Marvin E. "Bunky" Wright, who retired as the University of Missouri's General Counsel Dec. 31, will receive the Life Membership Award from the National Association of College and University Attorneys. The award will be received at an honors and awards ceremony and reception June 22 in New York City.
The Life Membership Award is given upon an individual's retirement in recognition of outstanding service and substantial contributions to NACUA. He was nominated for the award by the UM General Counsel's Office
"Bunky is most deserving of this award," said UM General Counsel Steve Owens, who began his duties with the university in January. "His contributions to the university and higher education are still being widely felt."
The NACUA enhances legal assistance to colleges and universities by educating attorneys and administrators to the nature of campus legal issues. It also plays an important role in the continuing legal education of university counsel. Nearly 1,500 campuses represented by more than 3,500 attorneys comprise NACUA's membership.
Prior to his appointment as the University of Missouri's General Counsel on March 1, 1998, Wright was engaged in a private law practice for approximately 19 years as a partner in a firm in Columbia. Immediately prior to that, he served as counsel in the university's General Counsel Office from 1967-1979. It was during this time that Wright helped guide the university through student unrest in the late 1960s and in 1977 successfully defended a case before the U.S. Supreme Court involving a medical student who failed her practicums despite impeccable grades. He received the Missouri Bar Association's Spurgeon Smithson Award in 2007 for rendering outstanding service toward the increase and diffusion of justice.
The UM General Counsel provides legal advice and representation for Missouri's premier public higher education institution, including its governing board of directors, president and general officers, four campuses, University of Missouri Health Care, and university employees acting in their official capacities. For more information about the UM General Counsel's Office, visit: www.umsystem.edu/ums/departments/gc/.
Reviewed 2011-05-06