Duke Law’s Federalist Society chapter honored as “Chapter of the Year”
The Duke Law Federalist Society received the James Madison Award for Chapter of the Year at the Federalist Society’s annual Student Symposium on March 2. The award recognizes a chapter with “a significant number of high-quality events, particularly debates.”
“I’m very excited about the recognition of our success at Duke,” said Phil Aubart ‘13, the chapter president, a post he shares with classmate Jonny Havens. “I’m thankful for everyone who has attended our events this year and last and encouraged the chapter to continue bringing in great speakers for conversations on great topics.”
“They’ve had an incredible year,” said Peter Redpath, vice president and director of the student division at the Federalist Society. “They’ve had well over 40 events this year, and most of them have been debates.”
Redpath said the award was given to the Duke Law chapter in large part due to the efforts of Aubart, who also served as president as a 2L.
“What was particularly impressive with Phil was he really did a lot of outreach to different groups on campus,” Redpath said. “He did a particularly good job of making sure people felt welcomed even if they didn’t necessarily agree with some of the speakers we were bringing in. He covered all the bases and did a very good job advertising the events. He had one event that had over 300 people and a number that had 170 people attending. They were high quality events with good speakers and well advertised. He’s just downright impressive.”
Aubart’s commitment to outreach and programming skills have also gained recognition on campus. Last spring, the Duke Bar Association honored him with its 2012 award for “Outstanding Student Contribution to the Duke Law Community,” and the Federalist Society chapter with its award for “Greatest Contribution to Civic Discourse.”
At the Student Symposium, held March 1 and 2 at the University of Texas School of Law, Duke Law Professor Nita A. Farahany was also honored with the prestigious Paul M. Bator Award, recognizing promising young faculty members. A story will follow.