(Posted September 6, 2005)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Susan M. Leeson, retired justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, will speak at Juniata College on "Restoring Civic Debate: Compromises that Helped Make America" at 7:30 p.m., Monday, Sept. 12 in Neff Lecture Hall in the von Liebig Center for Science.

The lecture is free and open to the public. The lecture is sponsored by Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society. Support for the lecture comes from the G. Greybill Diehm and William and Mary Nyce endowments.

Leeson has had a long judicial career, starting with her appointment to the Oregon Court of Appeals in 1993. In 1998, she was named associate justice for the Oregon Supreme Court, a position she held until 2003. She was named senior judge for the state of Oregon in 2003 where she advised attorneys on brief writing and oral argument until retiring in 2005. She also is a lecturer and scholar adviser at the Center for Civic Education and a trainer for the National School Safety Center.

She earned a bachelor's degree in political science in 1968 from Willamette University. She went on to earn a master's degree in 1970 and a doctoral degree in 1971, both from Claremont Graduate School. She earned her law degree in 1981 from the Willamette University College of Law.

Before returning to law school, Leeson was a professor of political science at Willamette University from 1970 to 1993. She also taught courses on dispute resolution, jurisprudence and legal history at the University's School of Law.

In addition, she served as a Judicial Fellow for the Supreme Court of the United States from 1983 to 1984 in the office of Chief Justice Warren Burger. She also served as a law clerk on the Ninth Circuit United States Court of Appeals from 1982 to 1983.

She is a member of the Oregon State Bar, and currently serves on its executive board. She also is a member of Oregon Women Lawyers, the Mary Leonard Society and the Oregon Mediation Association. She is the co-author of "Constitutional Law: Cases in Context," and "Ending It: Dispute Resolution in America."

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.