Alumna Brooklyn Sawyers Belk is serving the College of Law this semester as an advocate in residence and visiting professor.
In that position, Belk will be teaching and mentoring students. She will also present a community-wide lecture.
Students in Belk’s seminar course titled “Race and United States Supreme Court” are examining the United States Supreme Court’s decisions on race and racism and the court’s struggle with fundamental issues of racial bias, bigotry and inequality.
Students are working to view how those decisions have affected the progress of society.
Belk, who is partnering with Professor Penny White and the College of Law’s Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution as the advocate in residence, is a 2006 graduate of the College of Law. She previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney, in-house counsel and a law firm partner.
In past semesters at the College of Law, Belk has served as a lecturer and taught a variety courses in the advocacy and dispute resolution concentration.
“Brooklyn has always taken a special interest in each student in her class,” White said. “Her commitment to students and passion for teaching are off the charts. Many students who confessed to being scared of public speaking now plan to be trial attorneys because of the encouragement and tutelage that Sawyers-Belk provided in their trial practice class.”
White said she expects Belk to have an even greater influence on College of Law students through her work this semester.
Belk working as an advocate in residence “will give our students a unique opportunity to engage with her in and out of the classroom benefitting not only from her professional accomplishments but also her amazing ability to connect, counsel and mentor,” White said.