This year, the University of Arizona Law James E. Rogers College of Law will honor Robert J. Hirsh (’64), the Honorable Margaret Houghton (’76) and Daisy Jenkins (’96) with the Lifetime Achievement Award.  

Lifetime Achievement Award recipients are selected by faculty for their distinguished and exemplary careers, contributions to the legal profession, support for public causes and law reform and commitment to the pursuit of justice.

This week, we recognize Daisy Jenkins, attorney, community leader, entrepreneur and author. Daisy has been a pathbreaker throughout her professional life. She holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Communications from the University of Hawaii. Jenkins received her JD from the University of Arizona in 1996, focusing on corporate law and employment law.  

Starting as a clerk at then-Hughes Aircraft Company, Daisy climbed the ranks to vice president of Human Resources. She was Raytheon Company’s first Director of Global Diversity at Global Headquarters in Massachusetts and in 2000 became the first woman of color to hold the position of Vice President in the company’s 70-year history. Jenkins served the company for 29 years before moving to Carondelet Health Network where she was Chief Administrative & Human Resources Officer from 2010 to 2013.  

Since 2013, Daisy has been President of Daisy Jenkins & Associates, LLC, a business consulting firm specializing in human resource services and expertise, executive and developmental coaching, and customized solutions for clients. She is also a senior advisor with the THEO Executive Group in Irvine, Texas.  

In addition to her professional achievements, Daisy has been a leader in community service organizations and has been a dedicated advocate for African American student achievement. Her affiliations include the UA Foundation Board of Trustees, Southern Arizona African American Museum Board of Directors, UA President’s Black Community Council and the Tucson Unified School District African American Advisory Council. She is also a member of the College of Law’s Board of Visitors.

Daisy, a prolific author, has published three novels and numerous articles for local and national magazines.  

Daisy has been honored by many institutions, including the 2019 Spirit of Philanthropy award from the University of Arizona College of Humanities, the 2015 Si Se Puede Legacy award from the Arizona Cesar Chavez Holiday Coalition, the Phenomenal Woman of the Year award from the University of Arizona Black Alumni Association, the 2007 Tucson Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year, and the 2001 James E. Rogers Distinguished Alumnus Award. Most recently, in 2022, she was recognized in the June issue of BizTucson as one of the Women Leading the Region. She was also recognized as one of the African American Women at the Top in Corporate America by Ebony Magazine. 

Daisy is devoted to her family and her church community. She and her husband Fred C. Jenkins, Jr. have two sons and twelve grandchildren. 

We look forward to recognizing the achievements of Bob, Daisy, and Peggy during the Lifetime Achievement Award Reception:

Date: Friday, October 28, 2022 

Time: 4:30 - 6:30 p.m.  

Where: James E. Rogers College of Law, Lewis Roca Lobby & Snell & Wilmer Courtyard  

This event and free and open to all alumni, friends, family, and students.

Parting Words from Nancy Stanley

When I asked Marc Miller if I could write something for this edition of Letter of the Law, he drew a deep breath, arched his eyebrows and took a long, studied moment before saying, “Well, I guess....”  

He needn’t have feared the result. While irreverent by nature, I retire from this college a bigger fan than the day I started in January, 2003.  

Like so many of you, a lot of my life has been lived in these halls. My children grew up in this building, coming to work with mom so that they could jump with wild abandon on that 108-foot couch. (For a generation, you may be saying “what couch?”. If you know, you know…)

Like you, I’ve spent a million dollars in those vending machines and lamented the lack of decent office coffee almost daily. And, after two decades, every space holds some sort of memory, most of them warm and comforting. 

What offers me even more comfort is the fact that what we do here matters. Especially these days, when life can seem uncertain and broken, lawyers and those who educate lawyers can lead the charge to mend the world and move it forward. As a philosophical concept, the rule of law is amazing, but lawyers can animate its promise and lend meaning to its loftiest aspirations. 

I’ve watched many of you do that. I’ve witnessed your moments of inspiration as well as self-doubt. I’ve watched you transform from wide-eyed 1Ls to polished advocates, being someone’s steady voice at their toughest time. I’ve seen you mentor and coach and – yes – write the checks that create tangible opportunities for others. 

It’s been fascinating – and a lot of fun – to see it all unfold, in the way that healthy institutions constantly re-invent themselves.

It’s time for a little re-invention in my life, too. I’m a passionate traveler, a mediocre standup comic, and – in my own head, at least – a writer with Big Plans. And, come January, I’ll be teaching a short course for the terrific students in our BA in Law program at Hanoi Law University. So it’s a big change, but not a real goodbye. 

Knowing you as students, professionals, and co-workers has been one of the great privileges of my very privileged life. 

Thank you. 

Nancy Stanley

We are looking forward to seeing alumni and other friends in a little over a week, on October 27-29, for Homecoming events planned for the LawCat Community:

Friday, October 28

Arizona Law’s Lifetime Achievement Awards

Honoring:

Robert J. Hirsh, Class of 1964

Hon. Margaret Houghton, Class of 1976

Daisy Jenkins, Class of 1996

Location: James E. Rogers College of Law, Lewis Roca Lobby & Snell & Wilmer Courtyard, or virtually

Time: 4:30-6:30 p.m.

Register for the Lifetime Achievement Awards

Arizona Law’s Alumni Reunion Celebration

Celebrating the reunion classes of: 1972, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992 , 1997, 2002, 2007, 2012, and 2017

Location: Culinary Dropout, 2543 E. Grant Road

Time: 7-10 p.m. 

Register for the Reunion Celebration

Saturday, October 29

Arizona Law Red & Blue BBQ

Location: James E. Rogers College of Law, Snell & Wilmer Courtyard

Time: 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Register for the BBQ

As we find ourselves in the midst of another contentious election cycle, we are hosting five influential voices to discuss law and democracy for the 2022-23 Pitt Family Foundation Speaker Series. 

This evening at 5:30 p.m. (Tucson), we welcome New York Times opinion writer Margaret Renkl for the first in this year’s series.

Other upcoming speakers are:

• American political analyst, historian, and journalist Thomas Frank, appearing in person and via Zoom on November 30

• Steven Levitsky, David Rockefeller Professor of Latin American Studies and Professor of Government at Harvard University

• Annette Gordon-Reed, Pulitzer Prize winner and Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard

• Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan

The Pitt Family Foundation Speaker Series is part of the Participatory Democracy Initiative at the University of Arizona. The Participatory Democracy Initiative is an interdisciplinary and community-engaged program of the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, the School of Government & Public Policy, and the School of Journalism. 

The series will be moderated by former Tucson mayor and current University of Arizona Law Professor of Practice Jonathan Rothschild.

We have recently learned of University of Arizona Law alumnae taking new positions:

The National Association for Law Placement (NALP) has named Nikia Gray (’07) as its new Executive Director. According to a press release from NALP, Nikia most recently served as Managing Partner of the Washington, D.C. office of Quarles & Brady and also as the firm’s Director of Legal Recruiting.

After nearly three years as a Prosecutor at the Tohono O’odham Nation, Christina Rinnert (’19) began as Special Counsel to the O’odham Judiciary in August. “My continued work with the Nation stems directly from the experiences I had, relationships I began, and work I did while at UA Law in the IPLP Tribal Justice Clinic,” Christina wrote in a message to us about her her new position.

Congratulations, Nikia and Christina!