Dean Leonard M. Baynes
Dec. 12, 2019 - University of Houston Law Center Dean Leonard M. Baynes was presented with the John Mercer Langston Legal Education Leadership Award during the 15th Annual National Black Pre-Law Conference and Law Fair 2019 held at Columbia Law School in November.
“I am very humbled and honored by this latest award,” Baynes said. “It feels like an embarrassment of riches. But please note that I do what I do not for recognition but from a deep spiritual place that we are all equally created in the eyes of God and that we are our brother’s and sister’s keeper. We are all put on this Earth to make it a better place and to inspire others to succeed.”
The award is named after John Mercer Langston, who became the first African-American to become a law school dean at the Howard University School of Law.
The purpose of the National Black Pre-Law Conference and Law Fair is to "provide a high-quality, comprehensive national event designed specifically for aspiring Black lawyers, and to provide them with access to empowering information, resources, and contacts that will assist them."
This marks the latest in a number of diversity-related accolades for Baynes and the Law Center.
The work of the Pre-Law Pipeline Program garnered the American Bar Association’s Raymond Pace and Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Award for Excellence in Pipeline Diversity in January in Las Vegas. INSIGHT Into Diversity Magazine has awarded the Law Center the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award for four straight years.
The National Diversity Council recognized Baynes as a Diversity Champion at the Top 50 General Counsel Dinner on Oct. 30 in Houston. The Council on Legal Education Opportunity, Inc. presented Baynes with a CLEO Edge Award on Nov. 7 in Washington D.C.
Baynes was acknowledged for contributions to the local bar and legal education at the Spouses of Houston Barristers 2019 Scholarship Gala on Nov. 9, and The Texas Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education commended the Law Center with a Diversity and Inclusion Excellence and Achievement plaque on Nov. 14 in Austin.
