During the seventeen years that she taught at Washington and Lee University, Professor Louise A. Halper was an advocate for minority viewpoints on campus. She founded and served as faculty advisor to the Race and Ethnic Ancestry Law Digest, which evolved into the Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice. Both inside and outside the classroom, she encouraged students, whatever their politics or beliefs, to speak their minds about today’s most complicated social problems. She also urged students, via their written work, to identify and advocate for new ideas, solutions or paths towards making the world a more just society for all individuals.

Created after Professor Halper’s unexpected passing in June 2008, the annual Louise A. Halper Award seeks to honor her efforts as an advocate, educator, mentor, colleague, and friend. Each spring, the Award is presented to the second-year law student who is judged to have submitted the best note for publication in the Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice. Members of the Journal’s Editorial Board determine the winner.