His Eminence, Adam Cardinal Maida, Archbishop Emeritus of Detroit, will be the keynote speaker at its 2009 Commencement Exercises on May 16. Maida is a long-time member of Ave Maria School of Law’s Board of Governors.
“We are extremely honored that Cardinal Maida, who has been a supporter of Ave Maria School of Law since its inception, will be delivering our commencement address this year,” said Eugene Milhizer, acting dean of Ave Maria School of Law. “As a canon and civil lawyer as well as the leader of the Archdiocese of Detroit for 19 years, Cardinal Maida has a deep appreciation for the mission and educational philosophy of Ave Maria School of Law. It is fitting that he will be the person to close this chapter in the Law School’s history as it holds its final commencement ceremony in Michigan.”
Maida was named Archbishop of Detroit by Pope John Paul II in 1990 and was elevated to the College of Cardinals in 1994. He held the position of Archbishop until January 2009.
Ordained a priest for the Diocese of Pittsburgh in 1956, Maida holds a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) from St. Mary’s University, a Licentiate in Canon Law (J.C.L.) from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, a Doctorate in Civil Law ( J.D.) from Duquesne Law School in Pittsburgh, and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from St. Vincent’s College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He was admitted to practice law before the Bar for the State of Pennsylvania, the Federal Bar in Western Pennsylvania, and the United States Supreme Court.
Following his priestly ordination, Maida served in the Diocese of Pittsburgh as an associate pastor, as Vice Chancellor and General Counsel of the Diocese, in the Diocesan Tribunal, as an Assistant
Professor of Theology at La Roche College, and as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Duquesne University Law School. In 1984, he was ordained and installed as the ninth Bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Ave Maria School of Law will graduate its 7th class this year at a ceremony at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It will relocate to its new home in Naples, Florida this summer and in 2010 will hold Commencement Exercises in the Naples Philharmonic Center for the Arts.
Ave Maria School of Law offers a rigorous legal education characterized by a commitment to professional excellence, the highest ethical and moral standards, and the integration of the Catholic intellectual tradition.  Since its opening, Ave Maria School of Law has enrolled students from 49 states and abroad and more than 380 colleges and universities. Alumni of the Law School are now employed in more than 40 states and several other countries. Ave Maria School of Law is fully accredited by the American Bar Association. For more information, visit www.avemarialaw.edu