SCU School of Law Honors Human Rights Advocate Elizabeth Birch

Business Wire, Oct 15, 2007

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Civil rights champion and one of the most recognized lesbian leaders in the country, Elizabeth Birch, will be honored Oct. 25 by the Santa Clara University School of Law during its fourth annual Celebration of Diversity Gala.

Birch spent nearly a decade as president and executive director of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) advocacy organization. During her tenure from 1995 to 2004, membership in the group grew from 100,000 to 1.1 million supporters, and the budget rose from $6.5 million to nearly $30 million.

An alumna of the SCU School of Law, Birch is credited with building HRC into one of the most respected mainstream advocacy agencies today, a model of professionalism and cutting-edge communication in the nonprofit world. Her fresh, creative approach to helping Americans better understand the LGBT community has earned her numerous awards, including highest honors from the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.

Presenting Birch with the school's annual Social Justice and Human Rights Award will be former U.S. Ambassador James Hormel, philanthropist and founder of a public service law program at Swarthmore College.

Donald J. Polden, dean of SCU's law school, said the University is fortunate to have outstanding graduates such as Birch. "Through her work as an LGBT and civil rights activist and former leader of the Human Rights Campaign, Elizabeth serves as a role model for our students. It is most appropriate that the law school honors her and recognizes her many contributions to law and society at an event that highlights the importance of a highly diverse legal profession."

Besides recognizing the work of an individual who has furthered the causes of equality, social justice, and human rights, the Celebration of Diversity provides students with an opportunity to build valuable relationships with members of the legal profession. Birch, who in addition to her nonprofit work, served as worldwide director of litigation for Apple Computer Inc., will offer insights to students into both public and private legal sectors.

One of the top 10 most ethnically diverse law schools in the nation, SCU has a long tradition of valuing and promoting diversity among students, staff, and faculty. The annual celebration also serves as a fundraiser for the school's Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights scholarship, supporting current and future law students who are committed to equality, inclusion, and social justice. The award is presented in the spring.

The Celebration of Diversity will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. in the San Jose City Hall Rotunda, 200 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose. Title sponsor for the event is Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP.

(Elizabeth Birch will be available for media interviews)

About Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California's Silicon Valley, offers its more than 8,337 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, plus master's and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master's universities, California's oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.