Investiture ceremony honors North Dakota Bar Foundation and Professor Bradley Myers

The ceremony was held at the School of Law during UND Homecoming to recognize the donor and title holder of the Randy H. Lee Professorship

The University of North Dakota Alumni Association and Foundation, along with the UND School of Law recently hosted an investiture ceremony honoring the North Dakota Bar Foundation for its establishment and continued support of the Randy H. Lee Professorship, an esteemed faculty position held by Bradley Myers, J.D., LL.M.

The Professorship has been in place at the School of Law for nearly 20 years. Randy H. Lee was a beloved UND School of Law professor who passed away in March 2005. Following his death, the North Dakota Law Review dedicated a special issue to Professor Lee. In it, are articles submitted by leaders in the North Dakota legal community. In his honor, the North Dakota Bar Foundation organized en effort to establish the Randy H. Lee Professorship to promote worthy and deserving members of the School of Law faculty.  Professor Myers is the first and only person to hold the esteemed position, bearing the title since 2007.

Investiture ceremonies are part of a more recent effort at the UND Alumni Association and Foundation to shed light on how faculty support elevates the University, its colleges and schools, and the fields of academic work and research. They are also meant to recognize the position holder. A named professorship is one of the highest honors that a University can bestow on a faculty member, and it lasts for as long as the University exists. It is both an honor to the holder of the position and an enduring tribute to the donor who established it.

“Through the support of this annual gift, the North Dakota Bar Foundation has been providing opportunities that wouldn’t otherwise be possible,” said DeAnna Carlson Zink, CEO of the UND Alumni Association and Foundation, in her remarks.

Both Associate Dean Myers and Foundation representatives Tony Weiler, ’92, ’98, and Taylor Olson, ’11 were presented with medallions from President Armacost at the ceremony. The medallion signifies a station of importance. It is to be worn with a humble pride of one’s own accomplishments and gratitude for the donor who funded the position. It is to be worn at official UND events in which academic regalia is required, including commencement, inaugurations, and the Annual Faculty Investiture Ceremony & Celebration. Displayed on the front of the medallions is the University of North Dakota crest with the motto, “Lux et Lex,” meaning Light and Law. Engraved on the back is the name of the endowed position and the one who holds it.

“I am truly honored to serve as the Randy Lee Professor of Law,” said Myers. “Not only because it bears that name of my friend and colleague Randy Lee, who was such a towering figure in the North Dakota legal community, but also because it comes from the North Dakota Bar Foundation, which does so much to enhance professionalism in the practice of law.”