Legal expert receives Foundation alumni honor

 

 

Talbot "Sandy" D'Alemberte, an attorney and president emeritus of Florida State University in Florida, USA, is the recipient of the 2010-11 Global Alumni Service to Humanity Award, The Rotary Foundation’s top honor for alumni.  

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Talbot "Sandy" D'Alemberte, an attorney and president emeritus of Florida State University in Florida, USA, is the recipient of the 2010-11 Global Alumni Service to Humanity Award, The Rotary Foundation’s top honor for alumni.  

D’Alemberte, a 1958-59 Ambassadorial Scholar, addressed attendees at the Rotary Reunion on 20 May before the 2011 RI Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.  

He was recognized during the third plenary session at the convention, where he spoke of a chance encounter he had with a Rotarian in England in 1957, while he was serving in the U.S. Navy. His ship had docked in London, and the man encouraged him to apply for a Rotary scholarship so he could return to England and study there.

"So much of life is luck, and that chance encounter with a man whose name I do not know has made so much difference," said D'Alemberte. "I owe great thanks to the British Rotarian who was proud of his country, believed in enhancing international relationships, and was so supportive of the work of The Rotary Foundation that he took time to encourage an American sailor and changed that sailor's life."

A former member of the Rotary Club of Tallahassee, Florida, and a Paul Harris Fellow, D'Alemberte has been widely commended for his efforts in the areas of dispute resolution and rule of law for international legal reform throughout Eastern Europe. He has also received numerous awards for his university leadership and pro bono legal service.

In 1989, D'Alemberte became president-elect of the American Bar Association (ABA), which gave him an opportunity to provide pro bono support for newly emerging democracies in Central and Eastern Europe. With the support of prominent U.S. jurists, lawyers, and ABA members, he and a colleague, Homer Moyer, created the Central and Eastern European Law Initiative (CEELI) in 1990, which helped implement constitutional, legal, and institutional reforms in those regions.

CEELI continued to grow, and similar programs were established in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. In 2007, the ABA established the Rule of Law Initiative to oversee these programs and now operates in 40 countries.

"One of the most important things I have been able to do was to work with others in setting up CEELI. This project can be directly linked to interests I developed as a Rotary Foundation Scholar at the London School of Economics and Political Science," D'Alemberte said before the convention. He credits his father, a Rotarian, with opening his eyes to the world beyond his small Florida hometown.

After his scholarship, D'Alemberte earned a law degree, with honors, from the University of Florida College of Law. Convinced that the legal profession would enable him to make a difference in the lives of others, he went on to concentrate on media and public law. His work included a case that helped bring about camera access in courtrooms, a milestone that won him an Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 1985.

D'Alemberte served as president of Florida State University from 1994 to 2003, and continues to teach at the College of Law.

When he learned that he had been chosen for the Global Alumni Service to Humanity Award, D’Alemberte said: "I have had great fun during my career, and it's an extraordinary thing to be awarded this honor for some of the things I most enjoyed."

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