Editor’s note: This story was originally posted on May 5, 2019.

Michèle Alexandre, the next dean of Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Florida, received a proclamation on the floor of the Senate in Tallahassee on May 1 welcoming her as Stetson Law’s first African-American dean.

As Florida’s first law school, Stetson has been instrumental in training lawyers and judges throughout the state for more than a century.

Alexandre met with legislators including state Senators Darryl Rouson, Jeff Brandes, Ed Hooper and Janet Cruz, and Senate President Bill Galvano; Representatives Kionne McGhee and Chris Sprowls; Governor Ron DeSantis; Florida Supreme Court Justice Ricky L. Polston; and staff of the Florida Office of the Attorney General, including General Counsel Richard Martin, during a special event in the state capital.

Alexandre is a noted civil rights, gender and race scholar, and author of “The New Frontiers of Civil Rights Litigation.” She is currently serving as the associate dean for Faculty Development and Intellectual Life, professor of law, and the Leonard B. Melvin, Jr. Lecturer at the University of Mississippi School of Law. 

At the University of Mississippi, she chaired the undergraduate Honors curriculum committee, led the Honors College faculty, and taught courses in the undergraduate international studies program. She has a J.D. from Harvard Law and was Colgate University’s first black valedictorian.

Alexandre’s appointment as dean at Stetson Law is effective June 2019.

-Brandi Palmer