Contact: Sammy McDavid
Practicing attorney and retired history-making judge Reuben V. Anderson of Jackson will lead a public program Thursday [Feb. 21] at Mississippi State.
The first African-American to sit on the Mississippi Supreme Court, Anderson will deliver the university's latest Morris W. Collins Lecture. His presentation begins at 3 p.m. in the John Grisham Room of Mitchell Memorial Library.
Now a partner in the regional Phelps Dunbar law firm, Anderson was appointed to the high court by Gov. Bill Allain in 1985. The Jackson native stepped down in 1990 to enter private practice, where he specializes in commercial litigation, regulatory and governmental matters, and gaming.
Anderson is a graduate of Tougaloo College and the University of Mississippi School of Law. After graduating from law school in 1967, he was named associate counsel for the state NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc. After eight years in that position, he became a partner in the Jackson firm of Anderson, Banks, Nichols and Stewart.
In 1975, Anderson began two years of service as a Jackson municipal judge, followed by five years as a Hinds County court judge and three years on the bench of the 7th Circuit Court District. For a semester in 1995, he returned to Ole Miss as holder of the Jamie L. Whitten Chair of Law and Government.
A memorial to the founding executive director of Mississippi State's John C. Stennis Institute of Government, the Collins Speaker Series regularly brings leading state figures to the university for in-depth discussions of their lives and careers.
In addition to the Stennis Institute, the library's Congressional and Political Research Center and the student John C. Stennis-G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery Association are series sponsors.
For additional information, telephone the institute at (662) 325-3328 or the library at 325-0812.