News Archive
Three IU McKinney Alumni to Be Honored at Public Interest Recognition Dinner
04/05/2016
Stephen E. Culley, ’77; Judge Maria D. Granger, ’94; and Aida J. Ramirez, ’12; will be honored at the 8th annual Public Interest Recognition Dinner, to be held April 16. The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the atrium at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.
The evening’s program begins with a keynote address by Ken Falk, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana. Falk teaches civil rights as an adjunct professor at IU McKinney.
The alumni being honored during the program are:
Stephen E. Culley, ’77, is a native of Evansville. He began working as a volunteer for what was then known as the Legal Services Organization. He received a Reginald Heber Smith Fellowship and Worked for the Appalachian Research and Defense Fund in Welch, West Virginia for a year. He returned to Evansville when Indiana Legal Services opened its office in that city, and took a job there. Much of his caseload is eviction and foreclosure defense.
Judge Maria Granger, ’94, presides in the Floyd County Superior Court. Judge Granger is the supervising judge in the county’s Veterans Court of Southern Indiana. This court was created to address the needs of veterans, many of whom have become involved in the court after coping with multiple deployments through their military service. The court addresses mental health, alcohol, and substance abuse problems these veterans may have.
Aida Ramirez, ’12, is director of the Columbus Human Rights Commission. While in law school, she spent a lot of time volunteering with a project aimed at improving the process and substance of landlord-tenant proceedings in small claims courts in Indiana. In her role at the Human Rights Commission, she helps enforce the city’s ordinances that prohibit discrimination.
The event begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Inlow Hall atrium. Proceeds from the dinner support the law school’s Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) Endowment, which helps IU McKinney graduates working in public interest repay their student loans. To learn more, visit the law school’s website. For questions about the event or to purchase tickets, email ejwindy.dinner@gmail.com
