ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Phillip C. Stone has been selected to receive the prestigious 2016 American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the Fourth Circuit. The award will be presented on May 24 at the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference at the Greenbrier Resort in Sulphur Springs, WV, by Chief Judge William B. Traxler, Jr.
Stone is the president of Sweet Briar College, beginning his tenure in July 2015 after a change of governance following settlement of litigation over the prior board’s decision to close the school. Prior to accepting the post, he was a principal at Stone Law Group in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
A graduate of Bridgewater College, Stone served as its president from 1994 to 2010; all four of his children graduated from the institution as well. During his tenure at Bridgewater, enrollment increased 78 percent. Stone introduced a Personal Development Portfolio program, enrolled some of the first Hope Fund students, established new scholarships, hired top-notch faculty, and improved technology and facilities. He also oversaw a successful $40 million capital campaign. Stone received the President’s Medal from Bridgewater in 2015.
Stone was a member of the Executive Committee of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and chaired the southern regional accrediting association. He is post moderator of the Church of the Brethren, the denomination’s highest office. A student of Abraham Lincoln, Stone served on the United States and Virginia Lincoln Bicentennial Commissions.
A native of Bassett, Virginia, Stone earned his B.A. in Economics with honors from Bridgewater. He attended graduate school at the University of Chicago School of Economics, and received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. He holds four honorary doctorate degrees.
Stone is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Society of Barristers, the Virginia Law Foundation, and the American Bar Foundation.
The American Inns of Court, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, fosters excellence in professionalism, ethics, civility, and legal skills. The organization’s membership includes more than 30,000 federal, state, and local judges; lawyers; law professors; and law students in more than 360 chapters nationwide and more than 100,000 alumni members. More information is available at www.innsofcourt.org.
