifications as specialists in specific, focused areas of law.
Dean Stephen C. Payne opened the ceremony with a welcome to the soon-to-be graduates and their families. Dean Payne then proceeded to read a list of each program’s accomplishments, which ranged from symposiums to networking receptions to panel discussions with industry experts. These opportunities allowed the students to take their experiences outside the classroom and into professional settings.
Following the Dean's introduction, each program director spoke about this year’s graduating class, expressing pride in both the hard work that kept its spirits high during the COVID-19 pandemic and the achievements that followed. Beginning the conferral portion of the ceremony, Professor Sarah Duggin, Director of Catholic Law’s Compliance, Investigations & Corporate Responsibilities Program (CICR), presented this year’s five graduating members of CICR with certificates acknowledging their competency in the field of corporate responsibility. “Dare to be kind,” she exhorted recipients. “Dare to care.”
Professor Robert A. Destro presented certificates to students of Catholic Law’s Comparative and International Law Institute (CILI), in place of CILI Director and Professor Emeritus Geoffrey R. Watson, who was unable to attend. Noting the accomplishments of CILI’s graduating class, Destro acknowledged that, no matter the life trajectory of these graduates, what they learned as members of the Institute “will serve them well.”
Law and Public Policy Program (LPP) Director Brian G. Svoboda presented this year’s certificates to the Class of 2023’s two LPP graduates. Svoboda also announced Katherine Diane Williams Wiegand as the recipient of the Eleanore Dulin and James Clanton Haynes Fellow Award. The award is presented to a student for their outstanding academic performance and demonstrated commitment to public service.
The latter half of the ceremony focused on two of Catholic Law’s larger certificate programs, that of the Law and Technology Institute (LTI), and that of the Securities Law Program (SLP). LTI Co-Directors Professors Megan M. La Belle and Elizabeth I. Winston presented certificates to eight graduates, and SLP Director Jack W. Murphy presented certificates to nine, as well as acknowledging one student who pursued a concentration in securities law rather than a certificate.
A recording of the event is available below the photos.
Compliance, Investigations and Corporate Responsibility Program
Zachary Scott Aman, B.S., M.B.A.
Lauren N. Ferraro, B.S.B.A.
Monica Anne Fry, B.A.
Claire Marcelle Galasso, B.S.
John Anthony Roberts, B.A.
Comparative and International Law Institute
Christopher William Dextre, B.A.
Daniel Blake Johnson, B.A., M.Ed, M.F.A.
Lydia Korostelova, B.A.
Janina Marcelle Koscinski, B.A., M.L.
Nicholas L. Webb, B.S.B.A.
Law and Public Policy Program
Olivia Fabbro-Evans, B.A.
Katherine Diane Williams Wiegand, B.A.
Law and Technology Institute
Allison Kay Baker, B.A., M.A.
Joseph M. Cipollone, B.A.
Mary Elizabeth Delaney, B.S.B.A.
Kaya Soleil DeRose, B.A.
Erin M. Dierkes, B.S.
Caroline Theresa Freeman, B.A.
Liam Francis Fulling, B.A.
Matthew J. Furlow, B.A.
Securities Law Program
Thomas Ellsworth Archer III, B.A.
Tyler Kearns Buchholz, B.B.A.
Sidney Calea Cherry, B.S.
Tanner J. Gattuso, B.S.
Dasol Lee, B.B.A.
Yi Sak Isaac Lee, B.M., M.M.
David Starling MacMillan III, B.S.
Raymond Anthony Mosca, B.A.
John Lewis Sullivan, B.A.
Concentration in Securities Law
Reid Ethan Burrows, B.A.