John Podesta (L'76) received the 2009 Robert F. Drinan, S.J., Law Alumni Public Service Award at an Oct. 1 celebration of those who best exemplify the school's commitment to civic engagement and public service -- the Law Center's alumni, faculty, students and staff.
Podesta, the president and chief executive officer of the Center for American Progress, also serves on the Law Center faculty as a distinguished visitor from practice and has held numerous positions in government including White House chief of staff to former President Bill Clinton (F'68). Most recently, he served as a co-chair of the transition team for President Barack Obama.
The Drinan award, created in 1996, honors law alumni whose careers enhance human dignity and advance justice. The award was named for the late
Rev. Robert Drinan (L'49, L'51), who in his 86 years of life built an inspiring career in public service through his roles of priest, U.S. congressman, Georgetown law professor, author, scholar and human rights activist. Drinan died in 2007.
"Both men share a commitment to conscience, to dedication, to working for justice, to law," said Georgetown President
John J. DeGioia, who presented Podesta with the award. "They saw that success was not in serving the most powerful, but rather in championing those most in need."
In his brief remarks, Podesta noted that the commitment to public interest is part of what sets a Georgetown law education apart from the rest.
"At Georgetown, we work hard to master not only the nuances of the law, we study how to use the law to reach the higher goal of justice," he said. "In search of that goal, we embrace the unique relationship between centuries of legal tradition and centuries of Jesuitical search for higher truths and true service."
The celebration highlighted some of the many public interest projects undertaken by the Law Center community last year noted that the Law Center will continue its Justice Agenda, a new program designed to enhance public-interest clinics, loan repayment assistance, post-graduate fellowships and more.
Many alumni are assisting with the Justice Agenda. They include
April McClain-Delaney (L'89) and
John K. Delaney (L'88), whose service and support to the Law Center continue to have far-reaching consequences. They recently created the Delaney Family Professorship in Public Interest Law, which was bestowed upon law professor Philip G. Schrag, and are providing additional resources to a loan repayment assistance fund for law alumni working in the public-interest sector.
"These two initiatives are just the beginning," said Law Center Dean
Alexander Aleinikoff. "And as we continue to flesh out our Justice Agenda … (these gifts) will be the catalyst for some of our new initiatives and will inspire others to join us in our efforts as the leading public interest law school in the nation."
