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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.
Learn more about our 50th Anniversary Higgs Lecture!
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 warrenwritingprogram@ucsd.edu or (858) 534-3068
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.
