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Pamela Carter, ’84, will present the commencement address May 7 for graduates of the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.

Carter has enjoyed a wide-ranging career path that includes public service, practice in a traditional legal setting, and business. Early in her career, Carter practiced at the law firm then known as Baker & Daniels, Johnson Smith Densborn & Heath, with the Indiana Securities Commission, and the United Auto Workers Legal Services.

“It is a very great honor for the Class of 2016 at IU McKinney to have Pam Carter for their commencement speaker," said IU McKinney Dean Andrew R. Klein. "Her role as a trailblazer in both the public and private sectors is inspirational, and I know she cares deeply about the positive impact that our new IU McKinney grads will make in our communities, both locally and globally.”

Carter served as the Deputy Chief of Staff and Executive Assistant to then Indiana Governor Evan Bayh. She is the first African American woman to be elected state attorney general in the nation, a post she held in Indiana from 1993 to 1997. During her time as attorney general, the office won all its United States Supreme Court cases, and the briefs won the best brief award for every case. It is a streak without precedent and a record that remains unbroken.

In another first for her career, Carter was the first African American to serve as Cummins Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary when she joined the business in 1997. Before she retired in 2015, she was president of Cummins’ Distribution Business, and was the first woman to run a major business unit at the company. She held many leadership positions at Cummins, including President of Cummins Filtration Business, and she lived in Belgium with her family while she ran the Europe, Middle East, and Africa businesses for the company.

She was named the law school’s Outstanding Alumna of the Year in 2004, and received the IU McKinney Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni Award in 2015. Carter serves on the law school’s Board of Visitors.

Commencement will begin at 6 p.m. in the Sagamore Ballroom of the Indiana Convention Center.