Retired NC Supreme Court justice to speak at Stone Center

Patricia Timmons-Goodson ’76, ’79 (JD), dean and chief academic officer of North Carolina Central University’s School of Law, will deliver the annual Stone Memorial Lecture on Tuesday, Nov. 12. The event will take place at 6 p.m. in the Stone Center Auditorium at Carolina’s Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Research in Black Culture and History.

Timmons-Goodson’s professional career spans more than three decades of public service to the state of North Carolina. After serving as a prosecutor, legal aid lawyer, trial and intermediate appellate judge, Timmons-Goodson was appointed to the North Carolina Supreme Court in 2006 by Gov. Michael Easley. Her appointment as an associate justice made her the fourth woman and the first African American woman to sit on the state’s highest court. Her retirement in 2012 marked the conclusion of 28 years of judiciary service.

In 2014, then-President Barack Obama appointed Timmons-Goodson a member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, later designating her as vice chair. The bipartisan commission informs the development of national civil rights policies and enhances enforcement of federal civil rights laws.

In recognition of her service to Carolina and the state, Timmons-Goodson is a recipient of the UNC Distinguished Alumni Award, the Harvey E. Beech Outstanding Alumni Award, the William Richardson Davie Award and the UNC School of Law Distinguished Alumna Award. She is also a recipient of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine award and was inducted into the North Carolina Women’s Hall of Fame in 2010.

“The Honorable Timmons-Goodson is a stalwart servant leader who has, by example and rule of law, advocated for justice in every sense of the word. She truly embodies Dr. Stone’s legacy, and we are thrilled to welcome her back home to Carolina,” said LeRhonda Manigault-Bryant, director of the Stone Center.

Held annually for the past 32 years, the Sonja Haynes Stone Memorial Lecture brings a woman to Carolina’s campus whose work, scholarship and service epitomizes the vision and spirit of Dr. Sonja Haynes Stone.

Interested members of the campus community should RSVP for the event.