UT Law names five faculty to professorships

The University of Tennessee College of Law named five faculty members to named professorships in recognition of their contributions to the college and the university.

Dean Rivkin will hold the Williford Gragg Distinguished Professorship, made possible through the trust of Williford Gragg (’36), who passed away in 1987.

Becky Jacobs and Val Vojdik will each hold a Waller Lansden Distinguished Professorship, made possible by Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP, which established the professorship and its accompanying scholarship in 1995.

Joan Heminway will hold the Rick Rose Distinguished Professorship, made possible through the Richard L. Rose Lecture & Distinguished Jurist-in-Residence Endowment. The endowment was established by Dean’s Circle lifetime member Richard L. Rose (’74) in 2007.

Alex Long, associate dean for academic affairs, will be the first person to hold the Doug Blaze Distinguished Professorship, made possible through the generosity of Rose, John Foy (’67), and Dean’s Circle lifetime member Joel Katz (’69). The three alumni established the professorship to honor Doug Blaze, the college’s former dean who stepped down in 2015 and is now the director of the Institute for Professional Leadership.