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Law professor honored as Citizen of the Year

Iowa Juneteenth Observance is recognizing Russell Lovell II, professor of law at Drake University Law School, as Citizen of the Year. This is one of the most prestigious honors offered by the organization.

The honor is given to Iowans who have done extraordinary work to better the community. Lovell’s list of awards and accomplishments is lengthy because of his longstanding professional commitment to civil rights and racial and gender equality. He has received numerous civil rights and public service awards on local, regional, and national levels, including the President’s Award for Outstanding Community Service by three presidents of the Des Moines chapter of the NAACP and the Iowa Legal Aid Excellence in Service Award in recognition of his outstanding service to low income Iowans.

Lovell is the founder and director of Drake Law’s first-year trial practicum, which for fifteen years has provided every Drake Law student the opportunity to observe an actual jury trial during their first year of law school. He is also the architect of the law school’s highly regarded Public Service Scholarship Program, and has served as its director for eighteen years. Graduates of this program regularly practice public interest law.

Currently, Lovell recently completed his 37th year on the Drake University Law School faculty. His primary areas of teaching and scholarship are in civil rights, constitutional litigation, employment discrimination litigation, race and the constitution, and remedies. He served as associate dean of Drake Law School twice, from 1987 to 1991 and later from 2004 to 2010, and as executive director of Drake’s Clinical Programs from 1995 to 1999.

Lovell will be honored as Citizen of the Year at an award banquet on June 6, 2013 at the Top of the Tower in the Holiday Inn Downtown at 7 p.m.

Visit www.iowajuneteenth.org for more information on Iowa Juneteenth Observance and the Citizen of the Year award.