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    • 2012 Commencement Speaker
    • Additions to VLS Advancement Team
    • Anne Poulin Cited by Supreme Court of Louisiana
    • Christopher Dwyer Appointed as New Associate Dean
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    • VLS Confers The Hon. R. Seth Williams with the Medallion Award
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Home > News > May 2012 > 2012 Commencement Speaker

 
The Honorable R. Seth Williams

Tomorrow, May 18, 2012, Villanova Law School will welcome The Honorable R. Seth Williams as the Commencement Speaker for VLS Class of 2012.  Seth Williams became the first African American elected as District Attorney in the history of both the City of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 2009.  A native of West Philadelphia, District Attorney Williams is a graduate of Central High School; Penn State University, where he was President of both the Black Caucus and the Undergraduate Student Government; and Georgetown University Law Center, earning distinction as a Public Interest Law Scholar. He returned to Philadelphia in 1992, continuing his dedication to public service as a member of the Office of the District Attorney.

Highlights of District Attorney Williams’ 10-year tenure as Assistant District Attorney include his appointment as the Assistant Chief of the Municipal Court and his founding and supervision of the Repeat Offenders Unit.  In 2005 he was appointed Inspector General of the City of Philadelphia, a position in which he was responsible for the investigation of allegations of corruption, fraud, waste, abuse and employee misconduct among municipal workers and companies under contract with the city.  Following his term as Inspector General, District Attorney Williams joined the law firm of Stradley, Ronon, Stevens & Young.

District Attorney Williams continues to serve his community as an educator and volunteer.  He currently serves as an adjunct at the Villanova Law School, and has also taught at Temple Law School, Neumann College and Penn State Abington.  He also serves as a Major in the Judge Advocate General Corps of the United States Army Reserve and on the boards of several community organizations, including the Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the Overbrook Park Civic Association & Town Watch, St. Cyprian Catholic Church, the St. Martin de Porres Foundation and the West Philadelphia Y.M.C.A.

We look forward to celebrating Commencement on Friday, May 18, 2012.