The University of Oklahoma presented honorary degrees to two outstanding individuals in recognition of their extraordinary achievements and generous service to others.
Receiving honorary degrees were Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe of Gulu, Uganda, a Catholic nun who has dedicated her life to improving the lives of women and girls in east Africa, and William G. Paul of Oklahoma City, a towering leader in the law who, as president of the American Bar Association from 1999 to 2000, advocated for increased diversity in the legal profession
From the Sewing Hope Foundation: For the last 30 years, Sister Rosemary of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus based in Juba, South Sudan, has answered the call to serve the least among us from the epicenter of a bloody and violent civil wars that decimated northern Uganda and South Sudan.
Armed with only a sewing machine, Sister Rosemary openly defied Joseph Kony and the rebel soldiers and commanders of the Lord’s Resistance Army in their 20-year reign of terror. Since 2002, Sister Rosemary has enrolled more than 2,000 girls who had been previously abducted by the LRA or abandoned by their families.
Anyone who steps foot on the grounds of the Saint Monica campus in Gulu, Uganda, will instantly recognize there are few other places on earth where a community of women learn to become self-reliant and change agents for peace and prosperity. Sister Rosemary has taught these brave girls to make their own clothes, grow their own food, learn a valuable trade, and show mercy to others that are less fortunate.
For more information, please visit sewinghopefoundation.com.
As a practicing lawyer for nearly 65 years, William G. Paul has earned a reputation as a highly respected and distinguished attorney, not only among his peers in the Oklahoma bar, but across the nation. His leadership in the legal profession is highlighted by his term as president of the American Bar Association from 1999-2000, in which he initiated programs to increase diversity in the legal system.
Paul has spent most of his career with the Oklahoma City firm Crowe & Dunlevy, where he currently serves as of counsel. Since first joining the firm in 1957, he has held a variety of positions over the years, including associate, partner, managing partner, shareholder and director. Paul has been lead counsel in some of the most significant trials in the state. His areas of practice encompass alternative dispute resolutions, commercial transactions, corporate governance and trusts, and estate law. From 1985-1995, he worked for Phillips Petroleum Co. as senior vice president and general counsel.
