Spivey appointed academic director for law, justice and society program
Kim Chaudoin |
Attorney Randy Spivey has been appointed academic director for Lipscomb University’s Institute for Law, Justice and Society (LJS).
Spivey will expand the LJS curriculum and academic offerings as well as develop new programs for the institute.
“Randy brings a rich background in law to this program. He has a unique understanding of how law and justice work together for the betterment of our society,” said Charla Long, dean of the College of Professional Studies, which houses LJS.
Spivey began his legal career as a law clerk for Judge David H. Welles on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. He left the court to practice law at a commercial litigation firm in Nashville for seven years. Following that, Spivey was disciplinary counsel for the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Board of Professional Responsibility, the ethics board that governs lawyers in the state of Tennessee. Spivey also served as an adjunct professor for Lipscomb’s program at the Tennessee Prison for Women (TPW) as well as for the department of history, politics and philosophy and LJS prior to his full-time appointment with the university.
“My goal is for the program to continue to grow, becoming a national leader in undergraduate legal education. We want to continue to open students’ eyes to issues of justice and mercy and help them think through how those two words can form their career and vocation,” said Spivey. “I hope we can produce students who are called to bring about change and who have been equipped to creatively do just that.”
A core component of the LJS undergraduate program is that students select a social cause of personal significance and work throughout their academic careers to improve or eliminate the cause and its effects on society. Among student projects and achievements this academic year was an internship at the Nashville International Center for Empowerment, a non-profit, community-based organization dedicated to empowering refugees and immigrants of Middle Tennessee through direct social services and educational programs. Another LJS student focused his attention on two growing law-related disciplines, legal ethics and conflict management, which, coupled with several hands-on experiences in the program, helped him stand out among thousands of applicants to Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law, his new home for the next three years. Another May LJS graduate was recently named a Fulbright Scholar. She will research how education affects underserved girls throughout the world as part of her studies at Maastricht University in the Netherlands beginning this summer.
Spivey said he was drawn to the position because of the nature of the program and the issues that are addressed through it.
“As an adjunct professor, I was constantly being given the opportunity to have interesting conversations that challenged my faith and sense of vocation,” said Spivey. “The program’s very name echoed Micah 6:8’ challenge to ‘do justice, love mercy and walk humbly before your God.’ It is a program that structures classes in a way that requires students to confront, honestly and deeply, issues of justice and mercy. When I was offered the chance to continue those conversations full time, it was an easy decision.”
Spivey holds a bachelor’s degree from Lipscomb University and the juris doctorate from the University of Alabama School of Law.
About The Institute for Law, Justice & Society
Lipscomb University’s Institute for Law, Justice & Society (LJS) administers an undergraduate academic program related to law and legal institutions, promotes dialogue related to the legal community, and offers programs of interest to the community at large.
The main purposes of the institute are to be a national leader in multidisciplinary undergraduate legal education; to serve the community by providing timely and thoughtful dialogue on contemporary social and legal issues; to assist globally on issues related to law, justice & society, such as providing rule of law training in countries with developing democracies; and to train K-12 students on the American legal system and inspire good citizenship. The mission of the institute’s undergraduate education program is to provide an integrated, multidisciplinary learning environment that will develop practical liberal arts knowledge of the many areas of influence the American legal system has on society, within the context of ethics and Judeo-Christian values.