Commencement Events To Be Streamed Live

Tulane Law School 2018 Commencement is scheduled May 19 at 1 p.m. at Fogelman Arena located in Devlin Fieldhouse.

This year, Terry O’Neill, former president of the National Association for Women (NOW), alumna and former faculty member, is the commencement speaker. For the first time, law school graduation ceremonies will be streamed live on the Law School's website for friends and family of graduates who cannot attend. Earlier in the day, law school graduates are welcome to join Tulane's unified ceremony at 9 a.m. at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, which includes all 2018 graduates. Details are here.Two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward, who has been hailed as the heir to William Faulkner and one of TIME magazine’s Most Influential People of 2018, will deliver the keynote address at the Superdome ceremony.

Law School Dean David Meyer said he asked O'Neill to address law graduates because she has long established a reputation as one of the country’s leading advocates for equality and inclusion. “O’Neill has been a strong national voice against discrimination and abuse of power,” said Meyer. “We are very excited to welcome Terry O’Neill back to campus and celebrate with the Class of 2018.” In January, O’Neill (L’80), stepped down as the head of NOW and was named Executive Director of the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), a leading organization dedicated to advancing the cause of equality and justice in the workplace.

O’Neill graduated from Northwestern University and from Tulane Law School magna cum laude in 1980.  After practicing corporate and securities law, O’Neill became a law professor at the University of California at Davis and Tulane University, teaching corporate law, legal ethics, and feminist legal theory.   Early in her 12-year tenure on Tulane’s faculty, O’Neill became politically galvanized while campaigning door-to-door against the campaign of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke and served as president of the New Orleans and Louisiana chapters of the National Organization for Women. In 2009, O’Neill was elected President of NOW and led the 500,000-member organization for eight years. As NOW president, she was a national leader on issues ranging from gender pay equity and reproductive rights to domestic violence in the National Football League.  She also led a drive to expand the organization’s focus to emphasize concerns relating to discrimination on grounds of race, sexual identity, and socioeconomic status.

At NELA, O’Neill will continue to play a key role in the unfolding national debate over sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination and abuses of power.