Minority Awards Honor Law Professor Nance

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — In Swahili “nia” means purpose, according to Charles Moore, host of the first-annual NIA Heritage Awards held at the Springdale Convention Center on Saturday, Feb. 4. The award ceremony, “celebrating the achievements of black professionals,” kicked off Black History month by honoring some of the region’s most esteemed and “purposeful” community members. Among the honorees was Cyndi Nance, associate professor in the University of Arkansas School of Law who earned a professional achievement award for her contribution to the Northwest Arkansas law community.

“Cyndi Nance has been an amazing colleague and an invaluable addition to the faculty of law,” said Carol Goforth, associate dean of the School of Law. “Cyndi’s continued emphasis on public service is both an inspiration and a reminder to all of us, and to the wider community as well, of the good that we can do as lawyers and individuals. We are honored to have her here at the law school.”

Nance’s purpose is connected to her faith and commitment to making a difference in the world. Locally, she is the faculty adviser to the Kappa Iota Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, which was also recognized at the event, and a member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and the Washington County Bar Association. She has been honored as a Northwest Arkansas Woman of Distinction and a Northwest Arkansas Martin Luther King Individual Achievement Award.

Her statewide commitment includes membership in the Arkansas Bar Association, in which she serves on the Jurisprudence and Law Reform Committee.

Nationally, she is the former president of the American Association of Law Schools Employment Discrimination and Labor and Employment Law Sections and a member of the American Bar Association.

As a board member of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, she recently traveled to Mexico to view the living conditions in youth and women’s shelters, and she has been invited to give presentations at a number of international conferences.

“It was a terrific honor to be recognized at the inaugural NIA Heritage Awards Ceremony, especially in light of the stature of the other nominees and recipients,” Nance said.

Keynote speaker, Tonya R. Floyd, asked audience members to find their purpose by drawing on their faith.

Floyd, a 1995 graduate of the School of Law, says the future of the community is dependent on teaching our children. She encouraged audience members to step up and become better role models for our future.

For more information about the event itself, please visit http://www.nwaminorityawards.com.