News Archive
Professor Fran Watson, '80, Honored as Outstanding Alumna of the Year for 2017
06/26/2017
Professor Fran Watson, ’80, was honored as the 2017 Outstanding Alumna of the Year. She was chosen by IU McKinney’s Alumnae Network, and was celebrated at a luncheon in her honor at the Woodstock Country Club in Indianapolis on June 23.
Professor Novella Nedeff, one of Professor Watson’s colleagues in the IU McKinney Law School Clinic, delivered a tribute during the event. The two worked together on the staff of the Indiana Public Defender and at the Marion County Public Defender Agency before becoming co-workers again at IU McKinney’s Clinic.
Professor Watson is the founding director of the law school’s Wrongful Conviction Clinic. In the past year, her clinic students, under Professor Watson’s supervision, worked successfully to exonerate three clients.
“We gather this afternoon to honor Fran not only as a victor, because the world loves a winner,” Professor Nedeff said. “She deserves this award because, nevertheless, she persisted.”
During her remarks, Professor Watson talked about how she and her law students found the drive to continue to pursue justice on behalf of the Clinic’s clients.
“We fought for those clients because we believed in them,” Professor Watson said. “It mattered to them that we fought.”
“Professor Watson’s incredible talent and service shine in our law school and throughout the legal community,” said IU McKinney Dean Andrew R. Klein. “She always goes above and beyond. It would be an understatement to say that Professor Watson is a tireless advocate for those in need of representation. She also has made a significant impact on the lives of McKinney students, many of whom have chosen public service as a career path due to Professor Watson’s example and mentorship.”
Professor Watson first taught at the law school from 1990 to 1992, as a visiting professor in the Criminal Defense Clinic. From 1993 to 1995, she left teaching to serve as the first Chief Public Defender of the Marion County Public Defender’s Agency. After returning to the law school in 1995, Professor Watson continued to direct the Criminal Defense Clinic and developed the Wrongful Conviction Clinic. The Wrongful Conviction Clinic is a founding member of the Innocence Network and provides live-client representation in state and federal proceedings to Indiana inmates claiming actual innocence and wrongful conviction.
