Class of 2025
Graduation Recognition Ceremony
May 18
Everwise Amphitheater
Graduation Recognition Celebration
Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law
May 18, 2025
11:00 a.m.
Everwise Amphitheater
Throughout his career — as a legal, business and civic leader — Robert H. McKinney (1925-2024) served his community, his state, and his nation with integrity and passion.
McKinney graduated from Shortridge High School in Indianapolis, and the U.S. Naval Academy, where he received a B.S. in engineering. In WWII, he served in the Pacific theater for three years (including a period on General Douglas MacArthur’s staff) before returning to law school in Indianapolis in 1949. Recalled to the Navy after receiving his law degree from Indiana University, he served in the Korean War for two years.
Until his retirement in 2005, McKinney was chairman and CEO of First Indiana Corporation, parent company of First Indiana Bank (now BMO Harris Bank). He was chairman and CEO of The Somerset Group, Inc., and also a founding partner of Bose McKinney & Evans LLP, an Indianapolis law firm.
McKinney’s commitment to community-based banking prompted President Jimmy Carter to appoint him as chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation in 1977.
McKinney served on the Indiana University Board of Trustees from 1989 to 1998 and was president from 1993 to 1994. He was chairman of the Board of Advisors of IUPUI and advising director to the IU School of Public & Environmental Affairs. He was also a member of the Board of Visitors of the IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis.
McKinney was a director of many organizations, among them the Presidential Advisory Board for Cuba, Hudson Institute, Indianapolis Economics Club, Indianapolis and Indiana Chambers of Commerce, Chief Executives Organization, Inc.; World President’s Organization, Inc.; the American, Indiana, and Indianapolis Bar Associations; the United States Naval Academy Foundation, Indiana University Foundation, Conservation Law Center, Board of Trustees of Marian University (former chair), the Carter Center at Emory University, and the Sierra Club Foundation (former chair).
His work in the community also included serving as the Indiana Chairman for the presidential campaigns of John F. Kennedy, Edmund Muskie, and Jimmy Carter. McKinney served as legal counsel to Indiana Governor Roger D. Branigin and as Chairman of Governor Evan Bayh’s Government Reorganization Committee.
He received Honorary Doctorates of Law from Marian University in 1976 and Butler University in 1981. McKinney was the 1994 recipient of the Junior Achievement Central Indiana Business Hall of Fame Award, a 1995 recipient of the Hoosier Heritage Award, a 1999 recipient of the IU Academy of Law Alumni Fellows Award, the 2000 recipient of the Indianapolis Archdiocese Spirit of Service Award, and a 2014 recipient of the Anti-Defamation League’s “Man of Achievement” Award. In 2017, he was a recipient of an IUPUI Spirit of Philanthropy Award and the Indiana University and IU Foundation Herman B Wells Visionary Award. He received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree from Indiana University in 2018. At a Memorial Celebration for Mr. McKinney held in Inlow Hall in April 2025, IU McKinney Law Alumni Association President May Li, J.D. ’14, bestowed posthumous honorary alumnus status on McKinney and presented his children, who were present at the event, with a framed certificate to mark the occasion.
McKinney shared a long marriage with his late wife Arlene, with whom he had five children. He married again in 2013 to Shelley Barr McKinney. He and his five children actively managed the McKinney Family Foundation, with its emphasis on solving Indiana’s environmental issues.
Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court
Loretta H. Rush took the oath of office as Indiana’s 108th Supreme Court Justice in November 2012 after being appointed by Governor Mitch Daniels. She was retained by voters in 2014 and 2024. The Judicial Nominating Commission named her Indiana’s first female chief justice in August 2014, and she was reappointed in 2019 and 2024. As chief justice, Rush is responsible for supervising Indiana’s judicial branch. This supervision includes working with the state legislature to secure funding and allocate resources appropriately and overseeing a multi-agency central administrative office that handles everything from caseload measures and technology updates to the admission and discipline of lawyers.
Chief Justice Rush is the immediate past-president of the Conference of Chief Justices and a member of the National Center for State Courts Board of Directors. She also served as co-chair of the National Judicial Opioid Task Force and as an executive committee member on the National Judicial Task Force to Examine State Courts’ Response to Mental Illness. In 2019, she was appointed by Chief Justice John Roberts to the Judicial Conference Committee on Federal-State Jurisdiction and continues to serve in that role. And Chief Justice Rush was recently elected as a member of the American Law Institute. In addition to being a member of local, state, and national bar associations, Chief Justice Rush is a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and an Academy of Law Alumni Fellow for the Maurer School of Law. She is a member of the Indiana Girl Advisory Council. She also chairs or is a member of several commissions, including the Indiana Judicial Conference Board of Directors and the Indiana Judicial Nominating/Qualifications Commission.
Chief Justice Rush was named the 2018 Indiana Chamber of Commerce Government Leader of the Year. She has also received the American Legion of Indiana Distinguishing Public Service Award, the Purdue University Distinguished Alumni Award with induction into the Boiler Business Exchange Hall of Fame, the Indianapolis Bar Association’s Antoinette Dakin Leach Award, the Indiana Civil Rights Commission Spirit of Justice Award, the Indiana Business Journal Women of Influence Award, the Addiction Policy Forum Pillar of Excellence Award, and the National Association of Women Judges Lady Justice Award. Additionally, IBJ Media has included Chief Justice Rush on each of their annual Indiana 250 lists, which includes the state’s most influential and impactful leaders.
Prior to her appointment, Rush spent 15 years at a Lafayette law firm and was elected three times to serve as Tippecanoe Superior Court 3 judge. She was born in Pennsylvania and moved frequently as a child before settling in Indiana in 1972. She earned her undergraduate degree from Purdue University and her law degree from Indiana University Maurer School of Law, both with honors. She is married to Jim Rush with four children and five grandchildren.
LL.M. Division
Syed Arafat Ahmed is completing his Master of Laws (LL.M.) in American Law at Indiana University’s Robert H. McKinney School of Law. He served as president of the Master of Laws Association and as an executive officer for the Student Bar Association. He has been passionate about the law since high school, where he was the only student to express an interest in a legal career. He believes litigation fosters critical thinking skills and is highly dedicated to the pursuit of justice. He earned his law degree from Osmania University in Hyderabad, India, and is licensed to practice law in India. His professional experience includes legal practice in India and internships with the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office and Chugh LLP, a law firm in the U.S. He has volunteered at legal aid camps in India and enjoys playing soccer, socializing, and listening to music. He has received recognition from judges, professors, and employers for his contributions.
M.J. Division
LaCretia Allen, a proud Indianapolis native, is a certified pastry chef through the American Culinary Federation, an entrepreneur, professor, TEDx speaker, and world record holder with Extreme Excellence World Records, supporting the Ruby Bridges Foundation. As founder and CEO of Cretia Cakes LLC, she is renowned for her Southern-style Caramel Obsession Cake, featured on QVC/HSN. Married to her high school sweetheart, Angelo, for over 29 years, LaCretia and Angelo are proud parents of their three adult children. This fall, she will begin her Ph.D. in urban education, building on a foundation of degrees in accounting, hospitality, Africana Studies, and a Master of Jurisprudence from IU McKinney School of Law, where she also serves as an Ambassador. Drawing from her diverse academic background and leadership experience, she brings a distinctive perspective to urban education reform. Through her ongoing work in education and philanthropy, Allen is dedicated to empowering and inspiring future generations.
J.D. Full-time Division
Caitlyn Fields was born and raised in Valparaiso, Indiana. Prior to law school, Fields studied biology and political science at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. During law school, she completed pro bono projects with the American Red Cross and the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention. She also served as a judicial extern for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. On campus, she was the executive symposium editor of the INDIANA LAW REVIEW and a member of the Order of the Barristers for the Staton Moot Court Competition. She was recently recognized as a recipient of the IU Indianapolis Elite 50, which honors graduate students who demonstrate excellence beyond the classroom. After graduation, Fields will join Barnes & Thornburg as an associate in their Litigation Department. She is immensely grateful for her family and their endless love and support.
J.D. Part-time Division
Dr. Counts is a native of Orangeburg, South Carolina, and the youngest of 12 children. She has made Indianapolis her home since December 21, 2017, with her husband of over 30 years, retired US Army Staff Sergeant Robert Lee Counts, a native of Kokomo, IN. They are the proud parents of Cameron, a film and television major who lives in Chicago, and Morghan, who graduated from Ball State University on May 3rd. Dr. Counts holds a BA in English from Clemson University; a Master of Education degree in Secondary Education/English from Converse College; and a PhD in Educational Leadership (Higher Ed), also from Clemson. Shelia has run five half marathons in three years -- three Indy Minis and two Monumentals. She has accepted a position as Assistant Appellate Defender in the Illinois Office of the State Appellate Defender for the 5th District in Mt. Vernon.
The Doctor of Juridical Science (Scientiae Juridicae Doctor or Juridicae Scientiae Doctor), or S.J.D. degree, is a terminal degree in law, which is offered by a minority of law schools in the United States. The degree is designed for persons who have completed a first degree in law (LL.B. or J.D.) and a Master of Laws (LL.M.), and who seek careers as academics in the United States or abroad, as well as for scholars who seek affiliation with other academic or public policy institutions worldwide.
At the IU McKinney School of Law, the S.J.D. is a research-based dissertation degree. Each S.J.D. candidate works closely with one of our faculty members who is an expert in the candidate’s field of study.
The Master of Laws (Magister Legum or Legum Magister), or LL.M. degree, is designed for students of exceptional ability who already hold a first degree in law. That is, a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.), an undergraduate degree in law from a university outside the United States, or a J.D. (Juris Doctor), a professional law degree from an American law school.
The LL.M. degree at the IU McKinney School of Law is a one-year degree program, with seven “tracks” or areas of concentration: American Law for Foreign Lawyers; Corporate and Commercial Law; Health Law, Policy and Bioethics; Intellectual Property Law; International and Comparative Law; International Human Rights Law; and World Trade Law. Since the program’s inception, we have enrolled LL.M. students from more than 70 nations throughout the world.
The Doctor of Jurisprudence degree, also known as a Juris Doctor, or J.D. degree, is a graduate professional degree in law. The degree was first awarded in the United States in the early 20th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree. Originating from the 19th century Harvard movement for the scientific study of law, it is a degree that in most common law jurisdictions is the primary professional preparation for lawyers.
The law school’s Master of Jurisprudence, or M.J. degree, affords professionals in fields other than the law, the opportunity to acquire the legal knowledge that will help them in their chosen careers. The degree consists of 30 credit hours.
Level of Achievement Award Recipients
Pro bono is a Latin phrase meaning “for the good.” Through its Pro Bono Program, the law school encourages students to volunteer time to government entities, public service organizations, and community groups that provide legal assistance to low-income individuals. The students listed below have contributed 50 hours or more of pro bono service as a J.D. student or 17 hours or more as an LL.M. student and have received a Pro Bono Program notation on their transcripts.
JOHN Paul Berlon Award for Pro Bono Service Recipient:
THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN LAW SCHOOLS PRO BONO HONOR ROLL RECIPIENT:
Norman Lefstein Award of Excellence
Gold Level (200+ hours J.D., 67+ HOURS L.L.M.)
Mary H. mitchell outstanding service award
Silver Level (100-199 Hours J.D., 34-66 hours l.l.m.)
Bronze Level (50-99 hours J.D., 17-33 HOURS L.L.M.)
The IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law offers certificates and concentrations in a variety of subject areas.
Indiana University graduates who have achieved excellence in scholarship are entitled to wear honor cords, (fourragères), which hang from the left shoulder. Cream and crimson cords represent Summa Cum Laude (highest distinction), cream cords represent Magna Cum Laude (high distinction), and crimson cords represent Cum Laude (distinction).
December 2024
May 2025
December 2024
May 2025
Summa Cum Laude
Magna Cum Laude
Cum Laude
The hooding ceremony is one of the grand traditions of Commencement exercises for Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. By placing the doctoral hood on the shoulders of candidates for the degree of Doctor of Juridical Science, Master of Laws, Doctor of Jurisprudence and Master of Jurisprudence, distinguished faculty members symbolize in an ancient way that graduates of the school have reached the pinnacle of their educational pursuits.
The deeper origins of the hood itself are lost in antiquity, but it is known that the everyday clothing of just about everyone by the early 12th century included a hood for protection from the elements. In the year 1116, when the first great university and law school at Bologna was founded to introduce the Corpus juris civilus (the body of civil law) to the world, the people who began that enterprise no doubt wore their hooded garb as they traveled to and from their duties.
As the university grew, and other universities at Paris and Oxford were founded, the participants developed a classification system to designate the status of those who labored at academic pursuits. “Scholars,” the lowest class, were expected to attend lectures and present arguments on questions posed by members of the higher orders. “Bachelors” were those who were learning to be teachers. “Masters” (sometimes called Doctors or Professors) whose duty it was to present the lectures, were the highest class in the university system. By the 14th century, “Doctor,” which had been the title conferred at Bologna by the Faculties of Canon Law, Civil Law, and Medicine, became the generally-accepted designation for the highest degree conferred by a university.
The clothing of these university participants provided a natural means of designating their rank, and universities issued rules and statutes defining the uniforms to be worn by the holders of the various degrees. In 1222 the Archbishop of Canterbury, at the Council of Oxford, ordered clerks to wear the cappa clausa, a long closed cape with a hood attached, made of yards of material draped from the shoulders to the floor with one or two slits through which the wearer’s arms could pass. Clerics in continental Europe had already adopted the cappa clausa as common dress, and because most faculty members of the great universities were clerics under minor Orders, the garment was quickly and widely adopted as the uniform of academics. The cappa clausa persevered as the outward indicia of academic rank long after the clergy had abandoned it as standard wear. Wearers of the cappa clausa actually used it as the outer garment of three or four layers of clothing. A simpler, drab-colored garment called the supertunica, or roba, was the middle layer and an article called a subtunica, or cassock, was the undergarment.
By the late 15th century, faculty members subscribing to a fashion of the day wore the outer garment of their academic cappa clausa thrown open at the front, folded back to show the fur lining of the inside and to allow the drab-colored supertunica to show. Later, the fur was placed on the front and ran the length of the garments in panel facings, and you can see the vestiges of that practice in the velvet facings on the front of your graduate’s gown. The tradition of wearing the academic garment open at the front has been carried on at some universities, and you can occasionally see some adherents to that tradition among our faculty, especially on very warm graduation days.
During the 16th century in England, the cape part of the cappa clausa was abandoned but the hood part was retained, modified, and the design was stabilized as a designation of university affiliation. The hood was now worn draped over the supertunica, sometimes called the gunna, which had become the outer garment. Doctors of Civil Law at Oxford during the middle of the 16th century began wearing gowns very similar to those we see today. For everyday use, their gowns were plain and black, though they were often made of silk. A statute at the University of Cambridge actually decreed that the gowns were to be of “sad color.” For “festal” dress, however, academics donned highly decorated and colorful gowns. The university statutes addressed this practice as well, and each set out a code of colors to designate the various faculties residing in the university. In America, the color coding has been somewhat standardized so that the color of the velvet panels on the fronts and sleeves of the gown and the sides of the hood can indicate the type of degree the wearer has received. Juris Doctorates are permitted to wear purple as the color of law, though some universities sometimes use gowns with black panels as a general doctoral gown.
Modern doctoral hoods follow the English modifications adopted at the University of Cambridge. Called “full” hoods, they actually have three parts or segments. The wide panel that falls down the back is called the “tippet.” Attached to the tippet is the “cowl,” which would be the part that would be pulled up to cover the head if it were to be used for that purpose. At the peak of the hood, in the shape of a hollow flap or pocket, is an extension called the “liripipe.” Folklore has it that the liripipe is a vestige of a pocket sewn in the peak of hoods of begging friars where alms, goods or food would be placed by contributors as the monks passed through crowds. Another explanation, far less colorful, is that the extension enables the wearer to more easily don and doff the hood. If you look closely, you can see the liripipe on the hoods received by your graduate. It should be mentioned that another part of the folklore holds that it is good luck to place a coin in the liripipe of any wearer of the doctoral hood who passes.
The early hoods were probably not lined, but Doctors soon began having theirs lined with silk or expensive fur and “doubled” them, that is, they rolled the outside back upon itself so that the luxurious linings showed. The practice has continued through today, and the silk linings carry the colors of the university conferring the degree. The diverse educational background of the faculty is easily seen in the rainbow of colors showing from their “doubled” hoods. Graduates of the Law School will proudly display the Crimson and Cream colors of Indiana University as they accept their diplomas.
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Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law
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