Michéle Alexandre was Colgate University’s first black valedictorian (majoring in English and French, with background in philosophy). She earned her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. After graduating from law school, she clerked for U.S. District Court Judge John P. Fullam in Philadelphia, and practiced law in New York and Alabama, where she worked on the pivotal Black Farmers Lawsuit. Prior to her appointment at the University of Mississippi School of Law, Alexandre taught at the University of Houston, the University of Baltimore, American University and the University of Memphis. She received Fulbright and Watson fellowships, and at the University of Mississippi was honored with the Ben A. Hardy Faculty Excellence Award for outstanding teaching, scholarship and service in 2016. In 2017, she was selected as an SEC-U Academic Leadership Development Program Fellow for 2017-2018. She was named one of Ebony Magazine’sTop 100 influential African Americans of 2013 and one of the 50 “Most Influential Minority Law Professors 50 Years of Age or Younger” by Lawyers of Color Magazine.