Placido Gomez, class of ’75 ’76 and visiting professor of law at the University of La Verne College of Law, will give the commencement address at Adams State University in Alamosa on May 14, 2016. The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. in Plachy Hall. Adams State will award 362 degrees, including 271 bachelor’s degrees, and 91 associate degrees.
During his speech, Take Your Seat at the Table, Gomez will urge graduates to use their education and experience to actively seek solutions to the many issues society needs to address.
Gomez previously served as vice president for Academic Affairs and Provost at New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, New Mexico.
Gomez received his LL.M. from Yale Law School, his J.D. from the University of New Mexico Law School, and a bachelor’s in elementary education and master’s in guidance and counseling from Adams State.
Gomez was also a tenured member of the faculty at the Phoenix School of Law, St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, and Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University in Houston. He also teaches for the American Indian Law Center at the University of New Mexico School of Law in Albuquerque, and serves as an appellate judge on the Southwest Intertribal Court of Appeals and a Pro Tem Judge of the Yavapai-Apache Nation.
He received several honors in association with his active role in the education of minority students. While at Yale, he was instrumental in establishing the James Thomas Lecture Series, an annual program that brings young minority law professors to the Yale Law School campus. In April 2001, he was honored at the University of New Mexico School of Law with the Fighting for Justice Award for his commitment to the legal education of minority students and his work with indigent and under-represented groups in the criminal justice system.
Arnold Salazar, chair of the Adams State Board of Trustees, will convey the greetings from the board, while Elizabeth Streeter will deliver the 2016 class message. Dr. Shellie Beeman, assistant professor of music, will lead the singing of the Alma Mater.
