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Lecture Hall

DeWitt Higgs Memorial Lecture

The DeWitt Higgs Memorial Lecture is an endowed lecture sponsored by the Law and Society Program, Earl Warren College and the Higgs family.

DeWitt Higgs was a pillar of the San Diego legal community. He was a founding member of the firm Higgs, Fletcher, and Mack. He served as a UC Regent for 16 years. To honor his contributions, the topic of each Higgs Lecture is related to the overlap between legal and social issues.

The list of recent speakers includes cofounder and president of the Center for Policing Equity Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff, San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom, UC Berkeley professor and journalist Mark Danner, Geoff Hoon (former leader of the British House of Commons), and NYU professor Jerome Cohen.

2023 DeWitt Higgs Memorial Lecture

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About the DeWitt Higgs Memorial Lecture

DeWitt "Dutch" Higgs graduated from California Western School of Law in 1934. He founded the firm of Higgs, Fletcher and Mack, one of San Diego’s leading local firms, and served as the region’s first representative on the University of California Board of Regents. In recognition of his contributions to the law, education, and academic freedom, UC San Diego and California Western School of Law, in conjunction with the Higgs family, present the DeWitt Higgs Memorial Lecture each year.

View past Higgs Lectures online through the UCSD-TV website.

For more information, contact the Law & Society office at lawandsociety@ucsd.edu or (858) 534-3068

2022: Laura E. Gómez

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2021: Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

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2019: Carmen G. Gonzalez

2019: The Ito Sisters

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2018: George Takei

With an uncanny eloquence and signature wit, in his April 26, 2018 Higgs Lecture, "Where No Story Has Gone Before," George Takei shared the story of his family's forced internment as Japanese Americans during WWII—a seemingly forgotten part of American history. He also took the audience through his rise to celebrity as a Sci-fi icon, his remarkable journey as social media mega power, and his passionate fight for LGBTQ rights and marriage equality in America—empowering others to beat the odds and make a difference.

 George Takei
Takei's riviting Higgs Lecture

Q&A session moderated by CEO of the LGBT Center's San Diego chapter (and ERC alum), Cara Dessert
Q&A session moderated by CEO of the LGBT Center's San Diego chapter (and ERC alum), Cara Dessert

Takei with Earl Warren College Provost Emily Roxworthy and Warren College mascot Bearl
Takei with Earl Warren College Provost Emily Roxworthy and Warren College mascot Bearl

Takei with staff and students from Thurgood Marshall College
Takei with staff and students from Thurgood Marshall College

Takei greeting guests at the Higgs VIP reception
Takei greeting guests at the Higgs VIP reception

Flashing the Vulcan salute to the audience at the Higgs Lecture
Flashing the Vulcan salute to the audience at the Higgs Lecture

View more photos from the event here!

2017: Phillip Atiba Goff, Ph.D.

Phillip Atiba Goff is the inaugural Franklin A. Thomas Professor in Policing Equity at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He is the co-founder and president of the Center for Policing Equity, and an expert in contemporary forms of racial bias and discrimination, as well as the intersections of race and gender. Dr. Goff serves as one of four Principal Investigators for the CPE's National Justice Database, the first national database on racial disparities in police stops and use of force. His January 12, 2017 Higgs Lecture, "A New Language of Justice: Policing, Race, and Identity Traps in the Era of Trump" followed some of his work exploring the ways in which racial prejudice is not a necessary precondition for racial discrimination. That is, despite the normative view of racial discrimination—that it stems from prejudiced explicit or implicit attitudes—situational factors can facilitate racially unequal outcomes.

Phillip Atiba Goff

Phillip Atiba Goff

Phillip Atiba Goff

About DeWitt Higgs

DeWitt (“Dutch”) Higgs received his law degree from San Diego’s Balboa Law College (now California Western School of Law) in 1934. Higgs and Ferdinand Fletcher founded the law firm of Higgs, Fletcher & Mack in 1939. He was a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy from 1942-45 and was awarded the Bronze Star.

Higgs received one of his greatest honors when he was appointed by Governor Pat Brown to the University of California Board of Regents on which he served for 16 years (Chair from 1968-70 and Vice Chairman from 1970-71). The University faced unprecedented pressure in the faculty termination deliberations of professors Angela Davis and Herbert Marcuse. Higgs stood up for academic freedom when he supported their retention. Former UC President Charles Hitch stated that Higgs was the very “glue” that held the University together.

Higgs’ wisdom and sense of right provided a resource to governors, committees, and legislators in making important judicial appointments to the state and federal benches. He chaired the bipartisan Independent Commission (1991) to prepare a model of fair and equally proportioned voting districts in California. The Commission’s recommendations were adopted in 1992.

Higgs and his wife, Florence, were married nearly 65 years. He was the proud father of Barbara and Craig, and had seven grandchildren and six great- grandchildren.