UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State Law in University Park has announced that D. Brooks Smith, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, will deliver the law school’s 2020 spring commencement address.
Smith was elevated to chief judge of the Third Circuit in 2016 and previously served as chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He is the only judge in the history of the Third Circuit to have served as chief judge at both the district and circuit levels. Smith also is the circuit’s longest-tenured sitting judge.
Smith serves as chair of Penn State Law’s board of advisers, which provides support and advice to enhance Penn State Law’s vision of providing legal education for a changing society. He also serves as an adjunct professor at Penn State Law. He received the law school’s first leadership award in 2016, and in 2017 received the Distinguished Alumni Award, the University’s highest honor. He is a graduate of Penn State’s Dickinson Law.
Penn State Law’s 2020 commencement ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 16, in Eisenhower Auditorium on the University Park campus. Tickets are not required for the ceremony, which will also be live-streamed on the Penn State Law YouTube channel.
For more information on 2020 commencement, please visit pennstatelaw.psu.edu/2020commencement.