UH Law School to award 2009 Patsy Mink Legislative Fellowship

Celebration to feature screening of award-winning documentary

The William S. Richardson School of Law is proud to announce that it will again honor the memory and many accomplishments of the late Congresswoman Patsy Takemoto Mink by awarding the 2009 Patsy Takemoto Mink Legislative Fellowship to a current law student at a special celebration on March 16, 2009, 6 - 9 p.m. in Law School Classroom 2. The event is free and open to the public.

This year‘s celebration will feature the screening of the award-winning documentary Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority, by local filmmaker Kimberlee Bassford, who dedicated several years to producing the award-winning film. The film explores Representative Mink‘s legacy as the first woman of color ever to serve in the United States Congress and is also being screened at her hometown in Maui in honor of Women‘s History Month.

Law School Dean Avi Soifer noted, "Each year the Mink Fellowship evening is a terrific, chicken-skin event. Friends and admirers of Patsy Mink get a chance to talk about her wonderful legacy and to share and keep it going with current and recent law students. This year, the free showing of the film will heighten the sense of Congresswoman Mink‘s abiding spirit and her ongoing, palpable influence."

The Patsy Takemoto Mink Legislative Fellowship was created by law students at the William S. Richardson School of Law in 2003 to honor Congresswoman Mink‘s legacy. Each year, the fellowship funds an opportunity for a law student who is interested in public policy and social justice to intern in the House or Senate office of a member of the Hawaiʻi congressional delegation in Washington D.C. Eligible applicants are William S. Richardson law students in good academic standing with demonstrated leadership abilities and a commitment to public service. Fellowship funds are raised by donors committed to continuing and building upon Congresswoman Mink's achievements.

"Participating in the Mink Fellowship was a great way to give back to a woman who made it possible for me to pursue higher education. One of the best things I can do to further Congresswoman Mink's vision is to continue to spread her message of public service and commitment to our communities," said Tiffany Kaeo, the 2007 Mink Fellow. "The fellowship has only confirmed my desire to continue advocating for those whose voices need to be heard." The first recipient, Van Luong, is now a legislative assistant in Senator Daniel K. Inouye‘s Washington office.

This event is free and open to the public. Seating is limited; $3 Parking at Lot 20. Please RSVP via email to lawevent@hawaii.edu or call 956-6857.

For more information, visit: http://www.hawaii.edu/law