October General Body Meeting

Featuring: Provost JoAnne A. Epps

A member of the faculty of Temple Law School since 1985, JoAnne Epps served as Dean of Temple Law School from 2008-2016. In July, she stepped down as Dean to assume the role of Executive Vice President and Provost of Temple University. She is the author and co-author of several books and articles on Evidence and Trial Advocacy.

Commemorating Black History Month, in February 2015 U.S. Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. honored Epps at the U.S. Senate. From March 2015 until January 2017, Epps was the chair of a Police Community Oversight Board created by Mayor Michael Nutter. In June 2017, Epps was honored by The Legal Intelligencer as a Distinguished Leader in her field.

In May 2017, Epps received the Consular Award on Italian National Day by the Consulate General of Italy and was also the recipient of the Inaugural JoAnne Epps Award by the Barristers’ Association of Philadelphia. In November 2016, Epps was honored by The Philadelphia Inquirer as one of the inaugural class members of the Philadelphia Business Hall of Fame. In 2015, the National Association of Women Lawyers presented her with the M. Ashley Dickerson Award for her work towards diversity in the legal profession. In 2014, Epps was awarded the Justice Sonia Sotomayor Diversity Award by the Philadelphia Bar Association and in 2009 received the Association’s Sandra Day O’Connor Award for her efforts to advance women in the profession and the community. A three-time honoree by Lawyers of Color Magazine as one of the 100 most influential black lawyers in the country, Epps was named by National Jurist Magazine in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 as one of the 25 most influential people in legal education. In February 2018, Epps became an independent trustee for PREIT and will serve as a member of the Nominating and Governance Committee.

She serves on several non-profit Boards, is a Director for the American Bar Association Retirement Funds, a member of the Philadelphia Board of Ethics, and is the court-appointed monitor of the settlement of the lawsuit challenging Philadelphia’s stop and frisk activity. Epps is a former Deputy City Attorney for the City of Los Angeles and Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.