William E. Thro - 2007
William E. Thro serves as State Solicitor General for the Commonwealth of Virginia. He previously served as General Counsel for Christopher Newport University, Interim General Counsel for Old Dominion University, and as litigation counsel for Colorado State University and the Colorado Department of Education. He began his legal career as a judicial clerk to the late Judge Ronald E. Meredith of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. Mr. Thro has been a member of the Editorial Board of The Journal of College and University Law for seven years, the last two as Chair. He also serves on the Editorial Advisory Committee of the Education Law Reporter, on the Editorial Board of the Encyclopedia of Education Law, and as a contributing author to the Yearbook of Education Law. He received the National Association of Attorneys General Best Brief Award for the 2003 Term. Mr. Thro was a Harry S. Truman Scholar and a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar. He received his B.A. Summa Cum Laude from Hanover College and his M.A. with Honours from the University of Melbourne, Australia. His J.D. is from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was a published member of the Virginia Law Review and research assistant to constitutional law professor A.E. Dick Howard.
In addition to his committee service, Mr. Thro has been a frequent speaker at NACUA CLE Workshops and the Annual Conference on topics ranging from first amendment issues to sovereign immunity to federal regulation of higher education. He is a prolific writer, having authored or co-authored three NACUA publications to date: Why You Can’t Sue State U: A Guide to Sovereign Immunity (first and second editions); Race Conscious Admissions and Financial Aid Programs; and the NACUA Handbook for Lawyers New to Higher Education (first and second editions). He currently is co-editing a fourth NACUA publication, a compendium focusing on first amendment issues. His list of scholarly journal articles, contributions to books, and other published materials also is extensive.
NACUA is pleased to honor William Thro as a NACUA Fellow in recognition of and appreciation for his many contributions to higher education and to the practice of law. His breadth of scholarship has earned him the respect of his colleagues across all sectors of higher education law.