Benjamin Rawlins - 2007
Benjamin Rawlins has served as General Counsel for the Oregon University System since 1999, a position that he is leaving as he assumes a new position as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of Meharry Medical College on July 1. He previously served as the Chief of Staff and the Deputy Chancellor for Legal Affairs for the System; Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Legal Affairs and Interim Vice Chancellor for Development and University Relations, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University; and Director of Judicial Programs, Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Administration and Acting Affirmative Action Officer for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before entering the field of higher education law, Mr. Rawlins was in private practice in Washington, DC, and served as law clerk with the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia and for the Honorable H. Carl Moultrie of the Washington DC Superior Court. Mr. Rawlins received his B.A. from Johnson C. Smith University, his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center, and his M.P.A. from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Mr. Rawlins has been a NACUA member since 1983. He has been a speaker at CLE workshops and annual conferences, and has served on a number of committees, including Vice Chair of the Committee on Membership, 1989-1990; Chair of the Committee on Board Operations, 1998-1999; and Chair of the Committee on Nominations and Elections in 2005-2006. He also was a member of the NACUA Board of Directors from 1995-1998.
Mr. Rawlins has been a generous and selfless supporter of NACUA for nearly 25 years. In his quiet, but very effective manner, he has worked tirelessly to help the Association achieve its goals of transparency, inclusivity, and diversity. We are a better and stronger organization as a result. For these reasons, and for his long service to the higher education law community, NACUA is proud to bestow the Distinguished Service Award to Benjamin Rawlins with the thanks and appreciation of his many colleagues and friends.