Sherrilyn Ifill
Vernon Jordan Chair in Civil Rights is the former president of the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund and is focused on the equal protections of citizenship.
Biography
Civil rights lawyer and scholar Sherrilyn Ifill is Howard University's inaugural Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Esq. Endowed Chair in Civil Rights. This appointment is a testament to Ifill’s distinguished career and outstanding contributions to the fields of law, civil rights, and social justice. Ifill most recently served as the seventh president & director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), the venerable civil rights litigation organization founded by Howard Law School alum, Thurgood Marshall.
As the Vernon Jordan Chair, Ifill is focused on a multi-disciplinary approach to promoting the vision and values articulated in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution as the central source of America’s post-Civil War identity.