SAN DIEGO (October 2, 2025) – Congratulations to Robert A. Schapiro, Dean and C. Hugh Friedman Professor of Law at the University of San Diego (USD) School of Law, who was honored with the Howard Wayne Award by the American Constitution Society (ACS) San Diego Lawyer Chapter at its 2025 Annual Dinner on September 26.
More than 100 members and friends gathered for the celebration, which recognized this year’s honorees—Dean Schapiro and Lorena Slomanson, recipient of the Roberto Alvarez Award—and featured keynote remarks from Ira Kurzban, renowned legal scholar and author of Kurzban’s Immigration Law Sourcebook.
The Howard Wayne Award is presented annually to an established leader whose work embodies the mission, vision, and core values of ACS and who contributes to building a vibrant, diverse legal community. The award is named in memory of Howard Wayne ’72 (JD), a USD Law alumnus, founding member of the ACS San Diego Chapter, and longtime champion of public service. Wayne, who passed away in November 2023, mentored generations of lawyers and students during his nearly 50-year career as a Deputy Attorney General for the California Department of Justice, California State Assemblymember, and member of the San Diego County Grand Jury. His legacy continues to inspire attorneys across San Diego and the national ACS network.
The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy is the nation’s largest progressive legal network, uniting lawyers, judges, scholars, students, elected officials, and advocates committed to ensuring that the Constitution and the law work for all people. The ACS San Diego Lawyer Chapter hosts events highlighting the courts’ influence on both local and national issues.
About Dean and C. Hugh Friedman Professor of Law Robert A. Schapiro
Dean Robert A. Schapiro is an internationally recognized scholar of federalism who joined USD School of Law as dean in January 2021. His articles have appeared in the Stanford Law Review, Virginia Law Review, the Cornell Law Review, and the Northwestern University Law Review. He is a former dean of Emory University School of Law and served as the Co-Director of Emory School of Law’s Center on Federalism and Intersystemic Governance. A graduate of Yale Law School, Dean Schapiro served as editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal and clerked for Judge Pierre N. Leval of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and for Justice John Paul Stevens of the U.S. Supreme Court. He is a member of the American Law Institute.
About the University of San Diego School of Law
Each year, USD educates approximately 800 Juris Doctor and graduate law students from throughout the United States and around the world. The law school is renowned for its offerings in the areas of business and corporate law, constitutional law, intellectual property, international and comparative law, public interest law, and taxation.
USD School of Law is one of the 88 law schools elected to the Order of the Coif, a national honor society for law school graduates. The law school’s faculty consists of outstanding scholars and teachers with national and international reputations, currently ranking 34th nationally among U.S. law faculties in scholarly impact and 37th nationally in past-year faculty downloads on the Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN). The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. Founded in 1954, the law school is part of the University of San Diego, a private, independent, Roman Catholic university chartered in 1949.
