Professor Roy L. Brooks Celebrated, Honored for His Commitment to Students

“The best part of my experience at USD can be summed up in one word: students,” said Roy L. Brooks, Warren Distinguished Professor of Law, as he concluded his remarks during the lecture series that bears his name.

If students served as Brooks’ inspiration during his 47 year tenure at USD, it was only fitting that the capacity crowd to hear his lecture included graduates from each decade of his storied career.

The Roy L. Brooks Distinguished Lecture Series launched in 2023 to honor Black thought leaders and scholars committed to inclusive excellence. The inaugural address by Dr. Derrick R. Brooms from Morehouse College centered on supporting Black men on college campuses and uplifting Black scholarship. In 2024, Dr. Renetta Garrison Tull of the University of California Davis spoke on the importance of mentorship and mentoring relationships in career advancement. 

“When we decided to move forward with the lecture, we recognized that it needed a name, a descriptor, something that would immediately impart prestige and quality that is inherent to the event. A name that would honor USD's past, our commitment to excellence in teaching, compassion for students, rigor and exploration of important and challenging topics,” said Gail F. Baker, PhD, advisor to the president and former senior vice president and provost. “The choice was not only not difficult, it was inevitable.”

In 2025, Brooks used the opportunity to share his own story and acknowledged the significance of hosting speakers with a variety of experiences and viewpoints. “A scholar is anyone who is committed to getting it right,” he said.

During what Brooks called his last public lecture, he recounted some of the stories and steps that brought him to USD, including what motivated him to study the law, and what’s kept him at USD for over four decades.

Brooks grew up in a diverse neighborhood in New Haven, Connecticut and watched members of his community go off to college. He knew from an early age that he wanted to lead an academic life.

“I love learning,” said Brooks. ”I think of a professor as a professional student, and I love the academic life.”

Originally focused on earning a doctorate in philosophy and planning to transfer from the University of Connecticut to Harvard after his first year, Brooks changed course and remained in Connecticut, later attending Yale Law School. 

“My personal experiences, especially interactions with individuals, have informed my scholarship and concern for people through social justice,” he said

These individuals include storied legal minds, academics and figures who have gone on to some of the highest offices in the country.

During his time at Yale Law School, Brooks engaged in conversations on civil rights and social justice with the likes of Clarence Thomas, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bill Clinton. Brooks also shared a story where he and his wife attended an event where he met Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, which turned into a fifteen minute mentoring session.

Following law school, Brooks went to New York City to work at the prestigious law firm, Cravath, Swaine & Moore. He seemed destined for a future in corporate law on Wall Street, until a special encounter changed the trajectory of his career.

One day in 1979, Brooks was visited by Sister Sally Furay, a member of the Religious of the Sacred Heart and Provost at the University of San Diego. Brooks was fascinated by Furay’s tenacity and vision to raise the academic profile of USD, as well as her decision to rent a car and drive through Manhattan traffic to meet with him. 

“The fact that she made it to my office in New York - that was divine intervention,” Brooks said.

At the time, Brooks had an offer to teach at Columbia University Law School, but something about Sr. Furay and her offer to build a corporate law program at USD intrigued him. Following a visit to campus that February - and in stark contrast to the winter in New York - Brooks decided to accept Furay’s offer and join the faculty at the School of Law, also becoming the university’s first Black faculty member. 

To say that Brooks has made an impact at USD is a tremendous understatement. Over the course of his career, Brooks has written over two dozen books and hundreds of articles on civil rights, race relations and constitutional law. He has twice been the recipient of the prestigious University Professor award. He is respected by his colleagues and beloved by his students - a feeling that is mutual for him. 

“I am truly at a loss for words to describe my students and research assistants,” Brooks said. “Even after graduation the students have been so wonderful.”

The lecture offered a unique opportunity to honor Brooks prior to his retirement and celebrate his career through his own, first-hand experience. 

“People aren’t always given their flowers while they can smell them,” said Regina Dixon-Reeves, PhD, vice provost for academic excellence. “It is an honor to have Dr. Brooks with us and celebrate his many accomplishments.”

Counted among those accomplishments is Brooks’ aptitude for bridging divides and uplifting both his exceptional scholarship and signature collegiality with colleagues and students.

“I want people to disagree in a respectful manner and do the homework to come in well-informed,” said Brooks. “Academic excellence and kindness can coexist.”

— USD News Center

Roy L. Brooks Fund for Social Justice

The Roy L. Brooks Fund for Social Justice supports the vision of Professor Brooks as exemplified by his years of experience and over forty years of providing academic excellence to the legal leaders of the past, present, and future.

For more information, contact the Office of Development at lawdev@sandiego.edu or call us at (619) 260-4692.