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Colleagues and friends toast UH Law Center Professor Olivas, UH College of Education Professor Reyes

University of Houston Law Center alumna Justice Ruby Kless Sondock ’62, left, is presented the first Justice Ruby Kless Sondock Award by newly-elected HBA president Benny Agosto, Jr. (Photo courtesy of the Houston Bar Association)

Dean Leonard M. Baynes, left, and Professor Sandra Guerra Thompson, were among colleagues and friends who paid tribute to Professor Michael A. Olivas for his years of teaching at the University of Houston Law Center.

May 28, 2019 — The academic careers of University of Houston Law Center Professor Michael A. Olivas and University of Houston College of Education Professor Tina Reyes, Olivas’ wife, were recently celebrated at Houston restaurant Caracol.

The event served as a fundraiser that netted more than $30,000 for the Olivas-Reyes Reading Room, which will be in the library of the Law Center’s proposed new building. Olivas, who has taught at the Law Center since 1982, is retiring in December.

The event was attended by more than 50 people from across Texas. Dean Leonard M. Baynes, Professor Sandra Guerra Thompson and Law Center alumna Leah Gross ’87 remarked on the impact of Olivas as a legal educator. Dr. Catherine Horn, executive director of the Institute for Educational Policy Research and Evaluation within the College of Education, commended Reyes’ career in academia.

In addition to Guerra Thompson and Gross, host committee members included Celina Joachim '04, senior counsel at Chevron, Christopher Domingo '09 of Jones Day, Hon. David Medina of Chamberlain Hrdlicka, and Juan F. Vasquez Jr. '01 of Chamberlain Hrdlicka.

DONOR PLEDGE FORM – Olivas Reyes Room

University of Houston Law Center Professor Lonny Hoffman (second from the left) was one of several recipients of the President’s Award at the 2019 Houston Bar Association Annual Dinner. (Photo courtesy of the Houston Bar Association)

Professor Olivas and his wife, Professor Tina Reyes, were honored for teaching thousands of students at the University of Houston.

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