ATLANTA MAYOR BILL CAMPBELL TO SPEAK AT PITT LAW COMMENCEMENT

PITTSBURGH, May 18 -– Bill Campbell, mayor of the City of Atlanta, will deliver the commencement address at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law's annual graduation ceremony on Saturday, May 26, at noon, in Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium, Oakland.

Campbell, named one of the top 25 most dynamic mayors in America by Newsweek, became Atlanta's mayor in a landslide victory in 1993. He was re-elected in 1997. His vision of a "new Atlanta" has driven the city's revitalization.

Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, Campbell and his parents actively fought in the civil rights struggle. His father, a janitor, served as the Raleigh NAACP chapter president, and his mother, a secretary, organized civil rights activities in schools and churches. In 1960, at the age of seven, Campbell entered the Raleigh school system and was the only African American child in his school for several years. He and his family endured harassment and death threats from the Ku Klux Klan.

Campbell is a cum laude graduate of Vanderbilt University with bachelor's degrees in political science, sociology, and history, and earned his doctor of law degree from Duke University. He practiced with prestigious law firms and served as a prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice. A member of the Atlanta City Council for three consecutive terms, Campbell authored or coauthored more than 3,000 pieces of legislation.

This year's graduating students include 217 JD degrees, 12 students who will receive the LL.M degree -- the master's program for foreign law graduates, and the first graduate of the Master of Studies in Law degree.

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