This year’s School of Law commencement speaker is Judge Andrew S. Effron, United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Services. Judge Effron was appointed to the Court in 1996 by President Clinton. Judge Effron is a graduate of Harvard College, Harvard Law School, and the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s School.

Before Judge Effron was appointed to the Court by President Clinton, he served on the staff of the Committee on Armed Services from 1987-1996. Prior to joining the Committee, he served as an attorney-adviser in the Department of Defense Office of General Counsel (1977-87); as Trial Counsel, Chief of Military Justice, and Defense Counsel in the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Fort McClellan, Alabama (1976-77); and as a legislative aide to the late Representative William A. Steiger (1970-76; 2 years full-time, the balance between school semesters).

Judge Effron was born September 18, 1948 in Stamford, Connecticut, and raised in Poughkeepsie, NY, where he graduated from Poughkeepsie High School (1966). He is a graduate of Harvard College (1970, B.A., magna cum laude), where he was Editor in Chief of the Harvard Political Review; Harvard Law School (1975, J.D. cum laude), where he was Executive Editor of the Harvard Civil Rights Civil Liberties Law Review; and the Judge Advocate General's School, U.S. Army (Basic Course Distinguished Graduate, 1976; Graduate Course, by correspondence, 1984).

Judge Effron's awards include the Army Meritorious Service Medal (1977); the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (1979); and the Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Medal (1987).

Last year’s graduation speaker was Judge Dorothy Wright Nelson.